A recent announcement from Governor Gavin Newsom states that California school campuses in 32 of the counties hardest hit by Covid-19 aren’t likely to reopen at the beginning of the school year. If these counties stat on the watch list when the school year begins, five million students in 685 school districts and 1,131 charter schools will be learning from home.
While school districts, charters and private schools can apply for a waiver that would allow them to reopen elementary schools in person, it is still leaving many parents unsure as to what learning for the kids will look like this Fall, and we want to help.
For the past few years, we have worked from home while raising our families. While both of our older children were in a traditional school setting this last year, the spring school closures encouraged us to tap back into our experience of those initial years of working from home with children and our camp counselor days. As working professionals, we share some of the free resources and practical tips we have used as we plan for the fall and ways to help families overcome missed expectations.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF FREE RESOURCES
One of the most comprehensive and extensive sites we’ve seen for free resources for families comes from Educational Insights. They have a whole section on free summer activities with your kids, printable activities, home’s “cool” videos, at-home schedule ideas, and learning bundles. Educational Insights is devoted to helping parents with at-home learning. Their team compiled their most popular at-home activities by grade for your little learners. Find the grade you’re looking for and let the fun (and learning) begin! Plus we love that they also grouped printable activities by subject like math, science, spelling and such. They also provide links to their sister companies like Learning Resources where we were really impressed with their Ready, Set School. No matter what back-to-school looks like this year, you can get your kids ready to learn with fun, teacher-approved activities! Date the calendar backward from your first day of school to get started, or pick and choose activities to go at your own pace.
Since oftentimes we have to multitask with a conference call, or a zoom interview, proof reader features or editing video, we love the “talking” toys from GeoSafari and Educational Insights. From a high-tech, hands-on, interactive introduction to geography with the GeoSafari Jr. Talking globe to the GeoSafari Jr. Talking Telescope that not only has images of planets, stars and space, but it also has a fact mode and a quiz mode. We love their GeoSafari Jr. Microscope, GeoSafari Jr. SubScope and the GeoSafari Jr. Jungle Crew Lab Set too.
TRAVEL AMERICA THROUGH PAGES: TAKE A CROSS-COUNTRY TRIP
We LOVE to travel. It’s so exciting to experience new places — the mountains, the city, the beach, the desert — and since America is so vast, so much history and adventure can be had exploring the 50 states that create this amazing country. And while there is still a significant risk with travel during this current climate, we turn to some of our favorite Kane Miller books to transport us on a cross-country trip.
From a country being born, to the modern map of America in History Uncovered: The U.S.A. families discover exciting facts and watch the land develop into states though the growing, America-shaped die-cuts. From the original 13 colonies, to the Louisiana Purchase, western expansion to secession and readmission, layer-by-layer you’ll get a firm understanding of the history of the nation from sea to shining sea.
Continuing to look at the country as a whole, Wonders of the USA: A Shine-A-Light Book is a fantastic way to engage your kids while showcasing wonders of the United States. By taking a flashlight and literally holding it up to the pages of the book, you will discover landmarks and natural beauty from coast to coast. Places like the Grand Canyon and Mount Rushmore, to the White House and the Statue of Liberty, our kids so enjoy the interactive element to this series.
While it would take weeks and thousands of miles, with State Capitals you can visit all 50 state capitals at your own speed. From state flags to fascinating facts, landmarks, wildlife, and cultural icons, you’ll love brightly colored maps that even include statistics. This is one book that even us parents couldn’t put down. We kept flipping to all our favorite states to see what actually made the list!
Or you could join the Brum family on their amazing adventure as they tackle 50 States in Every Vehicle! From the ferry in Mississippi to a balloon flight in Ohio, the train in New Hampshire to cycling in California, cable cars in New Mexico to white water rafting in Wyoming, this family drives, flies, sails and races across America. Pack your snacks because you’re in for a treat on this trip of a lifetime!
For elementary kids (more like 4th through 6th grade) Across the USA Activity Book is a great resource. They can draw, sticker, and play their way across the USA. They can bring American history to life through mazes, memory games, charts, facts, statistics and more that engages them and keeps their interest while they are exploring the country. This is great for independent learning too.
A fantastic resource on the Kane Miller website is their TALK, PLAY, TEACH section loaded with tons of FREE learning for families. The PLAY section, brings books to life with coloring pages, word games, crossword puzzles and more! The TALK section helps you start meaningful conversations with book specific discussion questions, and the TEACH section has mini lesson plans, activities, tips and study guides. It’s absolutely worth checking out.
