Social distancing is just wrong in early childhood. You know it. I know it. But what if you are mandated to do it?
Recently, I was on a Zoom call, and an educator told us about her colleagues who had made taped squares in their rooms. In those squares they put a chair with a plastic box of materials to play with. I nearly jumped through the Zoom screen. “Are you kidding me?!”
Children deserve better from us than this. I get it. It is hard. But taped squares? Are we that limited on creativity?
It is time to be WARRIORS of Wonder, my friends. The children are calling our names and it is time to step up and deliver WONDER, no matter the circumstance. NO TAPED BOXES. How would you feel? One of my mottos around anything I do and provide for children: How would I feel if this were being offered to me? I will forever be in gratitude to the Reggio Emilia Approach for the truth that children are full citizens NOW. Not at 18 years old. Now.
How can we bring joy and wonder in social distancing? The reduction of materials?
- Be innovative with how you establish isolation areas. Look for materials outside of our industry.
- Stop thinking “isolation space” and start thinking “play invitation.”
- Engage with what you set up. Sit down on the ground and play with your play invitation. How does it feel? How can you make it even more wonder-filled?
IDEAS I HAVE HAD:
OIL DRIP PANS
Oil drip pans are a staple in my classroom. These are so versatile and economical to buy. They are great for magnet play. AND they are big and offer amazing wonder-filled spaces for play!
Look at the way the oil pan provides a little reflective quality. Doesn't this feel better than a taped square? Oh my gosh! We should outlaw taped squares. Children deserve more than that.
Need block materials that can be cleaned? I love translucent plastic cups in bright joyful colors. They come small as shot glasses, in fluted shapes and even jumbo size!
BOOT TRAYS
I have always used boot trays to set up small worlds. And now, they make amazing isolated play spaces. Boot trays come in so many different styles – from copper to sturdy molded plastic. They are made to endure the wear and tear of daily use.
When you think “play invitation” instead of “isolation area”, the possibilities open up! Bring your A-game! Be a Warrior of Wonder!
You can even use a boot tray or oil pan for two children by putting a child at each end. This allows for socializing.
You can set up any play invitation on a boot tray or oil pan – even dramatic play!
BATH MATS
Bath mats are another incredible play surface that often gets overlooked. For infants and toddlers, it provides a wonderful change of texture and tactile experience. It is another great way to establish play areas.
Bath mats are super easy to clean, roll up, and store. You can often find them at very economical prices.
Just like the oil pans and boot trays – you can use bath mats anywhere in the classroom you need to establish a safe play space.
Remember – early childhood educators teach for the child, not the circumstance.
You got this!
Thank you, my feelings exactly. Individual tape squares feel like isolation and prison NOT protection. I love these ideas and rich photos.
My heart breaks when I hear stories like these! It is time to innovate!!
Thanks, Sally for great ideas
Love all of these ideas!
Well I’m here to say that everyone has an opinion. My personal opinion is that we all work in a different manner we all teach in a different fashion whether it be oil pans whether it be bathmats whether it is tape squares. We are all here for the children as you have said and I don’t think you should discourage anybody from trying to use six distance separating due to this pandemic. Children are more resilient than adults children do not react they love playing and being with other children. Unless you can honestly say that one way of teaching is better than the other way. I’m sure that seasoned teachers are able to make their classroom just as inviting as it was before this pandemic.
Please read my entire article! This is all about how to social distance if you are mandated to do so. There are 10s of thousands of educators who have no choice. Do we suggest they quit their jobs? I support all educators no matter the circumstance. I am not advocating for anything other than be innovative. This is not a time for being oppositional. It is a time for support and understanding. I believe children should be social and play. And COVID has taken that away for many educators. I AM HERE FOR THE CHILDREN NOT MY IDEALS! I will support those in oppressive circumstances. The children deserve that quite frankly.
These are all wonderful ideas to keep our littles happy and connected. Pandemic or not.
This is a very useful and supportive document full of great ideas on how to present aesthetically pleasing and inviting provocations for children. This offers a great opportunity to self reflect and to re evaluate our learning environments. Thanks for the ideas, guidance and support Sally.
You are so welcome! The third teacher can be transformed to meet the needs of the times!
I useyoga mats of different colors and i made tri fold dividers with windows i use tape on tables to help define ppersonal space i use towels under water buckets….its all about the visual to help them remember social distntancing for me.
Great tips! Thank you so much for sharing! Visual cues are so important!
