WE Need Your Help
We all know the last part of the school year was taxing on our students, staff, and families. The upcoming school year will have similar challenges for students who are returning to school, and for students who will continue remote learning at home. Adults can help to emotionally prepare students for our “new normal” by doing the following things:
General
● Talk with your child about their feelings about the situation; acknowledging and
validating those feelings (grief, disappointment, worry, relief, etc.) Supporting children to
recognize and name their emotions helps them develop self-awareness.
● Check-in with your own state of well-being. Ensure that you are naming your own
emotions and finding ways to help yourself manage and regulate, which in turn will
enable you to better support your child.
Remote or Distance Learning
● If your child was involved in remote learning in the spring, talk about what
worked well and what they would like to be different. Think about scheduling that
works for your family, including taking time for breaks and when your child will complete
independent work.
● Help your child set up their distance learning workspace in a way that supports
their individual needs (ex: whether they like to sit, stand, or lie on their bellies; what
makes them physically comfortable to do their best learning)
Face- to- Face Learning
● Help prepare your child for what school will now be like--wearing and caring for a
mask, washing and sanitizing hands frequently, understanding that the classroom will
look VERY different from how it did in March, maintaining physical distance from others
● Reach out to teachers and school staff with questions/concerns as you would
during any other year
Final Point:
● Reassure your child that even though school looks different, their teachers and school
staff are still there to care about and support them and help them move forward in their
Learning.
