Being a teacher during a worldwide pandemic has come with some challenges to say the least! I have felt all my years of experience slip right through my fingers and have landed me back at the doorstep of my 1st year!  All the uncertain feelings come flooding back of not knowing what to expect, scrambling to learn the school policies as the year progresses and hoping that you get the hang of all the procedures by the end of the year, PLUS making sure you follow the curriculum set by the district! Normally, I have some sense of self assurance that I know what I’m doing and what needs to get done, even though every so called “normal” school year varies slightly. Oh no, not this year!  2020 had other plans! Unfortunately, this year has pushed me emotionally and professionally! With all of these vulnerable feelings that I have just unleashed into the world; I am certain that I can NOT be alone! I felt that somehow if I wrote about it, maybe it would not only help me, but possibly touch a fellow warrior in the educational field!  Because right now, the word WARRIOR seems pretty appropriate to describe educators in the trenches right now!  

Teachers are very nurturing human beings and are always helping others when possible. We protect and support on a daily basis, whether it be with our students or their families. Our nature is to fix things and solve the unsolvable problems. However, this year leaves us struggling to figure out how to control the uncontrollable.  Being in the middle of these crazy times has defiantly left me wanting to try to control and fix what is obviously COMPLETLEY out of my control. Which absolutely doesn’t make any sense at all, I know! But, for me personally, finding some sense of balance, I decided to focus on the things I DO have control over to help maintain my classroom and my job. Which for some of us staying in the work force is non-negotiable. So, I want to share some ideas that I have been using in my classroom that seems to be working well! 

One of the first things I focused on is classroom environment.  Basically, I threw out what I knew to be “typical” for the past classroom environment and began to trudge a new path what a “typical” environment might look like for 2020. I created a classroom that fits within the safety requirements plus strives to maintain developmentally appropriate practices. MAN! That was overwhelming for sure! I decided there were several things my young learners could not do without if at all possible. A very valuable practice is allowing the students to make choices! Making choices for a young child allows them to feel like they have some power and control over what they do. It’s a step in the growing up process which everything isn’t planned for them. Allowing my kids to make good choices is a skill that they will use for the rest of their lives. When I began restructuring the classroom, I kept choices and safety in the forefront.  I came up with what I am calling “Castles” this year. Each student has their own castle and are the “Queen or King” of their castle for the day. There is a shelf with blocks, books, puzzles, 2 buckets of manipulatives, clipboard with paper, and sensory box for a child to choose from when it is “Castle time.”  Each castle has letters and numbers posted within their space for references as needed. I continue to change the manipulatives that are in their castles every other week to keep it interesting for the kiddos. I have to admit, this seemed a little crazy and I wasn’t sure if the kids would like it or hate it. I had a 50/50 chance of it going either way! It has been a hit and the kiddos love going to their castles.

I was concerned for the ability to be social, which brings me to the second important aspect I kept in mind is supporting social skills.  I wasn’t certain if the kids would be able to interact enough while they were working in their castles. It was a definite test the first couple of weeks to see if the kids would adjust to this system! As the weeks have passed, I have seen that being in their castles hasn’t stopped any of their social skills. Quite to the contrary! They have figured out how to talk to each other side by side or across the room. Young humans have an innate sense of wanting to be social. The new setup has led them to figure out how to maintain their connections with each other organically. They share what they are creating in their space and sometimes just have conversations as they work! I witnessed today a conversation about what they were building with their blocks and pretending they were Santa and making toys! It really has been a true success and better than what I have expected given what we are required to accomplish within the expected health protocols. 

The third important aspect that I kept in mind is allowing for movement but keep the kids 6 feet apart and making certain we could contact trace within the room. The first major change was to bring in tables and have their names on a space and only have 2 kids at a table.  I couldn’t imagine any four-year-old student sitting at a table all day or even most of the day. So, incorporating movement in some fashion was definitely a priority. Research shows that movement in children can help increase memory, perception, language, attention, emotion, and decision making.  I brought in enough tables for 2 kids per table and I color coded everything for each student.  I wanted to allow the kids to be able to move from their assigned table to their castle freely. In the afternoons when we have “Castle Time” they also have Table choices, which means there are tubs at their table for them to choose from also. This allows them to move freely from once space to another without any restrictions. Plus, they have choices of what activities they do in their “Castle” or at “Table Choices.”  The one rule I have is they are responsible for cleaning up before they leave that area but it’s their choice. This allows for choices and freedom of movement combined, which is a double win in my book! 

Now that I figured out the main flow of the classroom the next big project was to ORGANIZE! Putting all the moving parts in play and not making myself crazy in the process! So, I decided to organize the manipulatives, supplies, and table assignment for each student by assigning everyone a color. Each student has 2 buckets with manipulatives, 1 bucket with morning activities and a caddy with individual school supplies. All these items are in the student’s assigned color so there is no sharing of materials for the day.

            The “Morning Bucket” has been a continuing evolution this year. So far, the Morning buckets consist of letter work cards, number cards, a manipulative to help with counting, white board with marker and eraser and an independent activity that goes along with our theme for the week. Again, another opportunity for choices when they arrive at school.

 In the afternoon for Table Choices I have two color coded buckets that I put on their table that consist of a variety of manipulatives that I switch out every other week.

Each child also has a caddy with a handle on it that allows the student to be independent in carrying it from table to castle when they want to use their school supplies. The materials in their caddy consist of crayons, scissors, markers, colored pencils, and glue. Putting these items in a caddy allows the young kids to be able to pick it up and carry it themselves which helps with independence along with allowing them to still use all these materials. My kids know they can keep their caddy in their castle or take it to their table whenever they need it in either space. 

            Being an educator in the midst of unprecedented times in education has been quite the experience but I do have to say that I have learned a lot! I have learned that being flexible and thinking outside the box is something that I can do! Plus, one of the most important things I have learned is kids are resilient! They have learned to adjust and go with all the changes without skipping a beat! The students are learning and growing every day in spite of all of it!