Art project idea resources

Art Project Idea Resources

UKkidswindows - public group on FaceBook for art project ideas

Pinterest - for thousands of project ideas!

YouTube - search for "How to draw a _______ for kids" or "How to make a ________ for kids"

Storytime - part 2

Stories being read to you:

Audible - https://stories.audible.com/start-listen


Eric Carle reads "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"
https://youtu.be/vkYmvxP0AJI


Storyline Online Youtube Channel - Celebrities read picture-books to you!
https://www.youtube.com/user/StorylineOnline/videos


Looking for more?
https://growingbookbybook.com/online-literacy-resources/?fbclid=IwAR16zqopF18haP9fpdgG8eDjO6kvRLS0p8iYZY81mZ3mC7_616w1iQdjo-o

Online Field Trips and Classes for Kids

Many people and organizations are offering unique Field Trips, Classes and resources online for free!  In no particular order:

Marine Biology Camp
https://www.geekwire.com/2020/whale-experts-launch-free-virtual-marine-biology-camp-entertain-inform-kids/?fbclid=IwAR1kMOt4eKPzQcTIMIQsShpolSoSn0E5IxBivpLrfx67WTrOBmrVSfp_-b8&linkId=84964803


Let's Draw a Cat (from "Let's Draw a ____ series on YouTube)
https://youtu.be/X9qVV3uj5MM


NASA's entire media library for free!
https://www.diyphotography.net/nasa-makes-entire-media-library-publicly-accessible-copyright-free/?fbclid=IwAR3J6WkmjwMKMQjpOzehWqD9rPaaY6KCJNHeS7PQgXIOhSNxcz5420vRgDs#disqus_thread


Scholastic Learn at Home website
https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html

Logic Puzzles and Strategy Games - part 1

Have you played "Tic Tac Toe" (aka "Xs and Os" or "Naughts and Crosses") recently?
Do your children know how to play?
Did you know you can take this simple strategy game to many, more challenging levels?

Tic Tac Toe
Level 1 - play the standard game on a 3X3 grid.  Rather than wasting a lot of paper by making large game boards, click below for a printable page with many small grids.  Print on both sides to get even more games on a single page.

Level 2 - try playing on a 4X4 grid or a 5X5 grid.  Is one more satisfying than the other?

Level 3 - 3D Tic Tac Toe!  Imagine a regular 3X3 grid on the table, with another hovering directly over it, and a third hovering directly over that.  Now you can get three in a row vertically as well as horizontally!  It takes some serious thinking to play this one!
You can play this on paper using 3 grids side by side,  imagining their spatial arrangement as top, middle and bottom. 

Tic Tac 15 - Player one can only place even numbers in the grid.  Player two can only use odd numbers.  Win a round by making 3 numbers in a straight line add up to 15!


Tapatan - (like Tic Tac Toe, but even more fun!)
Download a Tapatan board (link below).  They're easy to draw, once you know how.  Each player uses 3 game pieces that can be moved around the board.

The game is played in two parts.  The first part looks just like Tic Tac Toe, trying to get three pieces in a row.  If a player does this, that round is over before you even get to part two!

If part one is a draw, players now take turns sliding one of their pieces along any line to an adjoining empty circle.  The first player to get three in a straight line wins. 

Nine Men's Morris - (a level more advanced than Tapatan, and still fun for Middle-School and Adults!)
Nine Men's Morris was played by knights in castles more than a thousand years ago.  It's a great strategy game with simple rules.
Download board and instructions (link below)

Click here to download game boards from my collection

Make a Family Video!

My friend Bob Dawe, a realtor in Vancouver, recently posted some ideas for families at home.  One of his suggestions was to make a family video together.

When I was young, I remember my sisters playing dress-up, (mostly in parents' old clothes), and making up "plays".  Why not take this a step further?  SmartPhones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers have built-in cameras and video software.

Teens might enjoy making a stop-motion animation video, or writing and recording a Rick-Mercer-style "rant".

Have fun getting creative together!

Word Games

Do you have any word games at home?  Do you remember any that you played as a child?

Board Games / Boxed Games

• Scrabble™
• Jr. Scrabble™
• Boggle™

Word Games using pencil and paper

• Hangman
• Word Searches
• Crossword Puzzles

Word Games - no equipment required

• I Spy With My Little Eye
• Cumulative word games : 
• Player 1 "For the picnic I brought a watermelon."
• Player 2 "For the picnic I brought a watermelon and a cheese sandwich."
• Player 3 "For the picnic I brought a watermelon, a cheese sandwich and a ...."
• (keep going until someone forgets something, have a good laugh, and start a new list!)
• Repetitive chants - Eg. "Going on a Lion Hunt"
• Storytelling chants
• Call and response chants
• Make up a story together - leader says part of a sentence, then lets the next person fill in an important detail and continue the story.  Keep passing it along, and see how the story evolves!
• Places in the world game - Player 1 says the name of any real place in the world.  Player 2 has to use the last letter of that place as the first letter of another place in the world.  Keep going until somebody is stumped!
• Silly sentences - make silly sentences using the same letter to start almost every word in the sentence. 
• Tongue Twisters

Looking for more ideas?  Try:
https://www.todaysparent.com/family/activities/word-games-for-kids/#gallery/9-fun-word-games-for-kids/slide-4

What other word games were fun for you when you were a child?

More Educational Websites & Parent/Teacher Resources

My original post about Educational Websites was posted on March 25th.

