Our entire family, and not just our daughter, had an absolutely amazing 3-year experience at G&B…read more However, my review will not be focused on the earlier part of these three years and how our daughter thrived during this time and how great the school's staff and curriculum is, but about the school since shelter in place.
Just two days after the entire city was put on lockdown, G&B immediately got to rolling out Zoom sessions multiple times a day so that the children could continue interacting with their teachers and peers should families choose to do so. Some families attended all sessions, some families attended none, but the sessions were available to everyone. Activities included in the Zoom sessions were story telling, art projects, yoga, music and movement, interactive numbers, letters, and color lessons, gathering time, birthday celebrations, etc. There was a lot of trial and error as to what worked and what did not work, and the school, teachers, and parents all kept an open dialog during all of this.
I'll be perfectly honest about the Zoom sessions. Each session was an extra to-do item we had to add to our daily task list and balance against our work schedules. One of us would need to be available to log our daughter on, troubleshoot technical difficulties, or be involved to assist with more complex art projects. The flip side was that the sessions gave our daughter a sense of normalcy, which we felt was really important during this time, and I think it eliminated any potential separation anxiety she would have experienced upon her return to school had she not been engaged in the Zoom sessions. This may or may not have been the case for every family but it was certainly true for our family.
Once childcare institutions received the green light to open back up, G&B spent a few weeks before opening back up again to ensure that the school would be able to safely adhere to all the health regulations and that the staff would be well informed and prepared to come back to school. I was extremely surprised at how there was virtually no complaining by my 5 year old with having to keep a mask on all day and I believe it has everything to do with how the school and the teachers promoted being safe, staying healthy, and listening to and following rules with the children.
For families who had the ability or capacity to keep their children at home or who could not risk sending their children to school, the school kept up the Zoom sessions so that the children who could not physically attend were still able to connect with their teachers and peers.
With both my husband and I having to be fully "on" for our jobs since SIP began, not having to also focus on childcare during the day was not a decision we made lightly but it was a huge reprieve for us. G&B has been extremely supportive to all the families in all ways imaginable in this very trying time. As if we didn't have enough good things to say about the school pre-COVID, we can now also talk about how well G&B has managed through the pandemic.
One objective we had not set out to achieve when we first started at G&B three years ago was to have our daughter be ready for attending school amidst the pandemic. It wasn't until today that I realized how well G&B has positioned our daughter for this. I'm not too concerned over online sessions with her kindergarten teacher and peers because this has been the way of life for her for three of the past months. If at any point, she will get to enter school grounds, she will have no trouble attending school all day with a mask on while practicing good hygiene. Our daughter is now fully prepared to enter kindergarten, and during the pandemic no less, all thanks to G&B.
