Well we had our, now usual, Monday morning of fetching the online grocery shopping and yet again we were met by store colleague Mark (affectionately we call him Marky Mark) who had all our shopping ready and waiting to load into the car.
Back home to unload the car, wipe everything down, get rid of as much packaging as possible before putting it all away; and in record time today!
Although I am not contracted to work Mondays I have throughout the day been checking and dealing with emails and also reading the number of government documents that have been produced in regard to schools re-opening early in June. And I will admit that at various points throughout the afternoon I have been heard to say, with a heavy dose of sarcasm, 'really!'. Reading statements like;
'Children who have had limited opportunities for exercise should be encouraged to exert themselves physically, making use of supervised non-touch running games within their group'
So very young children are to run around getting sweaty and breathing heavily on each other, but not touch anything or anyone and not play with anyone that belongs to another 'group' of children. All children will need to be split into small groups with a designated staff member and that grouping of children and staff cannot change and cannot mix. I can see this being a tad difficult to explain to children that they can't play with their friends because they are not in the same group.
'For younger children, the resources made available for child-initiated learning shoud be carefully considered. For example, malleable resources, such as play dough, should not be shared and consideration should be given to their safe use, depending on circumstances'
We are also being asked not to have soft furnishings, soft toys, avoid water play and sand play and toys with intricate surfaces...so that's a pretty hefty chunk of our activities just pushed to one side!
'Resources for activities such as painting, sticking, cutting, small world play, indoor and outdoor construction activities should be washed before and after use and where possible, children should be discouraged from sharing these.'
We all know children struggle to share toys at the best of times but it is something as skilled practitioners that we do try to teach our very young children but now we have to tell them NOT to share, which goes against everything they are normally taught. But young children will still grab toys and try and get the toy they want off the child that has it...that's just children!
'Children should be taught to wash their hands frequently, but particularly after using wheeled bikes, trikes and other large, movable toys. Children should be encouraged where possible not to touch their faces or to put objects in their mouths. Sharing stories, singing and playing outdoor games will help all children to socialise and resettle into familiar everyday classroom routines.'
'Children should be taught to wash their hands frequently, but particularly after using wheeled bikes, trikes and other large, movable toys. Children should be encouraged where possible not to touch their faces or to put objects in their mouths. Sharing stories, singing and playing outdoor games will help all children to socialise and resettle into familiar everyday classroom routines.'
So children should not touch their face or put things in their mouths...we are talking about very young children who do this sort of thing (and worse) all of the time! We have to deal with snotty noses, drooling, picking of noses, coughing without using their hands (or elbows) and more gross unhygienic instances every day and I can't see that changing overnight. I had to raise a smile at the suggestion of singing; now this is something that we love to do but as droplets of the virus can spread much further with singing and shouting perhaps we shouldn't be advocating this?
Perhaps we should let the children in, sit them down 2 metres apart and find very quiet and non-tactile activities for them to do...mmm can't see that happening!
Oh and while all that is happening I need to make sure that my staff keep 2 metres apart from each other and they will not be allowed to spend time together in a confined space! ARGH!!!
And breathe...
The rest of the day has seen Simon very busy constructing some more of his mouse droid; lots of sanding, measuring, taping, gluing and screwing bits into place! We managed a new walk this afternoon walking about 3 miles in an hour, discovering new footpaths that we weren't aware of. And it was lovely to see not quite so many people out and about today but everyone we came into contact with was very considerate and very polite and we even had a lovely conversation with another couple as we tried to help them decide which path to take!
Hope everyone is taking care, stay safe.
xx
No comments:
Post a Comment