Here are some more:

BBC Schools (no longer updated, but still has some great activities!)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/websites/4_11/index.shtml

Enchanted Learning (a goldmine for parents and teachers of elementary/primary school children!)
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/siteindex.shtml

Magic Schoolbus
https://kids.scholastic.com/kids/books/the-magic-school-bus/

Kids.Scholastic.com
https://kids.scholastic.com/kids/home/

Storytime, Middle-School & Teen Fiction Online

Did you know there are many children's storybooks and picture books online?  Many sites are set up to have someone read the story to you while showing the pictures!

Elementary/Primary School:

TumbleBooks
https://www.tumblebooklibrary.com/

StoryLine Online
https://www.storylineonline.net/

CBEebies
https://global.cbeebies.com/



Math stories:

TumbleMath
https://www.tumblemath.com/




For older children & teens:

Teen Book Cloud
https://www.teenbookcloud.com/

Websites - Just for Fun

There are many websites that have been created for children by reputable organizations.  They combine engaging topics, graphics and interactivity to keep children engaged while parents get things done!

PBS Kids
https://pbskids.org/

CBC Kids
https://www.cbc.ca/kidscbc2/explore

CBEebies
https://global.cbeebies.com/

Sesame Street Games
https://www.sesamestreet.org/games

National Geographic Kids
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

Seussville
https://www.seussville.com/



Looking for more great links, curated by the American Library Association?
http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists/ncdm

Card Games

Do you have one or two decks of cards at home?  Did you play any card games with your family when you were growing up? 

Young players:

• Matching games - can you find another card that looks like this?
• Organizing cards - by number, by suit, placing cards in order
• Pairs - all cards spread out face down.  Each player takes their turn turning two cards face-up so everyone can see them.  If they match, that player gets to keep the pair.  If they don't match, replace them face-down where they were before.
• Go Fish! - each player holds 5 cards.  Each player gets to ask one other player if they have a specific number, to match a card the player already has in their hand.  If the other player has it, they hand it over so the asking player has a pair.  (Get a new card from the cards spread face-down on the table to make a "pond".)  If not, the player who was asked says, "Go Fish!", and the asking player takes a card from the "pond".

Elementary/Primary School-aged children

• Rummy
• Crazy Eights
• War
• Mystery number - player one picks up a card without looking at it, and holds that card against their forehead so the other player can see it. Player 2 takes a card from the top of the deck and turns it over.  Addition version - Player 2 announces the total of both cards, and player one must say the number that must be on their forehead.  If correct, they keep both cards.  If not, they return it to the discard pile.  Multiplication version - announce the product of the two numbers.  

Middle-School,  High School, and Adults

• Solitaire
• Double Solitaire
• Canasta
• Mystery Number - Older children can find creative ways to practice bigger numbers; turn two cards over at a time to make 2-digit numbers?

Whatever games you know how to play, consider teaching your children and playing together.  Interested in learning new games?  There are lots of websites to help you learn!

Board Games

This is a great time to dig out the board games you may have at home, and possibly to order some new ones to be delivered (if that's an option).  Board games are great for lots of reasons, because they:

• keep players occupied for a good amount of time
• encourage everyone to learn how to play by the rules
• encourage creative thinking and strategizing
• teach many skills that are built into game playing, including reading, spelling, math, thinking ahead
• help players learn how to win or lose graciously
• sometimes develop cooperation skills between players
• give older children the opportunity to mentor younger children
• can be fun for the whole family

Some board games have a larger amount of random chance during game play, such as Sorry and Snakes & Ladders (aka Chutes and Ladders).

Some board games are suited for younger children, (easy to play, not long to finish each game), such as Candyland.

Some classic board games for two players include Checkers and "Chinese" Checkers and Cribbage.

More advanced strategy board games include Battleship, Chess, Nine Men's Morris (see next post about Strategy Games for details) and Go (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_(game) for more information).

Modern additions to the world of family games abound!  Two of our family favourites are:

Connect Four

Labyrinth (see https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1219/labyrinth for a description and review)

And if you're up for a longer game for older kids and adults, there's always Monopoly!

Whatever you have available, whatever you choose, have fun spending time together!

Parent Resources

In addition to this blog, there are lots of resources to help parents.  Choose what works for you.

Health Resources for Parents

Do a search online for your government's Department of Health.  They post lots of up-to-date information to help parents.  In Canada, for instance, the federal government has:

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/healthy-living/just-for-you/parents.html

In addition, each province has its own Department of Health, each with more resources for parents.

For example, Alberta has:

https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/info/parents.aspx

The United States Government has: 

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/

Each state also has its own Department of Health website.  For example, California has:

https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/parentresources.asp

The Mayo Clinic has free health resources at:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/ (click the first tab, Patient Care and Health Info to find information about every imaginable health condition, medication and treatment options)

WebMD is another reliable source for information about health issues, medications and treatments:

https://www.webmd.com/

General Resources for Parents

Fred Rogers Centre

https://www.fredrogerscenter.org/what-we-do/child-wellness/coronavirus-response

Today's Parent.com

https://www.todaysparent.com/

Parents.com

https://www.parents.com/parents-magazine/

EcoParent.ca

https://www.ecoparent.ca/

Top 20 Parenting Magazines article

https://blog.feedspot.com/parenting_magazines/

Daily Top Ten Family Activities

As mentioned in the March 19th posting, children find thrive on routines.  Routines provide comfort because children know what to expect each day.  They also help children to develop organizational skills as they grow.

