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Activities for Parents
Activities for Parents
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Children work hard all school year to master their social-emotional skills. During this break from school, help your child stay in practice with this easy-to-make SEL Passport. Parents and teachers can help kids use social-emotional skills to create this handy reminder of how to use kind, respectful, prosocial behavior during their summer break . . . or anytime.
→ Read more here ←→ and here! ←
→ Download the SEL Passport here! ←
Parent Toolkit is a one-stop resource developed with parents in mind. It’s produced by NBC News Learn and supported by Pearson and includes information about almost every aspect of your child’s development, because they're all connected. Healthy, successful children can excel in many areas – in the classroom, on the court, and in their relationships with peers and adults. Our advice also covers important topics for navigating life after high school.
→ Check out the video series on supporting Social & Emotional Development here! ←
UNC Public Television Resources for Personal, Mental, and Emotional Health
Explore the many aspects of Personal, Mental, and Emotional Health with an assortment of resources that cover topics stretching from cosmetology, to brain trauma, to pregnancy, to vaping. The series "What's Your Calling?" aims to give young adults an up-close and honest look at diverse individuals that are preparing to make an important life changing decision. The Healthy Kids Project encourages a younger audience to make positive choices for their mental and physical health with videos and support materials for teachers and students. An interactive lesson and support materials aimed at high school students examines how different types of drugs alter their brains.
There is also an app called Khan Academy Kids for kids ages 2-7 years old!
The Khan Academy Kids app engages kids in core subjects like early literacy, reading, writing, language, and math, while encouraging creativity and building social-emotional skills!
Simon Says. In this variation of the traditional game "Simon Says, kids follow instructions like "touch your nose" and sometimes they have to do the opposite of what the instruction says like "don’t touch your ear."
Freeze dance. Have a dance party with a small group of kids or family members and tell everyone that when you stop the music, they must hold very still. The first person to move is eliminated for the next round. The winner is the last one dancing.
Traffic lights. One kid plays traffic cop and turns to face a wall. The other kids start at the other side of the room—or if they’re outdoors, at a starting line. When the traffic cop shouts “Green!” the kids can advance. If the traffic cop shout “Red!” the kids have to stop, and the cop gets to turns around and see if everyone obeys. If they catch any kid still moving, they can send them back to the start line. The winner is the first person to cross the room (or yard) and tag the traffic cop.
Musical chairs. Set out enough chairs in a row, alternating facing front and back, for every player—minus one. Play music and have kids walk or dance around the chairs. When the music stops, they must make a beeline for the closest chair. Each round, the player who doesn’t manage to grab a seat is eliminated, until just one winning player remains.
Orchestra. Give kids percussion instruments to tap and wave and have them follow one kid at the front, who is playing conductor, with a baton in hand (a pen, ruler or stick will do). The conductor sets the tempo and everyone must speed up and slow down accordingly. Kids will learn to control their body movements to create a harmonious sound together.
Jenga. This stacking game requires a steady hand and careful planning of movements. The frustration of losing is softened by the fun of seeing the tower fall, so it’s an especially good one to use to help turn a sore loser into a good sport.
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Parenting one child is no walk in the park, parenting two gets a bit trickier, parenting more than two…. Well I don’t have any first-hand experience with that, but from this email I got, I can only imagine:
I get frustrated because they all want my attention in different ways at once! I have 4 kids, between ages 8 and 6 months and one wants to nurse, one wants the Cat in the Hat, one wants Jack and Annie, and one wants to show me how to do a cool new origami design!
Other parents write to tell me their children won’t stop fighting with their siblings and they struggle with how to keep them all busy without the aid of a movie or video game.
I have a hard time finding things that engage everyone without destroying the house that I already struggle with maintaining
I have two boys and I am well acquainted with sibling rivalry, fighting, whining, the endless desire to annoy your brother. I’ve seen it all and I’ve gone right to the edge of sanity—and I won’t deny I’ve lost my mind a time or two (or ten thousand).
One solution that works for me is to have a treasure trove of sibling activities on hand. I’ve collected games that siblings of different ages can play, bonding activities that will stop the fighting and start the sloooow process of getting along. Most of these sibling activities can be adopted for children of different ages; **if your kids are under age 3 I’ve indicated which ideas will work best.
Research shows that parents can have a powerful impact on their childrens' mindsets. The language you use and the actions you take show your children about what you expect. Giving process praise, talking about the brain, accepting mistakes as learning opportunities, and understanding the role of emotions in learning are all practices you can begin today.
This website has great tips and videos to help you develop the Growth Mindset at home!
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