Whether because of health or financial reasons, many parents are unable to keep their children in early learning programs during the current COVID crisis. Parents are worried about their children falling behind developmentally and academically, and face the additional stress of trying to teach their children at home. This can be incredibly difficult, as many families are juggling work schedules or just don’t have the understanding of what types of activities will help their little ones develop and learn.
During this challenging time, you can continue to be a valuable source of support and guidance for the families in your program, even while their children are unable to be there with you. The list below includes a variety of resources and activities that you can share with parents to help their children learn from home.
Rather than risk overwhelming parents, you might consider adding just one or two resources to each of your program newsletters, or to your email family check-ins. You can also ask parents what kinds of resources they are looking for or what would be helpful to them — and then limit sharing to one or two relevant resources at a time.
Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, an animated program for preschoolers ages 2 to 4 which builds on the pioneering PBS series, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. This series tells its engaging stories about the life of a preschooler using musical strategies grounded in Fred Rogers’ landmark social-emotional curriculum. For more PBS Kids videos, click here.
Circle Time with Ms. Monica, a series of videos from Ms. Monica, who is an early childhood educator with 18 years of experience. Morning Circle Time offers preschool circle time lessons Monday-Friday to bring routine, learning and fun to young children. These videos might also offer educators some inspiration in hosting their own virtual circle time.
Brightly Storytime, full-length children’s picture books read out loud by storyteller, Ms. Linda.
5 Easy In Home Preschool Activities During Social Distancing: A video from Nekole Amber, a conscious parenting coach, speaker, and pediatric occupational therapist specializing in child development, and a certified lactation counselor. The video gives parents ideas for easy-to-set-up activities that parents can enjoy with their little ones at home.
10 Easy Preschool Activities: Fun, simple, entertaining, and inexpensive ways to keep children learning, playing, exploring, and imagining. Each activity uses supplies that many families will already have at home.
Preschool at Home: How to Structure the Day for Toddlers and Preschoolers: An article to help parents learn how to structure the day for toddlers and preschoolers while doing preschool at home, with an emphasis on play as the most important learning tool.
50+ Preschool Activities: A comprehensive list of activities for preschoolers, that emphasize play, hands-on exploration, and opportunities to learn by doing. These include STEM, art, and early literacy activities.
Vroom is a free resource for parents and early learning professionals that shares tips and activity ideas to support learning with little ones, in everyday situations. Vroom offers evidence-based activities to support cognitive, language, and social development that can be integrated into birth-5 caregiving routines.
They also have free, print-at-home idea sheets in 16 languages. In a previous post, Good2Know shared several activity ideas from Vroom. Click here to read the article.
Child Mind Institute Email Subscription offers tips delivered via email about how to support kids during the COVID-19 crisis. Clinicians share advice about structuring days when kids are stuck at home, managing behavior, balancing work and child care, practicing mindfulness, and much more.
In a previous post, Good2Know shared more information about resources available from the Child Mind Institute. Click here to read the article.
Playworks introduces several helpful play-at-home resources, including a Youtube channel with free video tutorials of games that can be played at home with little to no equipment, a printable Play at Home Playbook (available in 7 languages), free virtual recesses live on Facebook three times per day Monday-Friday.
Stay Play Grow is a free app from The Early Learning Lab designed to support parents and caregivers during the coronavirus outbreak and beyond. The app is a one-stop source of trusted resources curated to help families with children 0-5 make the most of their time together. In a previous post, Good2Know shared more information about the app. Click here to read the article.
Stanford Graduate School of Education (GSE) hosts a parent and teacher resource website that is accessible to everyone and is continually updated with GSE-based resources, media, and tips.
Stanford University also hosted a virtual Q&A with Professor Deborah Stipek and early education director Renee Scott, MA ’05, PhD ’12, who answered questions and provided guidance and strategies for parents and caregivers to apply at home with their littlest learners. Click here to watch the webinar on the Stanford GSE YouTube channel.
Self-Care in the Time of Coronavirus from The Child Mind Institute. 5 tips to help parents prioritize their well-being during the pandemic to ensure that they are able to better care for their children.
Mindfulness to Alleviate Stress during COVID-19 from Rise & Shine Children’s National. Activities and tips for practicing mindfulness with the whole family.
Four Things to Do Every Day for Your Mental Health from UC Berkeley’s Greater Good. Make time in your schedule to “move, nourish, connect, and be” as a means of practicing mindfulness and creating structure during times of chaos.