There will be days with special events and disruptions to routines, but learning to "roll with it" is another important life skill.  For regular days, I encourage you to develop routines for your family, including:

1. Prepare and eat food together - snacks and meals can be more interesting and enjoyable when children participate in choosing and helping to prepare them 
2. Cleanup / tidying - a valuable life skill, both for keeping your home clean and organized, but also to develop the idea that we are each responsible for cleaning up after ourselves
3. Reading - both independent reading time, and reading a story together
4. Learning time - homework, learning about new topics, learning new skills, independent research, long-term projects
5. Creative time - singing, dancing, creating art, writing stories, writing and putting on a play or puppet show, practicing a musical instrument, etc.
6. Physical activity / exercise time - ending with "cooling down"/ settling down / mindfulness. GoNoodle.com is a rich resource for fun, physical activities, as well as mindfulness activities developed specifically for children. 
7. Quiet independent time - a chance for everyone to have quiet time on their own
8. Choice time - children need time to play and explore their own interests
9. Communicating with someone else outside of your home - keeping and building family and social contacts
10. Do something together as a family - play a game, work on a puzzle, try any of the activities posted in this blog.

Remember the Best Moments from Your Childhood - part 3 - TV Time Travel

It's time to play "TV Time Travel!"

What TV shows did you really enjoy when you were your child's age?  Is it time to introduce a new generation to the classics?  So many classic TV show episodes can now be found on YouTube!

Depending on the decades when you were a child, you might remember:

1. Magic Schoolbus
2. Bill Nye the Science Guy
3. The Voyage of the Mimi
4. Sesame Street
5. Electric
6. Schoolhouse Rocks
7. Electric Company
8. The Muppet Show
9. Fraggle Rock
10. Dinosaurs (Jim Henson)

Did I miss one?  What was your favourite?

TV Time Travel - level 2

It's time to go back a generation to delve further into the past.  Search for famous comedy and variety shows, where many future stars had their debut:

1. Carol Burnett Show
2. Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In
3. Ed Sullivan Show

Remember the Best Moments of Your Childhood - part 2

Think back to things you really enjoyed when you were the age your child is now.  Are you ready to introduce you child to:

Just for fun:

1. Silly songs you remember
2. Silly poems you used to recite
3. Games you used to play that your child might not know
4. Stories of things you did when you were a child
5. Cat's cradle
6. Skipping rhymes
7. Clapping games and rhymes
8. blow up balloons, play volleyball, rub them in your hair, stick them to the wall

What family games could you play with materials you have on hand?

1. Ping-pong ball bounce into target cup
2. Card games suitable for your child's age:
• Pairs (matching game) - younger children
• sort a deck of cards into suits and put the numbers in order
• 
  
• Canasta (older children)
• more ideas https://www.todaysparent.com/family/activities/10-kid-friendly-card-games/
• even more ideas https://wehavekids.com/parenting/Card-Games-For-Kids
3. Board games
4. Cribbage (if you have a cribbage board)

Do you have jigsaw puzzles?  Even if they are too hard for your kids on their own, they may become interested in helping you find the pieces to build the picture.

Did you make crafts as a child?  Start with something you remember how to make, then move on to Pinterest to find millions more!

Origami:  

1. Paper hat
2. paper boat
3. paper airplanes
4. popper
5. water bomb - Save trying them until you go outside on a warm day, or play volleyball inside with them

Educational Websites for Kids - part 1

There are millions of websites that claim to be educational for children.  I have tested thousands over many years of teaching; here are my top picks:

READING
Starfall for children who are learning to read, with activities from learning the sounds each letter makes, right through to reading paragraphs.  The presentation is bright, fun, and engaging with animation and songs. 
Grade range: Kindergarten - Grade 2
FREE
www.starfall.com

Reading A-Z / RAZ Kids offers a LARGE collection of children's picture books, levelled from absolute beginner to about end of Grade 6. Includes many fiction and nonfiction books.  Parents must register to set up an account for their child(ren).  Compare the subscription price to the cost of buying ten children's books.
Grade range: Kindergarten - Grade 6
English and Spanish
Free trial
Family Subscription $115.45 US / year
https://www.readinga-z.com/

Collections for Middle-School students:
https://www.commonsense.org/education/top-picks/middle-school-reading-apps-and-websites


MATH
Khan Academy is the number one go-to for straight-forward, no-nonsense short videos that explain how to do specific Math operations, right from beginning Math skills to advanced calculus.  If a student really wants to know how to do and understand something in Math, this is the place to go.
Khan Academy covers a wide range of other school subjects too!
Grade range: K - University
FREE
https://www.khanacademy.org/

SplashLearn (formerly SplashMath)is organized by grade and math topic.  Play alternates between a set number of math questions presented in a variety of formats, followed by some play activities.  Engaging and motivating.
Grade range: K - Grade 5
FREE (parent must register child to create an account)
https://www.splashlearn.com/


FUN & ENGAGING LEARNING ACTIVITIES - Multiple topics
PBS Kids  https://pbskids.org/

★ Parent tip: many websites that claim to be educational fall short of their claim.  I suggest that you monitor activities to determine whether they meet the needs of your child.

The Golden Rule

This is a good time to talk together about the Golden Rule; treating others the way you want to be treated.  We decide how to act and react every time we are with another person or communicating with another person, whether or not we know them. Children learn by watching and copying parents, older children, and any other people they look up to.  Now is a great time to be modelling the best version of ourselves that we can muster.

FaceBook Messenger for Kids - Connecting Kids with their friends

FaceBook has created a special version of Messenger for kids.  Parental controls allow you to moderate, choosing who your child can communicate with. 

My previous post is about the importance of staying connected with friends and family.  This is another, useful and engaging tool for children.

Building Community - Staying Connected

Remember that saying, "United we stand, divided we fall?"  When health officials introduced the term "social distancing", they soon realized the negative connotation of isolation.  We are now changing the phrase to "physical distancing," or "keeping a healthy distance."

