Hello Friends!
I just wanted to wish all of my mommy and daddy clients and friends well as we all work together to figure out the next several weeks.
Beyond trying to continue on with our own schedules and meeting our deadlines, I know we also have the added responsibility of continuing education for our children. (If we did not already, this is when we will REALLY FOR REAL appreciate our teachers! We love and appreciate our Ms. Ps!!!)
I have been working on a daily schedule, figuring out where and when each person will be and what they will be doing. I am sure many things will be adjusted tonight; we are already 7 minutes behind! (If you are looking for an example of general daily activities, here’s a good one: https://wideopenschool.org/).
With kids at 2 different grade levels, I found some educational websites that would apply to both my kiddos and thought I would share.
Online Learning Tools
Exercise
https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga
General Academics
https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html - A short lesson divided by grade and day.
https://mysteryscience.com/school-closure-planning?fbclid=IwAR04JJkVH_aHV4-U2K0Jvl_AgeYiJk16p_qEFeA7KqlV0yK81gSiR7yXjYY - One of my kids’ favorites! Videos that teach and asks questions.
https://go.brainpop.com/COVID19?utm_source=covidhub&utm_medium=hero&utm_campaign=coronavirus&utm_content=free-access - Watch videos and take quizzes on a vast number of subjects.
Art
https://cassiestephens.blogspot.com/ - From what I can tell, Cassie wears crazy colorful and creative clothes that she handmade and teaches art to kids in a really positive way. She’s awesome.
https://www.youtube.com/user/ArtforKidsHub - We used to have family art night following Rob and his talented kids’ videos.
https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/mo-willems - Mo Willems (creator of Elephant and Piggie books) talks about his process in drawing his characters, shows his sketches, and then does a quick drawing exercise. There is a lot of talking so if your child loses interest quickly, I would recommend sticking with Cassie, above, for art.
Math
https://www.khanacademy.org/ - Math is presented in a game-like format, making it fun for kids to solve math problems. The site also includes other subjects.
https://www.openmiddle.com/ - “Challenging math problems worth solving.”
Reading
https://www.storylineonline.net/library/ - “Streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations.”
https://www.commonlit.org/en/texts - For advanced readers, “CommonLit is a free collection of fiction and nonfiction for 3rd-12th grade[rs].”
Printable Lesson Plans and Worksheets
General Academics
https://www.superteacherworksheets.com/
Art
https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans
Math
https://m.k5learning.com/free-math-worksheets
Music
http://www.opusmusicworksheets.com/worksheets-for-the-young-child/
Reading
https://www.rhteacherslibrarians.com/resources/
Thanks to Angela, Emily, Pam, Dave, Kendra, and Annie for your ideas.
And, because I know I will need lots of help keeping perspective throughout all of this, a website with stretches for parents (https://darebee.com/) and a live view of the squids at the Monterey Bay Aquarium (https://laughingsquid.com/live-video-streams-from-monterey-bay-aquarium/). If you want a real workout, https://watch.lesmillsondemand.com/free-content.
I tend to worry maybe slightly more than the average person, so writing things down and trying to be organized helps me. I hope this helps you a bit as well!
I am grateful that work closures do not mean we can’t afford to eat. I am grateful that we have the resources to continue to help our children learn. I am grateful that we are healthy and safe.
As a teacher friend of mine wrote, “Be forgiving of your kids and yourselves (and teachers). You won’t (can’t) get everything done all the time... and it’s okay.” Thanks, Dave.
Be well, friends!
Sincerely, Lena