"My biggest concern is teachers needing to balance the importance of safety procedures with creating a welcoming and loving environment for our students."  That's what one Texas Pre-K teacher told KQED, a California PBS station. In a national news report by author Suzanne Bouffard*, early educators share their thinking about adapting such staples as circle time and morning meeting when schools reopen. And then there are the issues of communicating when facial expressions are hidden by masks. One idea: deliberately intensifying the use of visual cues, like sign language, to complement verbal communications.

Creating an emotionally safe environment should also be a top priority, says a Michigan principal. She encourages educators to support children when they struggle to follow health guidelines, not punish them. With strict behavior standards in place--e.g., rules for how to walk through the halls safely--"Educators must do everything they can to make young children feel like school is a positive and loving place." 

A Brooklyn Kindergarten teacher is "beefing up" family outreach to compensate for the fact that parents aren't allowed in her public school these days. She and her colleagues are holding one-on-one video calls to check in and offer support.

"It remains to be seen when classrooms in New York and around the country will actually open, and what they will look like when they do, writes Bouffard. "Fortunately, teachers of young children are used to being creative and adjusting on the fly."

*Bouffard is the author of The Most Important Year: Pre-kindergarten and the Future of our Children.