Families can only handle one day at a time, and they need encouragement. Each week we post “feel good” messages at our drop-off doors and in our weekly messages to parents. They appreciate our commitment to connect with them, and they’ve shared thanks and encouragement back to us at morning drop offs, through email, and at our socially distanced outdoor Thanksgiving food collection event and holiday sing-along.

We want to lessen the burden families feel about learning at home and share lots of different options that encourage their children to wonder, create, explore, and notice things in their home environments and communities. Our teachers are constantly sharing the importance and value of child play, self-directedness, and process vs. product so families know that learning happens through all multi-sensory experiences.

—Susan Borst, director of The Ark Children’s Center in Olney, Maryland

Patience! Flexibility!

We have to be patient with families and listen to them as they make decisions and work through the systems we developed and changed to create a safe environment. We have to be patient with children as they adapt to changes in the classroom environment, to new drop-off procedures, and to the fact that their families can’t come into the classroom with them. We have to be patient with staff as they adapt to new cleaning procedures and routines.

I’ve always enjoyed the part of this job that made each day different, and now flexibility is key. We have to change things weekly—or daily—to create a safer environment for our children and families, sometimes adjusting rules we have had for a long time to help meet families’ needs. We have to be able to communicate those changes and the reasons for them so families understand.

—Holle A. Brambrick, M.Ed., director at Lakewood Child Care Center, Lakewood, Ohio

March 2020 was the beginning of a new era for our families, children, colleagues, and friends. As our jobs moved from a socially driven environment to an isolated virtual setting, early childhood educators faced the challenge of how to creatively support children and families as they adapted to this change. We created virtual meetings, tours, and peer-learning communities that allowed our families to connect and stay hopeful during a time of uncertainty. 

Let us not underestimate our inner strengths that surface during times of tribulation. We have survival skills that we were never aware we had before the pandemic. Supporting families and children during this time opened my eyes to how resilient, creative, and strong we really are.

—Nagwa Elsamra, technical assistance supervisor for Grow NJ Kids at the Central Jersey Family Health Consortium

Personal contact is key. Emails or letters aren’t enough. We need to see and hear each other. Families get anxious or worried if more than two weeks pass between seeing and hearing from each other. We’ve continued to find ways to connect with families and to have a variety of staff, including our school psychologist, available for families as well as children. Families are worried about the future and its uncertainty. And we’re honest—we don’t know what the future will bring. But we do know that teachers will do everything they can to ensure that children are protected and loved.

—Mary Beth Hilborn, director of early education at Hawken School in the Cleveland, Ohio, area

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Supporting teachers, children, and families during these unprecedented times requires the same qualities and considerations that a normal school year requires. The only difference is the magnitude. This year requires more patience, more empathy, more flexibility than ever before. 

Every school year has its surprises. This year, every day is a new challenge. As a school-based administrator, I have learned to double down on the basics: focus on relationship-building, and establish trust. Robust relationships provide a solid foundation for whatever comes next. When asked to make huge pivots, I have found that individuals who have positive relationships within the school community are able to adjust more easily. Just like any other year—we nourish the school by nourishing the people.

—Melanie Muskin, education director at Brooklyn Schoolhouse in New York

We’ve always known how important it is to make connections with our students and their families. Whether masked or unmasked, on the computer or not, it’s at the core of what we do. Children are adaptive, but they can be a little more fluid, a little more adaptive than we might have expected as long as they have made connections. Change is manageable when they have supporting adults that they have a connection with.

—Melissa Smith, teacher in a multi-aged, kindergarten-first grade classroom at Hawken School in the Cleveland, Ohio, area

Early on, we knew our in-person professional learning workshops were no longer going to be possible. So, what to do? As a team, we began ideating from a place of optimism. We believed that we, and the educators we serve, could (and would) adapt. With this grounding belief guiding us, we met the challenge of providing our professional learning in a virtual setting. 

First, we needed to repurpose and redesign. In-person workshops became eWorkshops. In-person group and station work became virtual professional learning community sessions. We developed prerecorded videos and presented live webinars. Rooms once filled with chart paper and active participants became lively discussion forums and Padlet entries. 

