In the course of the last several weeks our lives have completely changed. Whether you are working at home attempting to simultaneously parent and home-school or working on the front lines as an essential worker, chances are that you are experiencing (with the rest of the country) waves of stress and uncertainty. As much as we try and shield our children from the current global crisis, the anxiety you may be experiencing will be shared by your family, and thus it’s vital to have a “tool-box” to care for yourself and those you love best.
Like me, I’m sure you’ve been inundated with article after article on self-care, lock-down friendly activities to do with children, homeschooling challenges, and the like. While I think we can all agree the internet has not always been a parent’s best friend, I personally am feeling pretty grateful for the resources it currently offers for parents and educators attempting to keep their children focused, entertained, and productive. Below I’ve assembled a few links I’ve found that I think make excellent tools for the tool-box. Some are on-going community projects, some are educational resources, and some are just fun things for kids and parents to do together during this stressful (but also very sweet) time we have together.
Hello Artists! An evolving Google Doc for all things art-centered. Created by art teacher Mrs. Velazquez who also has a fabulous Instagram with tutorials and projects @MrsVelazquezArt
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EVMQiHHKugF4RQ071DzimkSKn1AuiBNOJ-i6xs1mBts/preview#h
275+ Enrichment Activities for Kids: Fabulous Google spreadsheet with hundreds of links and activities to keep kiddos happy and stimulated. If you are having trouble viewing or sorting the table, go to: http://schoolclosures.org/enrichment
Virtual Fieldtrips: Google Doc that has over thirty virtual fieldtrips to a wonderful variety of places, from Yellowstone National Park to The Louvre in Paris.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SvIdgTx9djKO6SjyvPDsoGlkgE3iExmi3qh2KRRku_w/preview
Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems: Much-loved children’s author Mo Willems has begun a wonderful virtual studio session teaching art lessons for kids (and parents!) which are posted each weekday at 1:00 p.m. ET. A super fun and magical little art lesson with one of the brilliants.
https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/mo-willems/
Scholastic Teaching Support: Easy-to-navigate site for teaching to various grade levels.
https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html
