This year is going to be different. There won’t be shared materials, hugs, or whole group turn-taking. However, we will still learn, have fun, and give lots of air fives! In order to make sure everyone is safe while trying to make our classroom as “normal” as possible, I have found a few things to be helpful. In this post, I will walk you through all the things I have in place to keep my kiddos healthy while still learning.
Classroom Modifications
There is a long list of safety protocols and things we can and can not have in our classroom. We are following the standard mask-wearing, social distancing, and constant sanitization. We have also made lots of modifications to our classroom to promote social distancing and a healthy environment. This includes spacing of tables and chairs, plexiglass partitions, elimination of cloth or hard to sanitize materials, and lots of re-arranging.
Plexiglas partitions:
I am very fortunate in that my district has provided me with Plexiglas dividers for all of my tables. With a few tweaks, we have made them work. I included a DIY version in case you need to make your own.
Each table was assigned a color. I then took pool noodles, made a slit, and inserted them over the edges. This not only helps us identify our tables for group work but also helps prevent us from crashing into them. The amount of times I walked into the plexiglass overhang prior to the pool noodles is very evident when looking at my bruised legs. Then, to continue with the color scheme I used colored painters tape on the top.
My district has various models of these Plexiglas frames. However, our Kidney table did not accommodate them well. The district dividers only allowed for three students to sit at our large Kidney table. To better utilize the table I planned on creating DIY plexiglass partitions. My original plan was to use poster frames. I purchased poster frames from Walmart (linked here) and removed the cardboard/paper insert. I was then left with the plastic and the frame. The poster frame is able to stand on its own but with my kiddos I needed it to be secured. My intention was to build a wooden stand for the Walmart frame. However, before I got to it, my local hardware store finally restocked Plexiglass and the poster frame project was upgraded to real plexiglass. I used the same adhesive clips my district used to hold the plexiglass I purchased in place.
Classroom Arrgangement
Naturally, everything must be six feet apart or at least distanced as much as possible. For the most part, my classroom furniture/equipment remained in the same general area. The only pieces that left our classroom were a few shelves and our sensory table (this one makes me very sad). Any fabric or hard to sanitize materials had to be removed. For stationery items, like our sensory wall, I just covered it with a plastic table cloth.
For whole group instruction, we generally are sitting on the carpet. To ensure social distancing, students are assigned cube chairs (labeled with their picture) that have been spaced 6-3 feet apart. Ideally, all seats would be six feet apart but we just don’t have the square footage for that. Since my students are required to wear masks, they can be within a 3ft range with their masks on. Instead of measuring this out every day, I used painters tape to make an X where each chair goes. We have also used painters tape throughout the classroom to designate certain zones/boundries.
Cohort Groups and Individualisation
Everything must be arranged to avoid contact as much as possible. For things such as art supplies and task boxes, this is very doable. Students have their own individualized boxes. For other items, such as center materials, there are not enough materials to give each student their own bin. Therefore, students have been divided into cohort groups (red and blue group). There are bins in each center labeled for the corresponding groups. The bins contain allowed materials (all cardboard blocks and costumes had to go) for the related center. Some bins, like housekeeping and blocks, have bins inside of bins. Everything has been labeled to the max with visuals and student pictures. It is going to take a lot of prompting and teacher monitoring to acclimate students to this new system, but it’s we need to keep our kiddos safe.
Sanitation Station
This is going to be the year of cleaning. All of the disinfecting in my classroom falls on me. We do not have an extra cleaning crew coming in. Thankfully, my district has supplied us with disinfecting wipes and spray. Ideally, everything can be wiped or sprayed down immediately after each use. Realistically, we are not going to get to everything as promptly as we would like to. Therefore, we have bins labeled “DIRTY” that we can toss any item that needs to be sanitized and do it later in the day. If the item is to large, for example, a chair or a larger bin, we can stick a dirty label on it using a glue dot. I got these labels from Especially SPED with Miss Chyna linked HERE. The germ juice labels I have used for years and are from Ms. M’s Reading Resources linked HERE