Schools across Los Angeles County reopened Monday. It was the first time schools reopened since the deadly fires erupted last week in Southern California. One of the schools that reopened was McKinley Elementary, located in the Southern California city of San Gabriel. But it was not quite back to normal. “Many of the lessons we have designed for these first few days are, you know, to give students time to talk about maybe what type of mood they’re in today,” said Jim Symonds, superintendent for the San Gabriel Unified School District. “What they’re experiencing, how they’re feeling today. And then, of course, taking time to have them share if they’d like to share about their experience over the last few days.” The ongoing Eaton Fire in nearby Altadena forced evacuations for some of the district’s students and teachers and even destroyed their homes. wildfires 3 hours ago Homemade water system helps save family's house during Palisades wildfire California 3 hours ago Californians donate for fire victims in Los Angeles County While schools were back in session across the district, reminders of the loss are just out of the window, the scarred mountain side left behind. Even on the school playground, there’s no escaping talk of the tragedy. “It’s been like kinda scary and it’s like made me and my sister worried. But my parents always assure us that it’s going to be OK,” said fifth grader Ian Jimenez. “Like sometimes, the power turns off too. Sometimes, it’s strong winds. There’s like a bunch of stuff going on all over the news and everything. It’s just like scary.” Mental health experts recommend having honest but age-appropriate conversations with your children, even with kids as young as 2 years old. “Otherwise, children will make up stories about what might be happening and the stories might be scarier than the reality,” said Dr. Karen Rogers, a child psychologist at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. “Listen more than you speak. We want to give children an opportunity to ask questions or talk about whatever is on their mind and we won’t know that unless we’re really prepared to listen to them. Feeling heard is so helpful when you’re going through something difficult.” Rogers and her team offer trauma training to educators across Los Angeles County, including California’s largest school district, the Los Angeles Unified School District, which also welcomed students back on Monday at most of its more than 1,000 schools. But the return is only the beginning of the recovery for students weary of what could come next. In hard-hit areas and neighborhoods that are still under threats, several schools remain closed as districts work to evaluate when it might be safe to finally welcome back students.