It's easy to feel isolated when we are at home and can't visit friends and family in person.  Children feel the same thing; people are social beings.  We need companionship, friendship, love and kindness to thrive.

I have made a conscious decision to contact a friend or family member every day, just to talk.  I enjoy seeing them when possible, using video calls when I can, but phone calls, email, texting, etc. are all useful ways to connect.  It's good to help me feel less isolated, and to let them know that I care and am thinking about them.  I'm also reaching out to a few people that I haven't contacted in a long time, because I still think about them and still care about them.  I'm even making a point of making new connections, both personally and professionally.  I can't meet new people in person, but I can introduce myself and start conversations to grow my network.

How can I help my children build community and stay connected?

1. Include your child in conversations with family members and family friends.  Let them talk about what they have been doing and what's on their minds.  They need to know that their family members are still out there, that they can be contacted, and that they are safe.  They also need to know that everyone is facing similar frustrations, and that we are all working on ways to help each other through the current crisis.
2. Introduce new ways of communicating.  
• Do you have any postage stamps where you are?  Try writing an old-fashioned letter that will be a nice surprise for someone to else to receive.  (Most stamps are peel-and-stick now, and you can use a drop of water to seal the envelope instead of licking it.)
• Do you have a piece of card stock? Blank recipe cards? Design a new postcard to send to someone else, using your real location, or imagining that you are somewhere else.  A postcard from the moon, or from a submarine?  Why not?  Will you include the classic phrase, "Wish you were here!" to let someone know that you care?
• If your child has a friend across the street or next door, and they can see each other through windows, what creative ways can they communicate?  Signs?  Morse code?
• If your child has a friend next door, can they come up with ways to have fun while each stays in their own yard?  (My 6-year-old grandson was running races with his neighbour yesterday.  Then they were showing each other their toys through the fence!)
• We have started playing games with grandchildren using video calls. (see InterFamily Communication - March 18th)  Next up, a puppet show with songs!
3. As a family, have a discussion about who in the neighbourhood might need help.  Become the "helpers" that Fred Rogers talked about.  You can shovel snow on someone's sidewalk, cut their grass, water their garden, pick up groceries they need and deliver them to their front door.

Whatever you do, keep talking with children, family and friends, and keep listening to what they say.  We are all in this together, and we need to build our community and stay connected more than ever.

Behaviour Issues and Upsets at Home

Thank you to Jonathan Palant for giving me permission to reprint his FaceBook post:

Jonathan Palant

Yesterday at 7:22 AM · 

An important message to parents from a school principal:

Dear Parents,

You might be inclined to create a minute by minute schedule for your kids. You have high hopes of hours of learning, including online activities, science experiments, and book reports. You’ll limit technology until everything is done! But here’s the thing...

Our kids are just as scared as we are right now. Our kids not only can hear everything that is going on around them, but they feel our constant tension and anxiety. They have never experienced anything like this before. Although the idea of being off of school for 4 weeks sounds awesome, they are probably picturing a fun time like summer break, not the reality of being trapped at home and not seeing their friends.

Over the coming weeks, you will see an increase in behavior issues with your kids. Whether it’s anxiety, or anger, or protest that they can’t do things normally - it will happen. You’ll see more meltdowns, tantrums, and oppositional behavior in the coming weeks. This is normal and expected under these circumstances.

What kids need right now is to feel comforted and loved. To feel like it’s all going to be ok. And that might mean that you tear up your perfect schedule and love on your kids a bit more. Play outside and go on walks. Bake cookies and paint pictures. Play board games and watch movies. Do a science experiment together or find virtual field trips of the zoo. Start a book and read together as a family. Snuggle under warm blankets and do nothing.

Don’t worry about them regressing in school. Every single kid is in this boat and they all will be ok. When we are back in the classroom, we will all course correct and meet them where they are. Teachers are experts at this! Don’t pick fights with your kids because they don’t want to do math. Don’t scream at your kids for not following the schedule. Don’t mandate 2 hours of learning time if they are resisting it.

If I can leave you with one thing, it’s this: at the end of all of this, your kids’ mental health will be more important than their academic skills. And how they felt during this time will stay with them long after the memory of what they did during those 4 weeks is long gone. So keep that in mind, every single day.

Stay safe.

CTV News - Resources for Parents at Home

On Monday, March 23rd, CTVNews.ca published a report about resources for parents who are now at home with children.  The reporter interviewed me by phone, then featured this blog in the story.  She also included a number of useful links to other resources for parents and families.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/how-to-keep-your-kids-busy-and-learning-while-schools-are-closed-1.4863397


CTV News also included a link to the story on their front page, at the end of an article called
"5 Things to Know for March 23rd, 2020"

https://www.ctvnews.ca/5-things/5-things-to-know-for-monday-march-23-2020-1.4863965

Going Old-School: Worksheets

Many parents remember doing worksheets in school, and may assume that this is the best way to learn and keep children busy.  Students today are used to much more active, hands-on learning for a good part of every day.  You can still use worksheets to practice specific skills, but they are not the most effective way to learn.

Parents and teachers can subscribe to a good collection of current worksheets covering a wide range of grades at: www.superteacherworksheets.com for $25 US dollars per year.  I used the math practice and reading comprehension pages successfully with Grade 3 and 4 students.

A fun way to introduce and practice Algebra is to do Emoji Math, found at www.solvemoji.com . A variety of challenge levels are available.

A goldmine of resources for parents and teachers of elementary/primary school children is:
Enchanted Learning
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/siteindex.shtml

If you do use worksheets, I suggest using only one or two a day for any school subject.

