Dear ECELP Families,
I know this time is tough, and I’m thinking about you daily. Our team wanted to reach out to our families and let you know we are missing your precious children during this home-stay situation. We’re also committed to helping you through this difficult time by sifting through online information related to educating your child at home. As a model demonstration and research facility, we are committed to best practice in early childhood education and want to share the following for your child’s overall well-being:
- Establish/maintain a routine - Consistent wake/sleep times, mealtimes, and other routines will give your child a sense of normalcy. Build in set times daily for outdoor play, reading and creativity (here are a few simple recipes to get you started: Silly putty, Homemade playdough, Homemade paint, Homemade chalk). Daily virtual social interaction with extended family and friends via FaceTime, Zoom or other teleconferencing platform can help your child maintain a sense of connection to loved ones.
- Learning is Everywhere – Involve your child in household tasks - children love to help! Cooking, cleaning, laundry and gardening provide great learning opportunities. Follow your child’s lead on what he/she seems most interested in. Your child may love digging in the garden and looking for bugs or just the feel of the grass.
- Screen Time - The American Association of Pediatrics and other leading early childhood organizations do not endorse the use of screens as a primary avenue for learning; please do not feel pressured to seek out educational apps for your child. Your child will not fall behind in the absence of using educational apps.
- Mediate Stress – Take care to design a low stress environment for yourself and your family - your child will pick up on your stress level. Easier said than done, right? If you are working remotely from home, an example of lowering stress might be recognizing that your work time may be shifted or divided to accommodate being home with your child. (Forbes has some great work at home tips.)
Many teachers have already begun holding brief meetings via Zoom with their classes and many more will begin this week. Virtual social interaction will help your child maintain contact with his/her teacher and stay in community with classmates. Please reach out to your child’s teacher and/or the administrative team if you have any questions about how to support your child’s development while you are at home.
Although this is a stressful time for all of us, we can make the best of this time by focusing on the positive – your child will follow your lead.
Take care and be well,
Cyndi
Cynthia F. DiCarlo, PhD
Professor of Early Childhood Education
Executive Director, Early Childhood Education Laboratory Preschool
W.H.”Bill” LeBlanc LSU Alumni Association Departmental Endowed Professorship
School of Education | College of Human Science & Education | Louisiana State University
Office 225-578-7005 | fax 225-578-9135
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