save our wood. Others are reporting happy results using foggers,
electrostatic sprayers, and various disinfectants.
Acquiring enough thermometers, gloves, masks, smocks,
hand sanitizer, hand soap, paper cups, paper plates, and paper
placemats is an ongoing task. Teachers created individual packets
of crayons, pencils, scissors, glue sticks, and paper for Early Childhood
students so that those things did not need to be individually
sanitized after each use. Maintaining all the necessary inventory
is probably the most significant ongoing expense. On top of the
greatly reduced income through the ten weeks of closure, we are all
taking a substantial financial hit. As we have learned through the
past recessions, all we have to do is cut back, pull together, and the
economy will come around again, eventually.
We’ve had to eliminate assemblies, guest speakers, and
events, but this results in a simpler routine and fewer interruptions
to the work period. We avoid mixing classes, but this makes
the prep and cleaning schedule simpler when each teaching team
is taking care of their own classroom instead of relying on someone
to come in to help them. With the simplification of so much
of our day, teaching teams have more time to maintain their own
environments.
We knew we had to
provide normalcy for the
children. We knew we had
to support the families.
Masks were a daunting prospect. We started by recommending
that students wear masks as a sign of respect for others, and many
did. Then, our town adopted a mask mandate, and our students
cheerfully went along with it. They have been much more amenable
to it than most adults. Now, all Early Childhood and Elementary
students wear masks into and out of school and while inside, unless
they can stay 6 feet apart. Early Childhood and Elementary
students also have assigned work tables or mats to mix less within
the classroom. When lining up, they space themselves a healthy
distance or an arm’s length from the person in front of them.
Outside they are free to play as they always have, but teachers
may remind them to give each other healthy space. We spray all
equipment with alcohol, using a fertilizer sprayer, between classes.
Other than the temperature and symptom checks at dropoff,
increased cleaning routines, and the smaller class sizes, the
infant and toddler school days are essentially unchanged. Teaching
teams are careful to sanitize work after each use, wear masks and
gloves, and infant faculty wear lab coats or smocks, as well.
VOLUME 22 ISSUE 4 • 2020 | WWW.MONTESSORI.ORG/IMC | ©MONTESSORI LEADERSHIP
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