Invite your virtual storytime listeners to make their own instruments to accompany future sing-alongs. When parents sign up for a virtual storytime session, share the DIY instruction links below so they can use the instruments they made at home during the next livestream session, when everyone’ll be singing. Craft Stick Harmonica Make a […]
Mid-July is the halfway mark for most summer vacations. Kids of all ages can enjoy the second half of summer vacation with these free virtual summer camp activities filled with makerspace ideas. [email protected] “Press play” on-screen, then “go play” off-screen. That’s how [email protected] with UNICEF Kid Power® works. The 75+ short videos in […]
Not going away to summer camp this year? Never fear, summer camps can come to you on a phone or a computer. It’s always a good time to be a maker! Camp Candlewick Take the pledge and check in to a cabin at Camp Candlewick, a 12-week virtual book camp for grades 1–12 with […]
Next Monday is Memorial Day, the unofficial beginning of summer. As the school year sputters to an end, the stress of trying to homeschool will soon be replaced by the stressful reality that summer camp may be canceled, too. What to do? “What if there were a solution to stress that involves nothing more than […]
After children’s book author Joanne Rocklin sent me a read-aloud video for her May 5 release of Good Guys, Bad Guys, a picture book about conquering fears through dress up and role-playing, I had to use it for a #FamiliesWrite activity. (We always had dress-up costumes in the house when my kids were young.) Then […]
There are so many wonderful children’s book read-alouds online now, like the ones with authors reading their books at Charlesbridge and Simon Kids. Musician Wes Tank is reading books by one famous author who is no longer with us; you can listen to Hop On Pop as a Dr. Seuss rap over Dr. Dre beats […]
Manuela Molina, a psychologist in Bogotá, Colombia, who is also a yoga and mindfulness teacher, has created a printable COVID book for young children to read and color, and it’s available in 25 languages. On her download page, she says, “Remember that emotions are processed through repetitive play and stories read multiple times.” Puppets are […]
Children’s book creators are still doing what they do best: making things that help others. Francesca Cavallo created an 11-page picture book, Dr. Li and the Crown-Wearing Virus, that you can download for free here in English, Italian, Spanish, or German. (More translations are in the works.) It’s the story of Dr. Li Wenliang, the […]
We are all building a new life as we shelter in place and teach school at home for the rest of this academic year. UK children’s book publisher Nosy Crow created a free e-book for parents to share with their 5- to 9-year-old kids, Coronavirus: A Book for Children. Reviewed by medical, educational, and psychological […]
Schools are closed across the country. Some states have taken the unprecedented step of closing schools for the rest of the academic year. We are not alone. Aisha Ahmad, assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto, offers advice for educators (and parents) in these trying times. To make the shift away from […]