Snow Inquiry: Multi-disciplinary

If you have snow outside, or are able to travel safely to a snowy location, hands-on experiential learning provides the deepest, most immediate level of understanding.  If this is not an option, do research to learn as much as you can.

English Language Arts
1.  Make a list of as many words you can think of that relate to snow.
2.  Write descriptive phrases or sentences that could be used in a story, poem or song.
3.  Write a story, poem or song about snow.  Include the sounds of snow: is there a quiet hush because of falling, fluffy flakes? Can you hear the squeak or crunch of snow underfoot as you walk?
4.  Read some poetry about snow, or where snow is a significant feature.  After reading, think about it, talk about it, then journal about it.
5.  Read a book that includes snow as a significant part of the story.  Some examples include:

• picture books for young children, such as "The Mitten", "The Hat", "Three Snow Bears", etc. by Jan Brett and "The Snowman" by Raymond Briggs
• "Ereth's Birthday" from the "Poppy" series by Avi for older, independent readers (upper elementary/middle school)

Science
1.  How many different kinds of snow are there?
2.  Avalanche scientists study snow conditions that lead to avalanches.  What are they looking for to predict avalanches?
3.  How many people die each year in avalanches?  Why does this happen?
4.  What do park rangers do to knock down possible avalanches before they happen on their own?
5.  What is "rotten" snow?
6.  When and where can you find pink snow?
7.  Do some research about snow houses called "igloos".  Who used these as traditional homes and shelters in the past?  Do people still live in igloos today?  How are they built?  What special features do they have?
8.  What is "snow blindness?"  What did traditional Inuit people use to protect their eyes from "snow blindness?"
9.  Do you have access to a snow bank or snow drift that has a south-facing side that gets hit by sunlight?  Examine this side carefully from top down, looking for layers that show the history over the winter.  Make notes about what you see?
10.  Do you have access to deep snow?  Scientists often take core samples by pushing a hollow tube deep down into the snow, then pushing the core sample out onto a flat surface (out of the sun) where they can study the layers.
11.  What conditions cause snow to squeak when you walk on it?
12.  How are glaciers formed?  Why are scientists concerned about glaciers that are melting more than ever before all around the world?
13.  Where do icebergs come from?  How big can they be?  Why do ships have to stay away from icebergs?  What is an ice shelf?  What is happening to ice shelves in Antarctica?

Art
1.  Find some art pieces that are based on the theme of snow, or that depict snow.  How did the artist convey snow?
2.  Paint, draw, sketch or create your own piece of art about snow, or that uses snow as a main element.

Music
Explore music about the theme of snow.  Listen to a piece, think about it, talk about it, then journal about it.  Some examples to explore are:
  "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" from "Frostiana: Seven Country Songs - poetry by Robert Frost, music by Randall Thompson
  "Velvet Shoes" - poetry by Elinor Wylie, music by Randall Thompson

Health
1.  What is Snow Safety?  How do people need to prepare for their own safety before hiking in snowy terrain?
2.  What is "hypothermia?"  If a person develops hypothermia, what steps need to be followed right away to make them safe?
3.  What is "frostbite?"  What steps need to be taken right away if frostbite is suspected?

Physical Education - Snow Sports
Do you have the right equipment and the right snow conditions for:

• cross-country skiing
• skating
• tobogganing
• snowshoeing
• building a snow fort
• making snowballs
• making snow people
• building a snow Inukshuk

If not, research what you would need to be able to do these activities.

School curriculum for my child: Where can I find it?

Schools, school boards and departments of Education are each organizing in their own ways to meet the challenges of students missing school.

1.  If your child's teachers are providing school work, make homework time a priority in your daily schedule.  (Your school may be posting updates on their website, or sending updates by email to parents who register to receive them.) Assigned homework will help your child keep up with classmates, prepare for the time when school resumes, help them settle into familiar routines, and give you an opportunity to take a break and get some things done. 

TIP: I recommend that homework be done in a quiet space where you can keep an eye on progress, assisting when needed.  I would avoid sending a child to their own room, where distractions abound.

2. Many school boards have websites with information pages for parents, useful links to learning resources, and portals where students can log on to learn.  Check your school board's website for school system updates.

3.  Every government has a Department of Education.  Many already have parent pages with useful information, online learning resources, and a portal where students can log on to learn.

• Canadian provinces each have their own department of education
  Eg. Alberta at https://www.alberta.ca/education.aspx
• American states each have their own department of education
  Eg. California at https://www.cde.ca.gov/
• the United Kingdom at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education
• Australia at https://www.education.gov.au/
• New Zealand at http://www.education.govt.nz/

Skills that are Difficult to Teach at School

Thanks go to Carly Price for allowing me to reprint her FaceBook posting about skills that are difficult to teach at school. There are lots of great ideas here, and some food for thought!

