A Preschool Teacher in China During Covid

A Preschool Teacher in China During Covid

After yesterday’s announcement from the Provincial Government regarding the return to school plan for fall, I felt a sense of relief that it appears a small amount of normality is returning to our children’s lives after months of uncertainty.  The re-opening of schools to the general student population also means that many preschoolers will be returning to their classrooms.

When school was suspended back in March, the program that I work in tried our best to remain connected with our students and their families.  This was unfamiliar territory for us all… on top of the disruption to our normal daily routines, there was the added stress of the unknown with regards to COVID-19.  Apart from recording myself reading stories to post on our program’s private Facebook page and posting some art activities that I thought looked fun, I found myself at a loss as to how to establish that deeper connection through technology.

I stumbled across this article written during the height of the pandemic by a preschool teacher living in China.  I admire this educator’s creativity in how she was able to connect with her students and families via technology.  In each developmental domain, the author promoted “developmentally appropriate practice during online learning”.  A lot of the activities and crafts mentioned in the article can be incorporated into everyday, typical classroom settings, but in doing them at home exude a sense of calm.

British Columbia’s COVID cases have steadily been declining but we have to consider that a second wave could be just around the corner.  Being prepared with tools in keeping connected with the children and families we have built relationships with during simpler times will help ease the anxiety COVID brings.

 

Reference

Silverman, A. (2020).  Play, child development and relationships: a preschool teacher in china shares her virtual teaching experience. National Association for the Education of Young Children. Volume 13, Number 5, August/September 2020. Retrieved from

https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/tyc/apr2020/play-child-development-and-relationships

 

 

 

 

2 Comments

  1. open001

    Heather, thank you for the link with all of that great information. I did kept in touch with families during my closure, but I did not offer them any activities or resources they could do with their children. So I appreciate this kind of information, there is so much we can do with technology. only if I can learn how to use it better. I enjoyed reading your post.

  2. Donna T the blind lady

    Hey Heather. A very enjoyable read and agree that this era of technology is probably the challenge and is definitely the issue I struggle with the most right now…

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