As we adjust to changes in our lifestyles due to COVID-19, social distancing, and daycare closures, we need to look for ways to keep children active and engaged. With that in mind, The BP’s office has put together a list of resources that can help.
KEEP A SCHEDULE —Sudden changes can be a source of stress for both you and your child. Writing out a schedule and having clear expectations of day-to-day activities can ease anxiety.
- Scheduling times for play, lunch, schoolwork
GET ACTIVE –Children who are active are happier, sleep better. and are better able to maintain a healthy weight. Active children are also less likely to develop diabetes and heart disease when they are older. • Have a mini dance party!
- Go for walks, but keep your distance
- Walks with young children are also a great time to practice counting, grouping, and identifying shapes and colors
- Contact-free play (no games of tag or team sports while you’re practicing social distancing)
GET CREATIVE –Any form of tactile learning is essential for a child’s growth in physical abilities, cognitive and language skills, and even social and emotional development.
- Turn recycled items into arts and crafts!
- Bake together
- Make your own Play-Doh
HAVE DAILY STORY TIME –Read daily and discuss what you’ve read together. Reading to your children for at least 30 minutes a day will expand their vocabularies and help them better understand the world.
USE DEVICES TO KEEP IN TOUCH –Allow children to keep in touch with their friends and extended family through social media and video chat platforms. Social distancing doesn’t have to mean social isolation.
RESOURCES
- Local Public Media Channels to Broadcast Educational Content for Pre-K to 12th Grade
- 125 Ideas to Keep Kids Entertained During the Coronavirus Crisis
- 18 Tips On How To Cope With Children During Quarantine
- Toddler Exercise: 5 Tips to Get Moving!
- The Importance of Reading to Your Children
Do not have Wifi? Spectrum offers free access to internet and WiFi for 60-days for new subscribers with students in grades Pre-K to 12, college students and teacher households who don’t currently have internet or WiFi service. They will waive any installation or pre-payment fees to help get you started.
Here’s a curated list of supplemental learning tools and online activities to keep your child’s mind active and engaged while continuing their studies from home!- Kiki McKnight
Resources for Preschoolers, Pre-K and Kindergarten
Circle Time Fun offers interactive activities such as yoga, cooking and singalong for children ages 0 – 6. FREE
Josh Gad, who voices Olaf on Frozen, reads bedtime stories on Twitter FREE
While parents are juggling their work, homeschooling their kids, and keeping up with housework, there’s little time to focus on fun activities for young ones, so Brooklyn Public Library is hosting virtual Yoga for Toddlers, yoga classes for 18-36 month olds to keep the whole family active.
Resources for grades 1-4
America’s Test Kitchen offers fun, colorful and interactive cooking videos for kids FREE
Home Safari Facebook Live each weekday at 3pm where we will highlight one of our amazing animals and include an activity you can do from home. FREE
Starfall.com is a great online resource that helps pre-K to 3rd grade students with language arts and math lessons. It also offers a parent-teacher resource center for free, downloadable worksheets and more
Rove the Cove. You can access Lesson one here, and Lesson two here.
Resources for grades 5-8
With Google Arts and Culture, children Learn something new every day– the best stories and featured content curated by experts FREE. Google has teamed up with over 500 museums and galleries around the world to bring everyone virtual tours and online exhibits. So while your students are at home, they can still take a virtual field trip to some of the most famous museums across the world.
Fun Brain is designed for pre-K to 8th grade students to explore topics in math and reading through fun videos and games
With National Geographic Kids, all ages can enjoy a ton of activities including science experiments, and more to keep them busy.
Teaching History for middle school students
The Awesome Oyster. You can access Lesson one here and Lesson two here.
Resources for grades 9-12
Desmos Digital math activities
Flocabulary Vocabulary, literature videos and grammar set to rap music
Math Planet Free online high school Math curriculum and resources
MoMA Learning Modules on different genres + a study guide for AP Art History
Teaching History Learning modules, quizzes, video and lessons
Sustainable Landscapes. You can access Lesson one here and Lesson two here.
Resources for All Ages
Audible by Amazon has hundreds of titles available completely free for as long as schools are closed. The collection has been handpicked by editors and is a mix of stories to entertain, engage, and inform young people, ages 0–18. These stories offer a screen-free option that may help break up the day for families with students home from school.
Duolingo is a free online learning tool that helps you learn a foreign language in 36 languages.
Google Earth has a list of virtual tours of national parks
Homeschool curated a list of 150+ educational shows on Netflix. The list is broken out by various categories including Mystery, Food Nutrition/Health, History, Space, Documentaries and more.
These activities offered by The Kennedy Center feature Mo Willems, an award-winning children’s book illustrator and author. Learners worldwide can draw, doodle and explore new ways of writing by visiting Mo’s studio virtually once a day for the next few weeks. FREE
At Out School, students can explore fun, social, and safe learning experiences—taught over live video chat. 10,000+ classes led by qualified teachers. Learn from home for as low as $5/class.
PBS Kids is a great online learning option for K-12 students who love interactive content, including sing-along videos, TV series, games, virtual lessons and more. You can also download their PBS Kids Video app for live-tv streaming.
Scholastic Learn at Home offers day-by-day resources to keep children reading, thinking, learning and growing. FREE
Virtual Field Trips
Visit sites virtually – from zoos to museums
EarthHow
EarthHow is a team of Earth Science evangelists who are passionate about all aspects of learning. The focus is on being clear, concise, and comprehensive with a range of infographics, guides, and lists.
Content curation by Sonya Magett.
BK Reader would like to thank the Coronavirus Community Solutions, a coalition of residents, educators, parents and professionals committed to identifying, sharing and updating Covid-19 relief resources, in effort to make sure Central Brooklyn residents are connected, safe, healthy and informed. If you have a link or resource you’d like to add to any of these directories, please email to covid19@bkreader.com! Thank you, and stay healthy, sheltered and safe!
This coverage of coronavirus is a special to BK Reader. We are asking for your help in keeping our coverage and database current with any helpful references and news tips. Please send all tips to covid19@bkreader.com. With your help, Brooklyn will emerge stronger and more unified as a borough. Thank you.