Here’s an idea - when schools are closed instead of asking teachers to come up with individualized and differentiated home school programs for 20-30 students that will keep them busy at home for 6 weeks how about families use that time to teach the skills that are difficult to teach at school?!? Here’s a few ideas for k-12 kids ( some better for younger/ some for older/ some for all)

1. How to tie your shoes ( you’d be surprised 😉
2. How to follow a recipe
3. How to make a meal plan & grocery list on a budget
4. How to write a resume
5. How to look after the house ( mow the lawn, shovel the sidewalk, do the recycling, budget & pay bills)
6. How to be a good citizen ( mow your neighbours lawn, take them a meal, shovel their sidewalk/ driveway)
7. How to read ( ask them questions about what they’re reading, read together, make predictions, discuss why characters behave the way they do)
8. How to write ( keep a journal, keep a gratitude list, write instructions for something, write an alternate ending to favourite story or movie, write a story, keep a book of facts)
9. How to advocate for positive change in the world (write a letter, sign a petition, join an online group)
10. How to maintain a vehicle ( how to check the oil, how to change a tire)
11. Build physical literacy ( do yoga, play catch, play frisbee, kick a soccer ball, shoot hoops)
12. Build Fine motor skills ( draw, colour, knit, crochet, cross- stitch, sew, weave)
13. Go outside! Walk, hike, sled, ski, paddle, bike, most outdoor activities keep you at least 10m away from other people.
14. How to exist without the internet ( unplug it from 8-4 everyday )
15. Spend time with your kids! Talk to them - ask them about their hopes & dreams & fears.
16. Have them research things they’re interested in ( a place they’d like to visit, a career they might like, a hobby they’d like to learn)
17. Have them do a STEM challenge ( build a tower, boat, bridge) out of random materials around the house
18. Other ideas???

Many parents don’t get to spend enough time with their kids - if we are all under quarantine we can use this as an opportunity to reconnect. Please don’t sit your kid at the kitchen table doing worksheets for a month - there are so many more important things to learn.

18 more activities that can be developed into bigger projects

1.              Create a new character, then make a comic, story or play for your character.

2.              Make a diorama that shows what you know about places, people or creatures from far away, or times long ago.

3.              Read a book or watch a video that teaches you how to do something: tell jokes, do magic tricks, tie knots, make masks, etc.

4.              Learn how to make and solve a code!

5.              Start learning a new language!  People in your family may know how to speak another language.  You can also use the Internet and sign books, tapes & CDs out from the public library.

6.              Start a scrapbook, a place to put papers, pictures, postcards, notes, anything that is special to you.

7.              Start a collection: bottle-caps, cards, stamps, anything that interests you!

8.              Start a journal. You can get a book with lined paper at a dollar store.  A journal is a place to write thoughts and ideas, stories and memories, things that matter to you.

9.              Make a slide show.  If you have a computer or tablet, make your own slide show.  If you don’t have a computer or tablet, is there another way to make a slide show?

10.           Do some research.  What would you like to learn about?

11.           Learn some new jokes that are funny without being rude. Did you know the library has joke books?  Did you know there are collections of jokes online?

12.           Learn to draw something new. The library has “learn to draw” books that can teach you step by step.  YouTube has lots of  “how to draw ____” videos.

13.           Learn how to play a new game.  There are lots of card games, board games, computer games, outside games, word games, number games, etc.  When you learn how to play one, teach a friend or family member so you can play it together.

14.           Ask a parent or someone in your family to teach you something new.  Grown-ups often know all kinds of interesting things!  J

15.           Learn how to do “cat’s cradle” and other string games.

16.           Build a model of something.  You can buy model kits, but you can also build a lot of things with popsicle sticks, toothpicks, straws, plasticine, cardboard, etc.

17.           Read a book with a grown-up.  They need stories sometimes too!

18.           Make a video of yourself reading a picture book to share with others, like friends or cousins.  Remember to show the pictures!

Life Skills: Routines

Children generally feel more settled and focused when they have a routine to follow, and know the routine.  This saves everyone from many questions, many answers, many spur-of-the-moment decisions that spring from situations that don't have a routine.

If your child is a "creature of habit", it's useful to include some flexible choice time and variation into the schedule, to provide opportunities to try new things.  If your child has an unstructured or impulsive approach to life, routines help them to develop a more organized approach to life.

Here is a sample schedule shared online by @thedenverhousewife
You can use this as a springboard to develop a schedule/routine that works for your family.

Life Skills: Organizing and Planning, aka Spring Cleaning!

This is a great time to turn Spring Cleaning into a learning opportunity.  It's a great time to sort through:

• old clothes you don't wear anymore
• old toys that don't get played with anymore
• things that have been piling up in the closet, basement, garage, etc.

This is a great time to practice washing and disinfecting dirty surfaces together to get rid of germs and keep the family safe and clean.  (Great Health lesson too!)

This is a great time to appreciate how lucky we are to have the things we have, and to consider donating useful items to people who could use them.

You can channel your Marie Kondo (click link for inspiration) and practice some valuable life skills together!

Outdoor Science - Light and Shadow Multi-disciplinary Inquiry

If you and your child can go outside without meeting throngs of people, this is an excellent opportunity to do some outdoor Science.  Use a journal or notebook to record your measurements and observations.  Here are some ideas:

Science topic - Light and Shadow
1. Bring a long measuring tape.  Go outside when there is enough sunlight to cast a shadow. If the ground is covered in snow, you can make marks in the snow.  If you're on a sidewalk or driveway, sidewalk chalk works really well.

• First - in the early morning - have one person stand still while another person measures the length of their shadow.  Mark the locations of their feet and the head of the shadow.
• Second - mid-day, when the sun is as high as it's going to get. Have the person stand in the same location and mark the new shadow.  Note the changes in length and direction.
• Third - late in the day, when shadows are getting long, repeat. 

2. On a sunny day, bring small mirrors, reflectors, aluminum lids, foil pans, old cds, anything that reflects light well.  If you have a magnifying glass and/or a prism, bring them too.

• First, have the safety lesson.  Make sure that everyone understands that sunlight is powerful enough to burn, and that sunlight will damage your eyes if you look directly at the sun.
• Then, spend some time experimenting with light: use the correct terms to talk about what's happening, then write the results in the journal.  Always draw a diagram with labels so anyone who didn't watch the experiments understands what you did, and what happened.

