For many kids across the country, camp or a return to daycare will be the first time they’ve encountered the new safety protocols for COVID-19. It also may be the first time they’ve socialized in a group setting, having been social distancing at home for the past few months. Even if parents have decided to keep kids home through the summer, they may be looking towards a return to school in September with apprehension. To help understand what kids may go through and how to help them, we spoke to Verna Esposito, the Director at Little Friends Child Care & Early Education in Greenwich, CT which stayed open (after a brief quarantine) through the pandemic. She has been helping kids readjust to the “new normal” for months. While each camp, daycare center, and preschool will follow different specific protocols (both due to local mandates as well as individual choices), her advice provides guidance to any parents thinking about these changes in their child’s lives: