Resources
Arts
Baby Snake Claymation
Cute claymation about a baby snake that turns out to just be a worm
Community Music Center
CMC Kids LIVE is a free, family-friendly music-making experience for kids ages 0–7 every Thursday from 10-10:30am on Facebook.
Dr. Seuss' "Fox in Sox" read as a fun rap!
Foster + Partners: City Building Templates
An architectural firm in England, Foster + Partners, has been releasing downloadable templates for children to print, cut, and dream up their own cities!
Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems
Why Dance is Important
Chores
Chores at RHS
In the RHS classroom children practice many responsibilities daily such as pouring back their own glitter (using a folded paper mat), cleaning up their toys with a partner, picking up and throwing away their own paper scraps after cutting practice, sweeping the deck, raking the sand, and folding their rest blanket daily. These responsibilities develop fine and gross motor coordination. These routine activities give students daily lessons in community care as well as feelings of achievement for a job well done.
Teacher tips: use specific labeled praise to notice parts of activities you like to see as they are accomplished as opposed to waiting until the end. Looking for what to say? Description of the activity is the key.
Nice work collecting your t-shirt from the hamper!
I like how you are carefully using your hands to smooth the t-shirt.
Make it a game by turning a clean up activity into a race or timed activity. Encourage the activity with high fives, hugs, and channeling the enthusiasm of a cheerleader! Teachers use these tricks everyday in the classroom and research shows they work to shape desired behavior at school and at home.
Link to 12 Free Printable Chore Charts for Kids
Age Appropriate Chores for Young Children through Teenagers
Chores and Children
Divide and Conquer Household Chores
Happy Children Do Chores
How To Get Your Kids To Do Chores (Without Resenting It)
Learning
Audible Littlest Listeners
Audible is offering free children's audio books which include many cultural and musical titles.
Explore Livecams
Live webcams at wildlife reserves, sanctuaries, and so much more around the world!
Free Ebook Library through Oxford Reading Tree
Includes material for varying reading levels, and fun skill building activities
IXL
Many RHS families that have older siblings will likely already have experience with the trusted academic program IXL through their grammar school. There is a strong pre-kindergarten section that will appeal to 3-5+ years olds.
Join Dr. Jane for a virtual reading of 'Chimpanzee Family'!
Teacher Bonnie recommends: Join Dr. Jane for a virtual reading of 'Chimpanzee Family'! This book provides an intimate portrait of a group of chimpanzees. Follow along as Jane takes you into their lives and you learn more about this incredible species.
PORTS: Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students
The California State Park's Online Resources for Teachers and Students program provides free virtual field trips and at-home learning programs daily.California State Parks is now broadcasting their PORTS Home Learning Programs from locations across California. Students learning from home will be able to access our precious natural resources and cultural heritage from the comfort of their own home. See program calendar and register for free K-12 programs (the 9am one is recommended, as it's for K-2nd Grade). There is a 500 person limit for the 9 am lessons, so sign up early to get a spot!
Skybrary (extensive and well curated educational videos and interactive books)
An additional resource and a blast from the past for any parents who remember Reading Rainbow:
Skybrary has extensive and well curated educational videos and interactive books.
Vooks
A streaming service for books--keep your little ones entertained with some educational screen time! Vooks combines story animation, on-screen read along text, and paced audio to encourage vocabulary growth and development. Vooks also has a large library available with their subscription service that includes additional resources for extended learning at home!
Social and Emotional
Agonizing Over Screen Time? Follow the Three C’s
Teacher Kate: "As an educator, family therapist, and parent of a 3 and 6 year old during “CV” (as we now call it in our house) I am thinking a lot about screen use and the various effects for children and adults in the house. This balanced article speaks to what many experts in the field recommend."
Anti-Racism For Kids 101: Starting To Talk About Race
Learning about the tenets of Social Justice cannot start early enough. Here you will find books for preschool on up to support your family’s learning journey and dialogue processes at home.
CNN and 'Sesame Street' to host a town hall addressing racism
"It’s normal to get flustered when our children talk about race. But if we let nervousness keep us silent and still, our fear becomes a weapon.”
Coviewing is the secret to learning from Sesame Street
Note from Kate: "While we as very busy parents during sheltering in place can not watch all educational videos with our children at all times do know that popping in for a few minutes can support learning”. Research has found that when parents watch media alongside their child, the child is energized in their learning. This is attributed to Gavirel Salomon from the University of Haifa. Click the link to read more on this and a few other interesting facts about Sesame Street.