Note: If you can't go outside, you can still do these experiments with sun shining through the window. (Just be careful not to set the carpet on fire with the magnifying glass! Adult supervision is a good idea.)

3. On a cloudy day, do these experiments indoors with a flashlight or a bright lamp.

4. Use a magnifying glass to get close to the TV, computer screen, tablet, or phone screen.  What do you see?  Record your observations in your journal and explain how you think they work.

5. If you have two magnifying glasses, can you combine them to work like a telescope or microscope?

6. Use a telescope or binoculars to experiment with what they can do.  Try using them during daylight, and also when it is dark outside.  Record what you observed in your journal.

Upper elementary / middle school

I created a booklet of multiple Light and Shadow experiments for students to do at centres that had equipment set up, ready to use.  You are welcome to download the booklet, and choose experiments that suit your needs.  Science Projects and Activities

High school
Do a research project about Astronomy.  What do we know today?  What are astronomers researching now? What equipment is being used to make new discoveries?

Art connections
1.  Have one person stand in the same spot.  Trace their feet so they stay there. Use different colours of sidewalk chalk to trace the same person's shadows as they stand in different poses.  Fun, creative, interesting results!  Take a photo and post it online.
2.  Find art works that are about Light and Shadow.  How do they show the topic?
3.  Find art works that use the contrast between light and shadow to highlight parts of the work.  What does the term "chiaroscuro" mean?

Health connections - Do a study of the human eye and how it works.  How can too much light be dangerous.  How do some animals see in the dark?  Do sea creatures have special eye adaptations?

Music connections - Find music that relates to the topic of Light and Shadow. 

For lots of videos and website links, you can download the complete unit plan.  Parents and teachers are welcome to download the complete unit plan - "Light and Shadow Inquiry Plan 2015."  This is for you to use or share (free, a gift from me), but please don't sell it. Science Projects and Activities

Going Old-School: Cursive Writing

Most school curricula don't include cursive writing (a.k.a. handwriting) any more, or mention it as an optional activity.  The argument is that cursive writing is not necessary, and is seldom used in our modern world.

I taught my students to write and read cursive writing at a basic level for a variety of reasons.  It was an interesting new challenge, practiced and refined fine motor skills, and developed their ability to read a variety of things that otherwise would be unreadable to them, including:

1.    Historical documents & manuscripts – important pages written in the past

2.    Signatures (when people sign their name)

3.    Signs for products and business names

4.    Letters and cards from England and other countries

5.    Titles of some books

6.    Handwritten words, letters and signs in many books, like Geronimo Stilton

7.    Formal invitations

8.    Diplomas & University degrees

9.    Fancy restaurant menus

Here is an entertaining challenge I created for students who have learned the fundamentals of reading handwriting, using trademarked logos and signs that are encountered in every-day life.  Feel free to print, copy and share this document - just don't resell it, please.

Handwriting / Cursive Writing Reading Challenge

Going Old-School: Spelling

Over 38 years of teaching, I've seen trends come and go in education.  There is a tendency to say, "Out with the old, in with the new." It's good to keep things fresh, incorporate new ideas, and adjust teaching practices based on solid research about what actually works well, and what is just a continuation of the way things used to be taught.

Spelling
The old method of teaching Spelling, (lists of random words to be memorized and regurgitated), turned out to be fairly ineffective.  Many students committed the words to short-term memory for the test on Friday, then didn't remember them in the long term or spell them correctly in their written work.

A more effective approach is to practice words that are actively being used in daily writing about topics currently being learned in the classroom.  Another effective approach is to group words together that share a common spelling rule, and to learn commonly used rule-breakers.

The best collection I found and used with Grade 3 to 5 students is:

Building Spelling Skills, Grade (choose the grade you want) 

by Evan-Moor Educational Publishers

Each 4-page photocopyable booklet starts with a list of 15-18 words that are strategically grouped to teach common spelling rules or concepts.  The booklets include word puzzles, practice using the words correctly in sentences, word meanings, and focus on the the spelling rules or concepts being taught.  The program uses American spellings, which gives Canadian teachers the opportunity to help students learn both ways to spell words such as color/colour. 

Spelling is a very small part of the English Language Arts curriculum in most provinces and states, but this is an engaging and productive way to focus on spelling skills.  If you want to practice spelling and do associated "word work" learning, I recommend purchasing these books.

★ BONUS  Over the years, I developed a few spelling booklets modelled after the Evan-Moor program.  Some are based on classroom topics, and some are enrichment lists for students who already had solid spelling skills and needed advanced challenges.  I'm posting a link to them here to use and share for free, (but they are not to be sold.)

Free Spelling booklets suitable for Gr.3 - Gr.8

Lighten the mood

When we're feeling overwhelmed or under stress, there are many healthy ways to help ourselves feel better:

• exercise of all kinds,
• dancing, singing, being creative
• listening to music that helps us to feel better
• talking with someone who listens and responds in positive ways
• comforting physical touch, like hugs or holding hands
• re-reading familiar, comforting stories or watching favourite movies again
• working out our emotions through journalling, drawing, painting, making things (eg. crafts, working with clay, etc.)
• ★ laughter ★

If your child is feeling down or stressed, sit down together, go to YouTube, and do a search for "laughing babies".  You won't regret it! 

Interfamily communication - kids entertaining kids!

This afternoon my wife and I spent a delightful half hour entertaining (and being entertained by) our 6-year-old grandson while mommy and daddy got some things done.  We did this while in two different towns an hour apart! 

You can draft older children in one family to do something similar with another family, keeping all the children busy and entertained,  giving parents a chance to catch their breath, and building some positive energy at the same time.  (All credit goes to my wife for coming up with this idea and making it fun!)