Additionally, it became essential to create spaces for clear, two-way communication. During live webinars, we used continuous chat check-ins, quick polls, ongoing pauses for questions, and open invitations to stay on afterwards to address any individual questions or concerns. We hosted office hours; sent syllabi, announcements, and reminders; and kept an open invitation to contact us.

As we engage in professional learning with early childhood educators across the country, we expect the unexpected. Technology hiccups will occur. Children will ask questions of their family members while we engage in an eWorkshop. Pets will make an appearance. Knowing how flexible and hardworking our participants are keeps us centered on being present for them and expressing our gratitude for all they do.

—Lorena Mancilla, PhD, director of WIDA Early Years, housed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Patricia Blanco, professional learning specialist at WIDA

Change occurs often in our field, whether it’s a change in classroom settings, staffing, students, or a shift in mindset based on updated research and what we define as developmentally appropriate practice. Change can be healthy, enlightening, and refreshing. However, are we always ready for it? 

With COVID-19, change occurred abruptly and is still evolving. As I discover the challenges that lie beneath my own journey in accepting change, I keep in mind ways I can support my staff as well as the center. As a team, we created different platforms to help our early childhood educators stay up to date with new guidelines. We developed monthly trainings and meetings that focused on how to prepare for next steps. 

Teachers and colleagues have risen to the occasion. Professional development became the focus during the early stages of the shutdown. Now we’re focused on implementation and taking action. However, it is essential to keep in mind the human part of what is happening. Staying connected to the world and how it affects us in different ways has become part of our responsibility. Even though we cannot stop progressing professionally, we must acknowledge the emotional toll this pandemic has had on us.

— Nagwa Elsamra, technical assistance supervisor for Grow NJ Kids at the Central Jersey Family Health Consortium

Every teacher is different, and all our teachers need different types of supports so they’re able to do the job and have a positive outcome. As a director, I clearly communicate why we are doing something or why we are changing something. I listen to the teachers and take their concerns into account when making a decision. 

In normal times, we support our teachers and appreciate all they do because we expect a lot out of them. Now, with cleaning and adjusting schedules, we’re expecting even more, and that means we have to listen even more. It’s important for me to take the time to talk to each teacher. I have to be understanding of their situations and adapt as needed. Also, thanking them for the smallest thing is important. I don’t just assume they know I appreciate them helping me out each afternoon.

—Holle A. Brambrick, M.Ed., director at Lakewood Child Care Center, Lakewood, Ohio

Just as staff are excellent at loving and meeting the developmental needs of children each moment of each day, administrators need to love and meet the needs of their staffs through intentional daily practices. It’s important to vision together, to unpack health and safety practices, and to welcome questions and listen to concerns. Transparency, attention to details, and following through with an agreed-upon plan will make or break the working relationships and effectiveness of your team.  

I started this school year completely differently with staff when we went to in-person instruction in November. Our set-up time doubled in both hours and days, so staff could build relationships with each other and so our administrative team could respond to families before our doors opened. We had brief meetings each day about staff arrival procedures, room arrangements, ways to social distance, cleaning routines, and health and safety protocol agreements. This gave my staff time to hear, reflect, and ask questions. Teachers needed time to adjust to our new routines because everything from dismissal, teaching hours, and cleaning procedures was unfamiliar. I had to model every minute of the day, so the changes became natural and expected.

—Susan Borst, director of The Ark Children’s Center in Olney, Maryland

With virtual learning, families get to see what’s happening in our homes. It takes away the impression that teachers only exist at school. There’s a deeper understanding of each other’s situations.

—Sara Milbourn, early childhood teacher at Hawken School in the Cleveland, Ohio, area

As a school-based administrator, I relish my role as a coach and mentor. In a typical school year, I plan meticulously for teacher professional development. Unfortunately, I often ignore my own. 

This year has been different. The pandemic has pushed me to focus on my own professional growth. I attend weekly networking meetings with other early childhood directors; I participate in local advocacy groups; I watch webinars to stay up to date on new protocols, scientific discoveries, and ways to improve our school community. Moving forward, I hope to maintain these habits as they make me a stronger leader.

