Coming back to school after the Pandemic
With schools and colleges reopening across the country after a break of more than one and a half years, a difficult situation has arisen for both, the students and the parents. Students have become used to attending school online, from the comfort of their homes. As for parents, they have become habitual to always having their kids around as they go through their work and duties throughout the day. For everyone, switching back to a life of going to school is going to be difficult and painful, and this is understandable.
As parents, we can help students to cope with this transition from our end. Even though students attended school for six hours a day before the pandemic hit, online lectures and virtual classrooms have led to an overall reduction in attention span, be it for students or for adults. Thus, it is necessary to get back into the groove of the working day.
As parents, you can schedule your child’s daily routine similar to the pre-pandemic era for a few days before the schools reopen. Apart from attending online classes, children can undergo several activities that will prepare them for the reopening. One of the major changes would be the morning routine. All members of the family can start by getting up early in the morning, before school starts for the day, and taking a shower and getting dressed before going to your individual desks to attend classes or start the day’s work. With the parents following the same routine, it will instill in the child the importance of an early morning schedule.
Along with this, another change that can occur in the family’s daily schedule is mealtimes. Mealtimes in school and at home are more often than not different, and the flexibility of eating at any time of the day is available during online classes. Thus, parents can create a practice of mealtime slots, meaning that breakfast, lunch and snacks are all consumed at the same allotted time every day, preferably at the same time that the school timetable requires. This will inculcate within the child a food-based discipline, as well as avoid drastic changes when the schools finally reopen.
Along with waking up on time, bedtimes need to be monitored. A minimum of eight hours of sleep is required for every school-going child, thus parents should monitor the same. A reduction in screen time before bed and a dedicated time slot for physical activity every evening will help maintain the child’s health, both mental and physical, and bring their sleep cycle back to the school-based routine.
At the Manthan School, we understand that this transition would be difficult for the students, and have dedicated the next academic year to making the students comfortable in a physical education environment. As parents at home and teachers at school, we can together help our children transition into this new-normal yet again.
Admissions are open for the academic year of 2022-23. Contact us to know more about the same.