How? First, place a few stuffed animal toys around the house in plain view or partially hidden.  Then make a video call using FaceTime, Skype, WhatsApp, or something similar.

1.  Start with hide and seek.

• Version 1: One child hides in one house, taking the phone with them, but with the camera covered.  When they are ready, the seekers (in the other house) try to guess which room "it" is hiding in, or 
• Version 2: The child who is hiding doesn't take the phone, while another person in the house keeps the phone, waiting until "it" is ready.  Then the seekers give directions to the person with the phone; go left, go right, go forward, turn around, until "it" is found.  We took a few turns hiding back and forth

2.  When ready, move on to "find the ____" (just like Version 2 of Hide and Seek)

3.  After that has run its course, try playing "I Spy with My Little Eye"

4.  Finally, we gave our grandson "missions" to accomplish:

• Find mommy and wave to her
• find the cats and show them to us
• show us what you can see out the front window
• show us what you can see out the back window

The parents got some work done, our grandson got to make lots of decisions on his own and practice giving directions, and we all had a lot of fun!  If older children can get in on the fun, they are building family and friend connections, social skills, fair play skills and communication skills.  Everyone benefits!

PARENT TIP #1 - Aim for a balanced approach

During times of stress and uncertainty, it's easy for adults to get stressed, and to show this through their words and actions.  Not surprisingly, children pick up on this, and get stressed themselves.  Teachers see this at school when students act out for no apparent reason, or lose their enthusiasm for things they usually enjoy. Parents see this at home when their child seems "out of sorts", not feeling or acting like they usually do.

It's important to keep communication open with children.  It's important to aim for balance that is appropriate for their age and level of understanding. 

Young children need to know that they are safe and that you will take care of them. They will ask questions at their level of understanding. It's best to keep your answers simple and direct, and to reassure them that there are lots of people in the community working to solve the problems.

Fred Rogers, (aka Mr. Rogers), said, When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
If your child sees or hears things on the news that worry them, start with this. Let them know they are safe, and that there are helpers in your community. Then it's time to distract them by moving on to something else that interests them.

Older children will have more questions and concerns, and will often push for more answers, looking for immediate solutions.  Again, try to answer all of their concerns calmly, balancing their desire for information with their level of understanding.  Above all, they need to know that you will do your best to keep them safe, and that things will return to normal after the crisis has passed.

Teenagers are in the awkward years where sometimes they feel like they should have as much say as adults, yet sometimes they feel or behave like a child.  It's important to listen to their feelings without judgement when they vent, and just as important to talk calmly about issues when their emotions subside.  (It's not productive to try to talk when either of you are feeling big emotions.)  Depending on their own level of maturity and comfort, some possible ways to develop understanding and social involvement include:

• researching tragedies and disasters that have happened in the past hundred years.  (Eg. the Hindenburg, the Titanic, the great San Francisco earthquake, World Wars, the polio epidemic, the influenza epidemic of 1918, etc.)
• What happened? How many people were affected? How far did the consequences reach? What were the negative results? What good things developed as a result of what people learned?
• read picture books or novels that are set during these times.  How realistic is the writing? Does it really tell the whole story, or does it give a good understanding of what happened?
• Most of all, look for the helpers during the crisis, and the people who developed new and better ways to keep people safe afterwards.  Who were the real-life heroes?

★ Children and teenagers like to help if they feel that they are genuinely making a positive difference.  Guide the conversation to how other people are having challenges right now too.  Ask your child what you could do together to help others.  This could include ideas such as:

• making video calls or phone calls each day to family and friends
• writing a letter or making a card to send to someone they care about
• making cheerful cards to send to the local senior citizens
• sorting out old toys that aren't played with any more, disinfecting them, and donating them

20 activities that can be developed into larger, long-term learning

Here are 20 ideas for home learning. Note that they can all be used as starting points for larger, ongoing projects!

1.              Read: a book, comic, newspaper, magazine, cereal box, instructions for a game, etc.

2.              Read out loud to an audience: a parent, a child, a stuffed animal, etc.

3.              Practice spelling: words that you know give you trouble, or learn some new ones!

4.              Practice math: quick addition, subtraction, multiplication, division.  Use a calculator to check; say the question out loud as you put the numbers into the calculator, say your answer out loud, then press the = key to see if you are right.

5.              Write: a story, poem, list, play, words for a song, etc.

6.              Measure things:  with a ruler, a scale, to see how much something can hold, etc.

7.              Learn about places in the world.  Use an atlas, globe or map to find new places; look in an encyclopedia to learn more.  Use Google Earth to explore our world!

8.              Learn more about people in the world.  Use the Guinness Book of World Records or an Almanac. Use Google Earth to explore people, places and cultures around the world!

9.              Practice a musical instrument.  Teach yourself to play a new song.

10.           Learn to sing a song or recite a poem from memory.

11.           Solve a puzzle: word search, crossword, brain-teaser, etc.

12.           Learn to play a new game.  Teach a friend or someone in your family.

13.           Draw or paint a picture. 

14.           Design a new invention, a piece of furniture, a machine, etc. 

15.           Plan a treasure hunt for a friend, brother or sister.

16.           Write a letter to someone you miss.

17.           Write a letter to yourself to read when you are older.

18.           Design a game that you think would be fun for kids your age to play.  Write out the rules so they are easy to understand.

19.           Exercise your body, outdoors or indoors.  Work on developing strength, endurance and control.

20.           Write a play, TV interview or radio show that other people would enjoy.  Practice it and perform it for an audience when it’s good.