Survival Strategies for Quarantine Day 3

Good morning and happy Friday. We did it! Week one of no school with everyone at home is officially behind us. And while I imagine there have been a lot of conversations with children about why they are at home, what COVID-19 is, how it is impacting our lives, and all that we can do to stay safe, this super quick video (just 1:29 minutes long!) provides some great guidance on how to talk with children about the Coronavirus and the uncertainty it is creating in our lives. My favorite takeaway is the importance of encouraging children to ask questions that are meaningful to them, as our perspective is so different than theirs! Older children might also appreciate this easily accessible comic on the virus from NPR.

 We also still have space in next week's workshops and we'd love to have your child join us. The drop in story time sessions have been lovely so far, and I'm sure the classes will offer an even more stimulating experience and a refreshing social escape. You can learn more about the offerings and sign up here. 

Today's tip: 

Given that we are all stuck inside, yet there are so many places we'd rather be, why not take a virtual escape to an amazing national park? At the Hidden Worlds of the National Parks, students can take a guided journey with a park ranger through Alaska's Kenai Fjords, the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, Bryce Canyon in Utah, Hawaii's volcanoes, or the Dry Tortugas in Florida. After being cooped up, the amazing views and magical encounters with nature offer a refreshing (imaginary) escape. 


After the adventure, kids can complete one of the following off-screen activities:
 

• Create a drawing or painting that shows their favorite part of the adventure

• Create a model of the park

• Put together a travel brochure about the park. This could be very simple for younger students (think a picture, the name of the park, names and/or drawings of animals or plants that are there), or a more advanced research project for middle schoolers.

• Draw an imaginary map of the park

• Tell you about everything they learned!

Survival Strategies for Quarantine Day 2

Good morning! We've made it to another day. While it is only Thursday, and the weekend will only bring the relief of childcare without work on top, we've got to celebrate the little things. And to make next week a bit easier than this one, we have a great line up of workshops to keep your kids busy beginning on Monday! In addition to a free story time at 9:00am and 4:00pm daily, we also have amazing offerings that are sure to keep your children thinking new and interesting thoughts.

Today's tip: 

There are so many math games that can be played with a deck of cards, and kids can never get enough practice with their math facts and basic arithmetic. Here are printable directions for a few great ones you can play with your kids, or that they can play together, but click the link for many more suggestions. Just one game a day will help to solidify important math facts in a super fun way, but I'm pretty certain they'll want to play even more.

Survival Strategies for Quarantine Day 1

Given the unprecedented disruption to schools in these strange times, families face a new challenge – how do you keep kids happy and engaged when they are stuck inside all day?! Given our expertise in all things education and learning, we've created this daily newsletter to offer quick tips and share resources for you to prevent learning loss, encourage productive distractions from the crisis, and help your child continue to develop and grow while stuck at home.

We know this won't be easy, but we are here to help!

With that in mind, we will also be updating the site daily with a wide range of creative, educational, online workshops for students of all ages.  From a free daily Story Time at 9:00am and 4:00pm, to writing, acting, math classes, and so much more, we are tapping into the vast pool of diverse talents at Smarten Up to create workshops that will keep students engaged with and excited about learning.   

Newsela is a news aggregator that curates high interest articles for students - this means that its staff gathers articles from news sources across the web, and then adjusts the reading level to make them accessible to students of all ages. While articles are organized by topic, there are also wonderful Text Sets that enable children to explore a specific area of interest with guidance. Plus, kids can annotate as they read and work through related comprehension activities as well. Newsela makes current events accessible to children, no matter their age or reading level, which should lead to some interesting dinner conversations for all!