Hello,
These times can be challenging and confusing dealing with COVID and following guidelines.
I think it is great that you plan to spend more outdoor time. Children naturally will want to explore and socialize. The best we can do is make sure to maintain a clean and sanitized environment. Create activities that limit amount of children at a time, you can provide the same activity if there is enough materials. The outdoor environment doesn't have to be focused only in gross motor skills, it can include areas that children would normally do inside. Thus, preventing children running and playing so close together whether you require a mask or no mask. Hope that helps, good luck!
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Alicia Renteria-Davliatov
Long Beach CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-06-2021 04:45 PM
From: Barbara Teva
Subject: Masking outdoors
I am struggling with how to best keep our unvaccinated preschoolers safe this year (as well as our fully vaccinated staff, given Delta). The current guidance in CT is that masks are required indoors but not outdoors. As we did last year, we plan to spend the first two months of school entirely outdoors, and all teachers are vaccinated. However, with the Delta variant affecting children in ways that they were not affected last year, I'm concerned that we should be masking outdoors as well.
Last year, I began the year trying to distance the children, then realized that that was both futile and went against most of what EC education is about. After a few weeks, the mask mandate came into effect, and I required masks inside and outside. We are a small, part-time preschool with one class of 15 students, 3 staff.
How are other preschool programs approaching outdoor masking? Are you worried that infection could spread, even in the safest place (outdoors), given that children run and play so close together?
Please share thoughts and practices.
Bobbi Teva
Sunny Hill Preschool
Portland, CT