With vaccines finally rolling in, more and more schools are opening up for in-person learning. While many of us are eager to get our kids back into (safe) classrooms, we also need to keep in mind how these changes will affect our most vulnerable young learners. Students face not just the colossal transition from remote-learning to being in-person again, but also the myriad changes within the physical school setting, such as mask mandates and social distancing. All this change leaves students and parents alike vulnerable to major anxiety.
So what can we do to help our kids (and ourselves) navigate these transitions? One way to mitigate anxiety in students returning to in-person learning is to preview what school will look like. “Preview lessons” is actually a common accommodation added to IEPs! Previewing not only mitigates anxiety about new concepts, but also activates related prior knowledge to “prime” a student’s brain for the content. This makes new concepts easier to absorb when instructors explicitly teach them for the first time.
The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) have created informative, graphic-based documents to illustrate what the return to school will look like. Documents like these are perfect for previewing a “day in the life” of your child back at school! Click the files below to access the documents. If your child attends independent school or a school in a different city, reach out to your school directly for in-person learning plans you can preview with your child.