POSITIVE SCREEN TIME
One of the challenges with online learning is that students can become disengaged with wanting to be on the computer after being on Zoom for so long. We also found that as working parents there are often more hours to fill in the at-home school day than the lesson plans provided. It can be so easy to just want to have the kids watch TV and trust us on occasion we let them, but we have found it helpful to find avenues of positive screen time. One of our favorite resources is Play Osmo. It is a STEAM-based app that uses the camera on either your iPad or Fire tablet along with pieces to create interactive games. Each game uses pieces to create a hands-on learning experience. Games range from math and spelling to geography, coding, art and more. Our kids beg to play and we love that they are practicing many of the lessons they would be learning in the classroom. We often use Osmo when we have to do a Zoom meeting, that way they can be doing independent work in the same room. Also for educators and parents trying to figure out ways to review students work, the reflector from Osmo is a great solution. It enables you to watch a student working/writing versus holding it up to the camera. If you are new to Osmo, the Little Genius Kit is a great place to start for ages 3-5 and Genius Kit for 6-10.
We first were researched Osmo when our son was three. We needed something that he could do while mommy tended to the baby. The Little Genius Kit is perfect for younger siblings. Osmo partnered with Marbotic to create four games that help children with pre-reading, storytelling and fine motor development. All of the games are hands-onto spark their imaginations and learn critical skills. Our favorite game is Stories, where you use creativity and critical thinking to problem solve and the characters bring your decisions to life.
LET OUT SOME “STEAM”
One of the foreseeable challenges of online learning is that it can be one-dimensional. With classroom interaction limited to zoom, books and worksheets, it will be important for parents and educators to get creative about ways to help students let out some STEAM! Even in the traditional school setting, there is often not enough budget for STEAM, which is a challenge considering the majority of jobs require some aspect of STEAM-based skills. The encouraging part is that there are many great resources for parents to do simple STEAM activities at-home that will bring those online lessons to life. If you are wondering where to start, Quarto Knows has a STEAM club which sends you four steam books and a science kit every other month. From Adventures in Engineering for Kids to Backward Science and SUPER Science Experiments: Cool Creations, each kit has a theme. Our kids have loved the Animal Exploration Lab for Kids. There are 52 activities that help children learn about the animal kingdom and it is written by Maggie Reinbold Director of Community Engagement at San Diego Zoo Global! The activities are things that you can easily do and there is a lesson, “Science Behind the Fun,” alongside each activity.
TAKE A “FIELD TRIP”
When we think of learning at home sometimes we forget that you can still go outside! Field trips are an important part of hand-on learning but we want to make sure our families stay safe. So first and foremost, mask up! It’s a mandate in most states and we love that with Little Navy we could get personalized masks for our kids. The have different sizes for toddlers through adults and even can make mommy and me or matching. To help our littles keep their masks on, we had matching dresses in the print to make it more fun and stylish.
Whether our kids are running, jumping, splashing in the water, or climbing, they need proper shoes for all their adventures. Our favorite brand is pediped. Their footwear is a smart choice for parents concerned with the long-term development of their kids feet. pediped has been awarded the American Podiatric Medical Association Seal of Acceptance for creating shoes that promote healthy foot development. Plus most styles are machine washable and oh so fashionable!
Protecting our skin is of utmost importance, especially during the hot summers in San Diego. When we’re riding bikes, playing at the beach, or hiking, we’re almost always all wearing coolibar. The brand refuses to settle. They will never skimp on quality and they always test their fabrics for UPF 50+ protection like our life depends on it—because it does. In fact, they are the first sun protective clothing company to receive The Skin Cancer Foundation’s Seal of Recommendation. So we feel confident exploring in the sun all day long.
FUEL UP
“Mom, I’m hungry!” It doesn’t matter if we just sat down or we are ten minutes into a lesson, it never ceases to fail that the kids get so hungry that they cannot possibly do the lesson without a snack. So we have found it helpful to have a little station of snacks handy including water bottles so that we aren’t distracted when we sit down to do our lessons. From fruit and their favorites to a special occasional surprise when they are working hard, we like letting them choose. This can be especially helpful for older kids who might have to sit for an extended time for an online class.
Some of our favorite snack station items in addition to fruits and veggies are Bobo’s Oat Bars and Bites the chocolate chip and peanut butter/jelly stuffed are our favorite flavors and Life’s Grape which are vine dried grapes with no sugar added. We love the snack-size portions of both Bobo’s and Life’s Grape. When you need to hydrate, we like having Lemon Perfect water. It is organic, cold-pressed and full of antioxidants. I like it because my kids think it is lemonade, but it has zero sugar and tons of Vitamin C. If your kids are constantly asking for juice boxes, KOS Green Apple Sorbet and Love You Berry Much Red Juice blend are great alternatives. And the moms and dads of Family Entourage LOVE Kos protein from vanilla and chocolate to peanut butter chocolate, they are all plant-based, GF, DF, vegan and still pack plenty of protein. You can mix them with your favorite fruits and veggies or just shake with ice and water or milk. They are that good. When the pandemic hit I found myself having to make my matcha lattes at home and cannot wait to incorporate Kos Matcha blend into my morning routines.
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We received items for review from Bobo’s, Coolibar, Educational Insights, Kane Miller, Kos, Lemon Perfect Water, Life’s Grape, Little Navy, Play Osmo, Pediped, and Quarto Knows. All of our thoughts and opinions are our own. We use affiliate links.
