For roughly a year and a half, we have been faced with the existence of the covid-19 pandemic which has forced us to change our routine and our habits along with the basic aspects of our daily activities. We had become more accustomed to working or studying from home, there was a big campaign on its importance and even until today, the campaign is still being spread everywhere to lessen chances of covid-19 transmission or spread. But recently the government released statements that schools will go back to normal. The Ministry of Education and Culture set that schools are to officially reopen this year, following the covid-19 development and condition. This decision is based on the successful trials over the past couple of months on several public schools.

Having been accustomed to online learning within the safety of our own homes, how are we supposed to transition back to normal learning while leaving our children to fend for themselves during school hours?

This article serves to provide several tips to help prepare yourselves on what to do before regular school begins in less than a month.

1. Research about new regulations
   Each school has their own sets of regulations and this also goes to different areas or districts. Although the government has already stated a pretty comprehensive set of rules for schools to follow, it is always a good thing to go to the specifics and find out whether or not your district has any extra rules or even exempt some of the rules.

2. Practice health protocols with your children
   While older children might be aware of the health protocols that are currently implemented, younger children might not be so privy to the information. This is why practice could be a good thing as they would not be dependent on being reminded by others to stay safe. Even around the house, teach your children to wash their hands as much as needed, remind them to sanitize their working space prior to any other activities, and let them be accustomed to bringing their own hand sanitizers. Fun tip : provide your children with cute sanitary equipment (fun hand sanitizer case, colourful masks, character themed cutleries, etc.) to encourage them to obey health protocols on their own.

3. Go over regulations with your children
   Children would either ignore rules completely or they would obey them down to the T., either one would still require the child to be knowledgeable about said rules, however.  This requires the help from parents, though. When teaching or going over rules with your children, try to give them understanding as to why they should do what they were told to do. Some children do require knowledge of the reasoning behind their action as it helps them feel like they are contributing to something big or it could help them realize that what they are doing is actually for something good. Allow your children to ask as many questions about what to do as they want as the situation that they think of might actually happen. A simple tip is to roleplay situations where your children are required to implement the protocols and give them praise for doing it correctly.