I am truly happy to have a Guest Writer making an appearance for us. Please welcome and enjoy this piece by Jenna Sherman.
“Jenna Sherman created Parent-Leaders to be all about what parents can do to make sure their children grow up to be strong, independent, successful adults. By providing a collection of valuable, up-to-date, authoritative resources, she hopes to help other parents acquire the skills they need to raise future leaders. Jenna is mom to three children — two girls and a boy.”
By the time our children return to their classrooms for the 2020-2021 school year, many will have spent nearly six months at home due to COVID-19 — making this back-to-school season a bit more challenging in comparison to previous years. To help parents, families, and children prepare for the transition, we’ve assembled a list of tips and resources in the sections below.
Prepare for a Safe and Healthy Back-to-School Season
Before your children return to school in the fall, make sure they’re up-to-date on all medical immunizations and exams — and talk to your kids about the importance of social distancing at school, in classrooms, and on school buses.
- Find out what steps schools across the globe are taking to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during the 2020-2021 school year. Experts warn against keeping kids at home for many more months, as doing so could stunt their emotional development and learning.
- Contact your child’s pediatrician to schedule a medical examination, vision and hearing screening, and any necessary immunizations. Your child’s pediatrician can help to ensure that your little one has everything they need to safely return to school in the fall.
- Purchase easy-to-sanitize supplies during your back-to-school shopping trip. You’ll need hand sanitizer, stainless steel bento-style lunch boxes, and unique-looking pens so your child won’t accidentally use another student’s writing utensils.
Keep Your Children Germ-Free at School
These tips and resources will protect your kids from harmful germs and bacteria once they return to school amid COVID-19.
- Review the CDC’s recommendations for slowing the spread of COVID-19 in children. For children two years of age and older, the wearing of protective face coverings is recommended when social distancing is not possible.
- Stock up on face masks for your children. Before buying protective face masks, however, you may need to measure your children’s faces to ensure that they’re getting the best possible fit.
- As soon as your children get home from school, disinfect their toys, lunchbox, and supplies with disinfectant wipes. You could even donate a few packs of wipes to your children’s teachers and school bus drivers to ensure that they’ll have plenty of clean wipes on hand.
- Use eco-friendly cleaning products to protect your children from COVID-19 and other harmful germs and bacteria. You’ll keep your home clean and tidy without filling it with hazardous chemicals and allergens.
Not Returning to School? Enhance Online Learning With These Tips
If your child will continue to learn from a distance either all or part of the time, these tips will help to enhance the online learning experience.
- Recognize the challenges of learning remotely and work closely with your child to overcome them.
- Fight boredom and encourage learning with some new toys and activities for your kiddos. Learning at home doesn’t mean your kids can’t take a break to have some fun!
- Keep your tech devices in good working order and protect them from threats with some security tips from Verizon. With children spending more time online amid COVID-19, you’ll need to make sure you’re protecting them from the dangers of the internet.
The 2020 back-to-school season won’t be quite the same as past years, but these resources will help to prepare you and your children for the year ahead. Even if you’re worried about sending your little ones back to school amid COVID-19, you can rest assured knowing schools will be doing everything they can to keep children, teachers, and other school staff as safe and healthy as possible.
Jenna Sherman