Dave the Dog is Worried About Coronavirus
This afternoon we have a wonderful resource to help you talk with your child about Coronavirus: Dave the Dog is Worried About Coronavirus.
## How the Pandemic Can Teach Kids About Compassion
"If we offer children warmth and tenderness when their routines are turned upside down, we can soothe them in their own time of need. Parents can extend compassion by making space to help their children become better aware of and process their feelings. Acknowledging and being sensitive to our children’s emotions can act as a salve and help them to see that this moment of hardship will eventually pass."
How School Closures Can Strengthen Your Family
Online Teaching Resources for Teachers and Families -- Common Sense Media
Wide Open School is a free collection of the best online learning experiences for kids curated by the editors at Common Sense. There is so much good happening, and we are here to gather great stuff and organize it so teachers and families can easily find it and plan each day.
Parents, You Don’t Always Need to Entertain Your Kids – Boredom is Good for Them
For this next resource take a moment to think about what you feel when you hear your child exclaim that they are “bored” or that something they are doing is “boring”. At times parents might feel this is the most overused word in a child’s vocabulary. This next article digs into the specific and significant benefits of experiencing and overcoming boredom when it comes up.
Fun Family Meetings, A How To Guide from Kate
Family Meetings can be practiced as a weekly ritual ie every Saturday and/or can be utilized in the moment to set the stage for greater family understanding and to bring in desired change. As we are all spending more time together, and on top of one another, I thought it could be useful to share this now:
This weekend my sweet Alex asked (in a demanding voice) for more toast with a full piece of toast already happily sitting on her plate. As this seems to happen often we decided to start doing something I’ve practiced with families for years:
It was time for our family to start a regular practice of the Fun Family Meeting.
As we called the meeting to order we began with a festive drumroll. “Drumroll please!” picture: all hands on the kitchen table creating a rousing rumble.
We set the rules: a. discuss the issue (taking turns). b. brainstorm proposed solutions (all ideas are given airtime even if silly). c. set the new family rule
Note: when children are little parents, after listening to all the ideas, usually choose the solution to set as the new family rule. When kids are being flexible and/or developmentally ready families will often move to a vote model whenever appropriate.
End each meeting with a round robin share of something each person appreciates about the other family members (sometimes families start with this to increase the good feelings to help the brainstorming flow). Parents lead and model this by starting.
Close with touch, a hug, or high fives or whatever your family creates.
Not surprisingly we set the family rule that we will not ask for more until that thing is already finished ;)
If you feel a practice like this could be useful in your home consider creating the rituals around it that would make it special and unique for your family. Such as start with the same song or stretch and end with a silly dance. Make them your own and children generally grow to love the consistency and structure.
Sesame Street's Grover Talking About Coping
NPR's Life Kit podcast has begun making episodes specifically for kids! In this very first kid's episode, the hosts Cody and Anya video chat with Grover from Sesame Street. Grover talks about ways to cope with missing his friends, playing games virtually and non-virtually, and learning to live in the moment. There is a lot of wisdom shared in this podcast that is relevant to all of us, like "it's okay not to know things" and "this is just for now." Turn your senses on and play along with Grover as he plays the just-living-in-the-moment-game and tries to name 5 things that he sees, 4 things he can touch, 3 things he can hear, 2 things he can smell, and one thing he can taste.
Social Justice Books
"It’s normal to get flustered when our children talk about race. But if we let nervousness keep us silent and still, our fear becomes a weapon.”
These Books Can Help You Explain Racism and Protest to Your Kids
Learning about the tenets of Social Justice cannot start early enough. Here you will find books for preschool on up to support your family’s learning journey and dialogue processes at home.
“Three Rs of Social and Emotional” Learning Reflection, Relationships, & Resilience: Mindfulness and Neural Integration
A resource for parents on the brain and regulation: Dr. Siegel on the “Three Rs of Social and Emotional” Learning Reflection, Relationships, & Resilience: Mindfulness and Neural Integration: Daniel Siegel, MD
Turn Toward Your Child to Nurture Intimacy
Dr. John and Julie Gottman's resources including their parenting blog is a treasure trove. Here is a taste: Turn Toward Your Child to Nurture Intimacy by Dr. Laura Markham