Parents Tips & Tricks
Please visit: RUSD Toolkit
In case nobody told you today, I want to let you know that you are doing a wonderful job in supporting your children at home. As we navigate this new normal, with many of us trying to balance work, distance learning, and staying connected to family and friends while social distancing, please remember to take care of yourself, and to give yourself grace. Your children have exactly what they need from you—unconditional love and safety. If you are struggling, please do not hesitate to reach out. If you’d like ideas on how to fill your happiness cup, check out this happiness calendar from UC Berkeley.
Come up with a schedule!
RUSD Wellness BINGO
#RUSDcares BINGO card.pdfSEL Screentime Qs.pdfActivities to do at Home (the list is endless!)
Time for Kids (K-6)
Stuck at Home? These 12 Famous Museums Offer Virtual Tours You Can Take on Your Couch (Video)
ByrdseedTV (Educational Videos)
Epic! Digital Book Library (for kids 12 and under) (there is a cost - $7.99/month)
Storyline - Streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations
Common Sense Selections highlighting the best movies and TV shows
Common Sense Media (reviews for what your kids want to watch before they watch it)
Write notes, letters, draw pictures to send or drop off at local nursing homes - the elderly in nursing homes aren’t allowed to have visitors right now and it will brighten their day!
Scratch Jr. - Coding is the new literacy! With ScratchJr, young children (ages 5-7) can program their own interactive stories and games. In the process, they learn to solve problems, design projects, and express themselves creatively on the computer
Code.org - Learn computer science
Kodable - Programming for kids
Hello Ruby - Hello Ruby is the world's most whimsical way to learn about computers, technology and programming. The story started with a book, and now Ruby continues her adventures in exercises, activities and videos. It’s suited for kids age 5 years and older (but even adults might learn something new)
Public libraries - many public libraries have digital books you can rent for free on their websites, along with other resources
Stick Figure Art YouTube channel
450 Ivy League courses you can take online right now for free
Met to launch “Nightly Met Opera Streams” - A free series of encore Live in HD presentations streamed on the company website during the coronavirus closure
Emotional ABCs - We teach children ages 4-11 how to figure out WHAT they are feeling, WHY they are having that emotion, and HOW to make better choices
TED-Ed Video Playlist - Sorted by categories
Virtual Field Trips - Over 30 virtual field trips with links
Unite for Literacy - free online audiobooks
11 Amazing Places Around New York That You Can Virtually Travel To Without Ever Leaving Your Home
Discover 10 Parks & Preserves in Albany County - Are you social distancing but want to get out of the house? If you are healthy, explore one of the parks or preserves in Albany County! Governor Cuomo announced that NYS will waive all park fees as of March 16, 2020
Netflix Party Chrome extension - a Chrome extension for watching Netflix remotely with friends
15 Broadway Plays and Musicals You Can Watch On Stage From Home
NASA has made their entire media library - images, sounds, and video - public
Mix.com - formerly stumbleupon, Mix is a social content curation site that allows you to collect articles, and content about specific interests or topics that you like. When you curate and add to your collections, your content is shared with friends and made discoverable to others on Mix who share similar interests.
Use DuoLingo to learn a new language or practice one you already know!
You Can Now Tour 2,500 World-Famous Museums From the Comfort of Your Own Sofa
The Actor’s Fund will be producing daily Broadway Virtual Concerts featuring stars of the stage and screen, singing and performing live (from home)! Tune in each day at 2pm and 8pm
Getting outdoors and connecting with nature is a way to help maintain our physical and mental health (as long as you are maintaining social distancing!). Find a location near you at the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.
The San Diego Zoo has a website just for kids with videos, activities, and games!
The Canadian site FarmFood 360 offers 11 Virtual Tours of farms from minks, pigs, and cows, to apples and eggs
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy story hour
Wash Your Lyrics - Generate a hand washing lyrics meme based on your favorite song lyrics
Google Earth Has Virtual Tours of 31 National Parks in the U.S.
50 Ways to Keep Kids Engaged at Home During the Coronavirus Shutdown
Chris Field - live streaming Afternoon Adventures on Facebook every Monday-Friday until April 3rd at 3pm Eastern time (previous videos will be saved for viewing at any time)
Coronavirus: Kids stuck at home should go on these virtual Disney World rides
The Palace of Versailles is offering a free virtual tour
Free virtual tours of museums, parks, and cities
Audible.com - all stories are free to stream on your desktop, laptop, phone or tablet
Coach Edson’s PE Classes on YouTube