—Melanie Muskin, education director at Brooklyn Schoolhouse in New York

Remote learning has provided a lot of intimate connections that we didn’t expect. We get to see the pond near a child’s home or a family’s pet bunny that makes an appearance during a virtual meeting. We always hear about these things, but now we actually get to see them. It’s a different level of connection, and it’s been a wonderful silver lining. Relationships are vital, and this has added a deeper layer.

We’ve also discovered that we can do hard things. As the world has turned upside down, both children and adults are doing things that challenge them. Whether it’s opening a bag of Goldfish or solving technology issues, we’ve learned that when we take a breath, we can persevere. We’re practiced in “I can do hard things.”

—Maryscott Pietrafese, teacher at Hawken School in the Cleveland, Ohio, area

The realization that we can handle and embrace change is empowering. Our “brain growth” has been tremendous! When we shut down at the onset of COVID, we developed new platforms for a virtual distanced-learning experience. That resulted in a web page that will serve us well into the future. We also shifted to a management platform to help align the many different programs we now have to maintain and sustain. 

Once we returned to in-person learning in November, we started transforming our outdoor spaces into new learning possibilities. Children love this open-ended learning time where they can wonder, engage, create, think, and be inspired by themselves and others. Daily outdoor time on our covered patio allows for exploring nature and social distancing in the outdoors.

—Susan Borst, director of The Ark Children’s Center in Olney, Maryland

Deep dives into child-driven projects are a large part of our school year. With more time and space this year because of our altered schedule, we’re less busy with transitions and therefore able to spend more time in the classroom with our students. With this gift of extra time, we’ve given ourselves permission to spend it digging even deeper into projects, including our cross-curriculum focus on the idea of “stretch.” We have challenged the children to extend their thinking, using their new understanding of the word "stretch" to explore how the forest may teach us to live, love, and grow together. During our forest explorations, the children had the time they desired to play, explore, engage, and ask questions. They moved big logs, built bridges, slid down muddy slopes, investigated animal tracks, looked under rocks, hunted for fungus . . . the list goes on. They had the opportunity to dive deep, get dirty, and explore. On many days we ended up eating lunch outside because we didn’t have to rush indoors for a scheduled mealtime. The gift of time provided the children the opportunity to explore, which gave them the ability to ask more questions and make deeper connections.

I also believe that as a community of educators and learners, we share grace and forgiveness more often. We know we’re asking children to mingle with uncertainty. We know there will be bumps, and we give our children as well as ourselves space to work through the bumps, at our own pace.

—Melissa Smith, teacher in a multi-aged, kindergarten-first grade classroom at Hawken School in the Cleveland, Ohio, area

We have learned how adaptable our children are to the changes we have made. They are resilient! After 11 weeks at home, almost all our children came back happy and ready to play. They took the changes in stride and learned new routines quickly.

The teachers and administrators have learned that we’re resilient too! We learned that we can come up with a plan and follow it through. We can adapt to change and welcome new ideas to help with the process.

—Holle A. Brambrick, MEd, director at Lakewood Child Care Center, Lakewood, Ohio

We’ve rediscovered the joy of being together—both in school and at home. Families have had the opportunity to discover things about their children and connect with them in ways they may not have before. As teachers, we’re experiencing a different relationship with families. They have a new respect for what we do, and our partnership has shifted. We’ve developed the trust that’s necessary to allow each other into our different worlds. 

Through this pandemic, we’ve also discovered how young children—even toddlers—thrive on being independent. The children were at home for such a long period of time leading up to the start of our in-person instruction. Because of this, we expected more separation anxiety, and we prepared for this possibility. What transpired was quite the opposite. Our children just seemed happy and ready to be at school. 

This really made us think about how children love their independence. They can do hard things. For example, I watched a kindergartner one morning during arrival time. She was walking in, carrying all of her school supplies in her arms because backpacks weren’t allowed under our new safety protocols. Things were dropping along the way. When she saw me, she said with a smile, “Well, this is life without a backpack.” Children can laugh in the midst of doing hard things, as long as they know someone cares for them.