I love the reframe of invitations instead of isolation. Children deserve so much more than some are being offered. Thank you for these wonder-ful ideas and the rich photos. Thankfully we are outside and not required to distance.
I agree! And I am so happy you get to be outside and not social distance!
I love these ideas. I use something similar for individualized sand play where they have their own box for sand and manipulatives. Afterwards, I keep their own sand in a ziplock bag, wash their box and manipulative toys.
My question about the stations you have is do you allow more than 1 child use a station? How and when do you sanitize each station?
At this school, they are using the family pod system so things are not sanitized until after the children go home.
Great post! My heart breaks when I see taped squares or classrooms where children are seated at tables with dividers between them. This has so many beautiful invitations that still allow for some distancing if needed but allows for that all important interaction
Yes! I am shocked at the lack of considering how it would feel to a child. We owe it to children to bring our A-game!
These are wonderful ideas. As someone who works with pre-service and in-service teachers, I worry for all the PreK kids sitting at desks most of their day (Yes! Can you believe it…. desks!!!!!!) I feel like we’re going backwards or down a deep hole. Your ideas give me hope that creative teachers can continue to do what’s best for children during these trying times.
Oh my gosh! Desks?!! Not okay! It is a call to innovate and pivot towards WONDER for children. They deserve our very best!
Thanks Sally for always sharing such a great pieces of ideas where children can play and engage themselves fully with joy without feeling restrictness for this COVID19!
Yes! The children need us to step up!
How can we socially distance partner reading? Desperate for help with this?
Great question! I am going to think on it. Not sure but where there is a will – there’s a way!
Thank You so much for the ideas. As a Pre-K teacher I am trying my best to introduce loose parts to my families, and the majority are trying and enjoying it. It’s when my Admin is asking for Evidence of Learning on worksheets, that’s where I have a BIG problem. Still working on it and appreciate your support. A huge Fan of Fairy Dust.
Oh my gosh! My passion is proving the power of what we do! I will do some blogging it! Stay tuned!
Thank you Sally for reawakening our imaginations. Where do you get drip pans or boot items??
You can find oil drip pans in auto supply shops, Walmarts, and Amazon! You can find boot trays through Amazon as well!
You may also get the metal trays at dollar tree’s baking section.
Great tip! thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for this reminder! I Wish I had revisited this sight months ago when I quit my early childhood career of 22 years due to the limitations of what we could and could not do. Makes me hopeful and happy to see such great activities and ideas!!!
Kudos!!!
Thank you Sally. What children need has not changed and neither has our role as the educator. Thinking outside of the box is key. I enjoy wandering through hardware stores to see how I can use unconventional materials in a new way. Your oil drip pans, boot & floor mats are such a good example of this.
YES!! I am the same! Hardware stores are gold mines! Especially the discount aisle!
Carpet remnant squares work wonderfully too!
Great tip! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for keeping me inspired! I try to reimagine teaching every day. I love your ideas. Please keep them coming.
Yes! We have to find Wonder in whatever circumstance we find ourselves! More is coming!
Love your play invitation ideas. They are similar to what we use in our Montessori classroom. Especially love the idea using bath mats for the babies.
Yes! The Montessori tradition is so full of inspiration and for this time.
Thank you Sally! I’ve used trays before but the size of the oil pan & boot tray is very roomy. As I was looking I also found pet mats, a silicone base, which was very reasonable$$. Thank you for your continued inspiration – the photos really amplify the simplicity and workability. Warm & friendly over cold and drab taped off areas by far!
Yes! What a great find! We have to be creative and look out side the box to make these crazy times not kill the passion and purpose of our work!
Unfortunately the kindergarten children in my class can only play at their desks. They are not allowed to play on the floor and the only furniture in my room is desks in rows with plexiglass shields. Any suggestions?
This is so sad. I will put this on my blogging list. There are things you can do. We must rise above the constraints and bring wonder – no matter the circumstance! I will get ideas for you!! Stay tuned!
Can desks be turned into personalized spaces? I would have decorated mine with pastures full of horses of all colors and shapes and sizes. Someone else might have thought about how a desk can be a rocket or a pirate ship or ?? (but work with custodial staff who may be required to clean & sanitize certain parts of the surfaces so that they can do their work and not damage children’s work)
Absolutely! I think we have to think outside the box to fin the best way to bring wonder despite the constraints.
Hello Sally, it was nice to able to communicate with you. Than you very much fpr these valuable recommendations for the children.
