In her kindergarten classroom, Nancy Burt guides her young charges, some of whom have spent the better part of a year learning on a computer screen, to hold a pencil. She points to the left foot and then the right foot when it’s time for them to change into outdoor shoes. And two months into the school year, she still reminds them to stay in line as they walk down the hallways of her school in Kitchener, Ont.
As the pandemic upended life in Canada, thousands of children, mostly in the younger grades, did not show up either in person or online for the last academic year. Others spent formative years of schooling on a computer screen. Now, as many of them return to classrooms, educators have seen a marked difference in the social and emotional skills of these youngsters – and are faced with the challenge of bringing them up to speed.
“There’s no question that this year, because of the impact of COVID-19 and youngsters who have not been in school, that it has required that extra care and that extra time and attention to help youngsters adjust to the new space,” he said. In Ontario, the largest number of students who did not show up last year were in junior kindergarten. Ms. Martyn said educators are telling her that senior kindergarten students need help to put on their coats or to follow words in a book with their fingers.
Ms. Shawky’s son, Adam, who started junior kindergarten this fall, is excited to be at school. “But he doesn’t have a lot of people skills. He does not know how to play with other kids. He’s learning as he goes,” she said.
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