You’ve Got This, Kid: Returning to the Classroom after Virtual Learning

Within the next few days and weeks, many students will be returning to the classroom for the first time after a year and a half of almost exclusively virtual learning. Combine those novel feelings with the usual “back to school” jitters, and these next weeks are a recipe for increased anxiety and nervousness. And it’s likely that parents, caregivers and/or guardians of school-age children everywhere are searching for answers as to how to get through this. 

And, well, the truth is, there really isn’t a step-by-step guide on navigating this exact situation because this is new for all of us. Every single one of us is going through this for the first time, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t things we can do to try to make this as seamless as possible, all while recognizing our children’s real emotions about this very novel way of life. 

While searching for information on how to prepare kids for school “post” pandemic, a link for PBS Kids Back to School came up and it seems that there is a multitude of helpful information to help make transition a little easier. 

Going Back To School Post-Transition
This specific article gives us ten different ways to support your child as they go back to the classroom. Here are some highlights: 

• Reconnect with Friends: Does your child remember a pal from school that they particularly liked playing with on the playground? It could be beneficial for your child to have a familiar face that they’ve seen in person recently at school to fall back on. 
• Create a Back-To-School Plan: Just giving your child an idea of what may happen when they go back to school can help the transition, including talking about wearing masks at school or any other health/safety protocols that may be in place when they go back. 
• Reassure their Feelings: What your child is feeling is real! Big emotions are okay and it’s helpful for them to be reminded of that. Taking the time to listen and talk through the issue together, versus trying to immediately solve a problem can really help validate what your kiddo is feeling. 
• Create a Good-Bye or Leaving Home ritual: PBS says it best, “rituals can help kids cope”. Having something “special” that you do with your child every morning, or before they head into school, can help hold your child throughout the day until you are reunited. This also gives them a reason to look forward to going to school! 

A similar article, How to Handle a Tough First Day of School talks about some similar tactics and if you’d like more tips as those shared above, it likely would be beneficial. 

Beating Back-To-School Jitters and Coping with Back-To-School Anxiety
Above are two articles that really tackle the difficult stuff. Children’s mental health is just as potent as that of adults, and in a time like this, they are not immune to feeling big nerves. Here are some highlights: 

• Back to the Basics: What is the easiest way to help combat nerves? Routine. Creating a strict bedtime routine for your child before school starts will help them get back into the swing of things. 
  • Waking Up Earlier: With bedtime also comes “wake-up” time, and the earlier a child wakes up, the more time they have to get ready! 
  • Getting to School Earlier: A late child is a nervous child and it may be easy to just call it quits and “try again another day”. But getting to school earlier ensures everyone has enough time to settle in. 
• Listen to your Child: As mentioned above, your child’s feelings are real, and simply saying, “don’t worry about it!” or “it’ll be okay”, doesn’t necessarily tackle the source of your child’s fear. Instead, it’s worthwhile to talk your child through problems and help give them real solutions to the worries they may be having.
  • With this, it’s also helpful to practice labeling emotions with your kiddo and helping them name what they’re feeling. 
• Check in on How You are Feeling: As parents, caregivers, and/or guardians, it’s normal for you to have big feelings, too. But an important part of your child’s ease is how you’re reacting to a situation. You can acknowledge your feelings (helping your child accept theirs), while still being brave and modeling that for your child as well. 

Below is a video from PBS Kids Talk Series exploring Back to School! This video, included in a series of videos about Back to School, talks to actual kiddos about how they feel going back to school. We hope this little tidbit brings you some joy and that it helps get you in good spirits as school starts. 

You got this, kid (and adult, too!) 

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