Oh my gosh! I need you all so much in these uncertain times. It is life giving to me. It means so much if it even helps one educator. Big hugs!
I noticed you are still using many wooden/natural materials. How are these being kept clean?
In this school – they clean nightly. I think it is a school by school decision on what cleaning protocols are used.
Thank you to all for the comments. I feel accepting only one way and rejecting another is not truly being pluralistic and all ideas whether tape or a oil dripping tray as long as the goal is same it can all be useful. Lets be open minded instead of being pedantic.
Good ideas. I have been using trays combined with hand washing between activities. The kiddos are so good about hand washing. I like the drip pan idea.
We can’t have carpet as it is not cleanable, but I find the floor is cold and the children keep spinning during story time. I have taped shapes to the floor to keep them distanced and we have been encouraging them to share their books with each other from this distance. Your ideas made me wonder if placemats would work instead of carpet squares. They could easily be washed each day.
I think placemats are an amazing resource! Great idea!
Good morning and thank you for the wonderful ideas and beautiful photos. I wanted to respectfully suggest that we use the term “physical distancing” rather than social distancing. I know that term comes from those in the medical and government fields. I just think that we need to get the message out that we can still be social even as we are physically distancing. Does that make sense? Thank you!
Yes! Totally makes sense and I love that wording! Thank you for sharing. It is brilliant!
It looks and sounds very Montessori. In a Montessori classroom individual trays of work are set up for children to independently choose. Rugs that are about the size of a bath mat are available for children to set out and bring work/play/toys/materials to. Pre-Covid children would have 1 or 2 to a rug, for sharing or experiencing alone.
Yes! Montessori is a huge inspiration in this for me.
Thank you for the great ideas! I purchased shower mats at a dollar store months back. The children love them! Some teachers may have financial limitations with no budget or ability to purchase supplies like the ones mentioned here. Many schools are struggling financially (even with grants) due to covid supply costs, lower enrollment and the need to maintain staff. We’re all doing the best we can during this trying time and as long as the children are happy and learning;it’s all good.
I like the selection of items used. In Montessori we use the cotton rugs but these options are easy to clean. Thanks for the great ideas.
Oh my gosh! Montessori rugs are such an inspiration for this!
I am literally in the midst of creating a PD on this exact topic: Supporting Social Interactions and Cooperative Play in Times of Physical Distancing. My colleague and I decide to use invitations as the place we would start and created session 1 already in a series of 3 – I opened up your article today and it is exactly what we are doing! I was so happy to feel validated that we have other information to provide to our participants, thank you!
It is always amazing to me how there are waves of similar thinking that emerge in our field.
Thank you for all your great ideas! I really need to be in touch with other teachers at this crazy time! I don´t have problems with the social distance, it is accepted that with small children it is impossible to do it, but we have problems with what they call “Covid symptoms” A simple running nose and we need to send the child home. Is it like this in other schools?
What a great ideas. I like to use frames to offer children their own space for their artistic expression especially when they are working with loose parts and sometimes they have mirrors, they love them.
So, do you tape these items to the floor? How do you ensure they are staying distanced while playing if you don’t have the squares marking the space? I thank the Lord daily that I’m not required to enforce social distancing, just encourage it. I work with the littlest ones and there would be no way to keep them apart using these choices. They know they have to sit apart from their friends and cannot lay beside each other. The infant requires a barrier, but space where he can still see and interact with others.
I must honestly say what great ideas! This post so innovative and helpful for the Early Childhood educators. It gives me lot of ideas like how can I create an creative as well as joyful environment for children even in this pandemic situation. Further, I want to include that, We must not limit children’s play and expectations.
Agreed!
Hi Sally,
Thank you for your wonder-ful post! When setting up your station ( i.e. the first photo above) do you put out a different set of things for each child or only one set per child but each person has something different? I think it makes sense to have different materials available for each child ( after observation) but now I’m facing the challenge of them wanting to explore other’s materials because they don’t have the same thing. I would love to have a mini atelier available for each child’s individual work area as well.
Bring the wonder! Educators are meant to wonder right along with children in every situation. New challenges demand creativity, and this will never let us down. Be ready to make mistakes, as well as be surprised. Stay connected through curiosity always, even from a distance.
I am thinking about a collaborative mural station, where one child is allowed at a time. Markers, crayons and loose parts are put out to glue onto the sheet, and see what happens? Perhaps each mural could be connected to a story that is told, so the children can work together to put down their impressions.