Ballinter Montessori School

Covid 19
Parenting and Teaching Preschoolers in
the Era of COVID-19



In a flurry of a few weeks, the arrival of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 have
changed life drastically for most people around the world. Both adults and children
are trying to adjust to a new reality, which involves a lot more staying at home.
If you are a parent or teacher, you may wonder what to expect in the coming
weeks and months. As far as we know, many schools and daycare centers will
remain closed to help slow the spread of the virus.

To support parents and educators, we’ve put together some suggestions about
how to approach everyday life with preschoolers, how to stay healthy, how to talk
with preschoolers about COVID-19, and how to respond to their needs during this
time.



Your preschooler is probably used to daily routines such as going to school,
playdates, or even sports. In order to help your preschooler flourish, try to create a
similar routine at home. It may be tempting to lounge around in pajamas all day.
That’s ok for a day or two!

However, after that, it’s important to create a daily structure such as getting
dressed in the morning, eating meals at a similar time each day, and doing
activities.
A sample routine might be:

• Get up and get dressed
• Have breakfast and brush teeth
• Read books
• Playful educational activity
• Lunch
• Quiet time
• Outdoor time for sports and exercise





If you’re not able to go outside while maintaining a safe distance from others, have
a dance party, follow an exercise video, or try some yoga.
With a routine like this one, you can help give your child a sense of structure.
Children thrive on predictability and need structure to feel secure.
Plus, you’ll find that once your child knows the routine, it will also be easier for you
to find some alone time as well. For example, you might try to schedule work calls
or a few minutes of peace during your child’s quiet time.