—Mary Beth Hilborn, director of early education at Hawken School in the Cleveland, Ohio, area

I remember the day I found out we were starting remote work. I was in a never-ending supermarket line, had been working two jobs, and needed to go home to make dinner for my four beautiful children (two of whom are younger than 5). My life was an ongoing rollercoaster, and it was very difficult to imagine it coming to a complete stop. There was no “silver lining” in sight at that point. 

But a few weeks in, I came across a quote from Brene Brown, from her book Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead: “Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.” The “silver lining” here was that I was not alone. The families, early childhood educators, my colleagues, and of course my own family were all feeling a level of vulnerability as our new norm. We had our fears, we had doubts, but we were and still are doing it all together. We managed to create new ideas, trainings, and opportunities. As a team, we kept each other motivated and saw glimpses of our personal lives captured on camera as we discussed curriculum, quality improvement, and staff professional development. The “silver lining” was how we were able to allow ourselves to be courageous during a time of difficulty and loss. We connected on a level that we could not have connected on before these changes. We shed tears and laughs; most importantly, we adapted and embraced our new norm in a deeper way.

—Nagwa Elsamra, technical assistance supervisor for Grow NJ Kids at the Central Jersey Family Health Consortium

 To all the teachers out there: I see you. The sacrifices you make every day are real. Remember that the service you provide is priceless. Children adore you. Families need you. Advocate for yourself. If there is something that you need to make your job a little easier, ask for it. Your health and well-being matter.

To all the families out there: I see you. The sacrifices you make every day are real. Remember that teachers are your allies. They love your children. Together, you can partner to cultivate a positive learning experience despite the wider context in which we are all living. Young children are resilient. Regardless of what happens this school year, your child can still thrive.

—Melanie Muskin, education director at Brooklyn Schoolhouse in New York

Model imperfection and have a sense of humor! It lightens the mood for everyone in your company.  And remember that children have incredible resilience, and they readily adjust to returning to school. They want to be at school, in the company of friends, and they are open to all possibilities (including wearing masks and maintaining socially distanced spaces) if it means they can play with friends. They also take seriously their role in keeping others safe, and they understand when schools need to be closed.

—Susan Borst, director of The Ark Children’s Center in Olney, Maryland 

Be confident that the choices you are making are the best for you and your family. There is no right answer to the pandemic. Each day is going to be different, and you want to be able to look back and say, “I did the best I could with the information I had at that time.”

—Holle A. Brambrick, MEd, director at Lakewood Child Care Center, Lakewood, Ohio

We need to reframe our worries and fears into possibilities and opportunities. We need to take steps toward hope and positivity in order to grow and flourish. My advice is to focus on the open doors ahead of us rather than look back at what has passed. The closed doors in our lives can weigh us down and block us from seeing the open doors that give us the ability to stay creative and present. 

Our children are the future. We play a role in molding how this pandemic will influence them as they get older. Supporting our children emotionally and helping them cope with changes can empower them to overcome challenges. For teachers, do not stop growing and seeking professional development. Focus on the future and how you can creatively support the children. They need you.

—Nagwa Elsamra, technical assistance supervisor for Grow NJ Kids at the Central Jersey Family Health Consortium

Child care has been a big issue for toddlers and their families during this pandemic. Families haven’t been sure what early childhood education should look like. What’s too much? What’s too little? With remote learning, families worry when their children are not engaging fully or don’t want to participate. We continue to let them know that it’s okay. We (as teachers) are here, and we’re offering remote learning, but there are other options to engage and learn. Children don’t have to engage with all of the options all of the time.

—Jennifer Eshleman, early childhood classroom teacher at Hawken School in the Cleveland, Ohio, area

We’ve seen how happy children are just being together. Their relationships, even with safety protocols, have been more intimate. We adults were so worried about masks and emotions—whether children would be negatively impacted because of masks covering our facial expressions. But we found that children began to watch our eyes and could discern the feelings being conveyed.

—Mary Beth Hilborn, director of early education at Hawken School in the Cleveland, Ohio, area

Rituals have power. How do you get ready for school in the morning? How do you go to bed at night? Rituals help children know what to expect. They give parents confidence. Rituals don’t have to be grand, but they are powerful. It’s important to keep rituals in place as we continue to face uncertainty and “new normals.”

—Maryscott Pietrafese, teacher at Hawken School in the Cleveland, Ohio, area