Celia Klemp enjoys a little time in the special seating area in Renee Larson’s first-grade classroom. In order to stay safe in the time of COVID, Larson has gotten creative with the option, allowing her students to make towel forts at the end of a long school day.
Getting creative in the classroom during COVID 19
By Megan Molseed
mmolseed@thefayettecountyunion.com
It’s easy to feel at home in Renee Larson’s first-grade classroom on NFV’s Valley Campus.
Decorated almost entirely in hues of browns and creams with hints of greens and pops of orange scattered around the room, there is a sort of homey comfort to the grade school classroom.
Larson’s own easy-going and friendly nature adds to the aura, as the energetic teacher always has a smile on her face, ready to break out in song, sit on the floor with her pupils, or even act out one of her class’s favorite story books.
Looking at Larson’s students feeling so at home in Mrs. Larson’s room, it is almost hard to believe that we are in the middle of a pandemic that has changed classrooms, and school days, across the country.
Save for a few telling clues such as the masks on the children’s faces hooked to lanyards, Larson’s own PPE, or the bare spots that once held some of the longtime teacher’s “special seats,” this classroom seems like any other classroom that has ever existed pre-pandemic.
“It’s definitely different,” the young teacher said as she guided her students to the hand washing station right after a recent assembly. “We’ve made a lot of adjustments, but it seems to be going really well so far.”
While making adjustments to her classroom amid the COVID-19 pandemic have made the beginning of the school year a little more challenging for the instructor, she is just happy to be back in the classroom with students.
“I was sad to not get to finish the year in person with my students last year,” Larson said of the abrupt end to the previous school year. “I sent the students a lot of mail and delivered materials to their doorsteps.”
“The other first-grade teacher and I worked together to come up with a plan, making welcome videos each week,” she continued of how she and her colleague kept her classes going through a variety of distance learning techniques with unique themes and a variety of Google Meet sessions. “I would make all the literacy videos and she made all the math videos.”
While making the distance learning fun worked well for the creative teacher, she was ready to get back into her room, face to face with her students as the 2020-2021 school year began.
“I'm so glad to be back in person with students!” Larson exclaimed, adding that while she is excited to be back, this year is looking a little different than any of her classrooms in her 15 years of teaching had in the past.
“In the past, I've had lots of ‘special seats’ that we would share or take turns with such as bean bags, or rugs, and a lot of extras in my classroom such as lamps, end tables to make it homier,” she said.
“I did some adjusting and limiting of things but overall am happy with how my room turned out and it still is homey,” Larson continued with a smile. “We do still have ‘special seats’ but they are just on the carpet and spaced out 6 ft. apart around the whole room, and each child goes to the same one each time rather than having that free choice.”
While she has made her room compatible with COVID-19 related safety and social distancing guidelines, Larson also tries to stay creative to mix up the day for her students.
“We've had to get creative with some of our team building type things and take those activities outside but that makes it even better,” she smiled. “I also had all the kiddos bring a beach towel from home that we use when we take our learning activities outside for fun too!”
Larson is also using her own home experiences to help her prepare for the new school year.
“With my own boys, my oldest does best with the disposable masks since he has glasses, and my youngest does best with the cloth,” she said. “I make sure they each have masks ready each day with a lanyard so when they do get to take it off it doesn't go far!”
Even though Larson’s students do provide their own masks, she has made sure that each one has a lanyard to make sure no masks are lost. She also has a stockpile of extra masks just in case.
“My students provide their own masks, but I do have disposable ones on hand if need be and a church has donated extra cloth masks now too,” she said with a smile. “I did get lanyards for my class to use and that has been a lifesaver! The kiddos are doing great bringing them back and forth each day!”
According to Larson, the daily schedule has been different from the past, but its something she and her students are quickly adjusting to.
“The kiddos are adjusting to air-high-fives and hugs,” she smiled. “Plus they actually really love eating in the classroom and having the specials teachers come to us!”
Cleaning is another component that has become more of a focus for Larson’s school day.
“Our schedule has more cleaning built in since we eat in our rooms, we wash our desks before and after we eat,” she said.
“We've always washed our hands at arrival, and before and after we eat, but now we are sanitizing more too,” she said. “For instance, if a child comes to work with me one on one at my table they sanitize before and after and then I sanitize the spot they were at and any materials.”
Her student’s morning routines have changed as well.
“We've also changed our morning ‘tub time,’” she said. “It used to be with shared manipulatives as the kiddos came in the door, this year they each have their own bag of materials that they keep for a week, then I sanitize and change to a new manipulative for the following week.”
In the classroom, students and teachers are required to wear a mask, but Larson makes sure her students have moments to take off the protective gear throughout the school day.
“We have built mask-breaks into our schedule by taking more learning outside, and also using our designated measured out spots around the room,” she said.
“The kiddos are really doing great with it all, especially now that isn't quite so hot,” she added. “They are really adjusting well.”
