How Preschoolers Thrive During a Pandemic

For the past 18 months parents have struggled with maintaining their child's wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents have made huge sacrifices to help their child adjust to virtual/at-home learning and ways to cope with how COVID-19 has disrupted their daily life.

Thankfully parents are not alone. Support may include school programs, counseling and psychological services, social-emotional learning (SEL)-focused programs and curricula, and peer/social support groups.

Finding a program that meets the needs and interests of your child to help them thrive during the pandemic is easy. The Fine Arts Club is an international program for children ages 2-5 that maintains their wellbeing, incorporates school readiness, helps their children re-learn how to engage with others, keeps the classroom safe, and provides healthy ways to transition back to a group learning environment.

1. Find a program that will help your child maintain their well-being while learning during the pandemic

Identify opportunities for your child to be physically active, learn mindfulness, stress and coping activities for your child, and stay socially connected. The Fine Arts Club incorporates physical activities such as dancing, yoga, tumbling, and team games. The program also instills mindfulness including breathing, focus, and expression. Stress and coping skills can help your child express themselves and their feelings in different and healthy ways. And staying socially connected in the Fine Arts Club helps your child learn sharing, inclusion, acceptance, and bonding.

2. Prepare your child for school readiness, even during uncertainty

Little children thrive when their circumstances are safe, stable and predictable. They like lots of time to get used to changes that are coming up”but right now, in the midst of a pandemic, that's impossible. Nobody knows what we'll be facing this fall. Nonetheless, it's time to think about what to do this fall, so they'll be as prepared as possible for kindergarten.

Parents need a program that their child will get in the car and start rattling off all the wonderful, amazing things they did that day: arts, activities, playtime, music, friends they made, stories, and the things they learned. The Fine Arts Club is a rich environment where they'll spend time in a place with a variety of activities and possibilities with teachers who want them to thrive.

3. Help them re-learn how to engage with others

Preschool age kids might not remember life pre-pandemic. Because of our abundance of caution, parents should reacclimate their child in ways to be social with others. This is also an opportunity to explain healthy (3 feet or more) boundaries to kids. The best program for your child will reiterate the safety measures recommended by health officials while still teaching your little one social engagement. Our Fine Arts Club teachers conduct activities that will re-introduce your child to others in a fun and safe environment.

4. Find a classroom structure for your child that will keep your family safe

Finding a learning environment for your child during the pandemic has taken on new meaning and a new set of worries for parents. Programs must now balance the educational, social and emotional needs of their students along with the health and safety of students and staff in the midst of the evolving COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision on what school and learning looks like is usually made on the local level by school boards and government officials. To help keep families safe, our Fine Arts Club divides students and teachers into distinct groups that stay together throughout an entire day during in-person classroom instruction, allowing minimal or no interaction between cohorts. The Fine Arts Club protects these "pods" by encouraging mask wearing during times when social distancing cannot be maintained, practicing personal hygiene at all times, and keeping equipment and supplies disinfected. In the event a student becomes ill or has close contact, we offer virtual learning in the "Live Stream" capacity so that your child never misses out on learning with their friends.

5. Healthy ways for your child to transition during the pandemic

Skilled early care and education providers know how to help children adjust. But in a pandemic, and after long periods without being in care, it may be good to put a little extra support into the transitions.

Parents will need to stay calm and reassuring during transition”using a calm voice, with a relaxed face and body to let their child know that they wouldn't leave them if the child were not safe and protected. And remember that this is a phase”building new relationships is a skill, and with support, children can be resilient. Even if it's hard to separate, they will gain a new trusted relationship with their new teacher and feel more secure.

Here are ways our Fine Arts Club helps families with the transition:

• Provide virtual connections with parents, such as video calls and phone meetings. Connecting parents to other parents to learn about the program and share their experiences.
• Create virtual tours so that parents can see the facility and classrooms and imagine what it would be like for their child to attend. We allow visitors who are fully vaccinated or masked to attend performances and offer virtual access to those that are not.
• We encourage in-person meetings in masks to let children meet the teacher and other children before starting the program.
• We create a daily structure and routines to help children learn what to expect.
• We share information with parents of returning children about how daily routines might be different because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how to help prepare their child for any changes.
• We provide frequent communication to parents about their children's time in the program.

Remember your child's learning years are short. Don't let the opportunity for your child to grow in a healthy learning program pass them by! We want all of our young students to have the confidence and strength to do great things in life. The benefits they gain at South Coast Conservatory will last a lifetime. Enroll your child today and experience the many benefits of our Fine Arts Club.

At South Coast Conservatory we CHANGE LIVES THROUGH DANCE!

Laguna Niguel, CA