Month: March 2020

It’s me, Deanna, the teacher with 20+ years experience who, like you, is practicing social distancing at home with my child. I have decided to use my training and experience to develop a daily list of activities for you to do at home with your kids.

Note: I have been doing more to support teachers in my board as they are supporting their own students. This means I have less time to work on these posts. But feel free to look at previous ones for inspiration. I am also going to start slipping in some suggestions for teachers as I know these blog posts are being shared by teachers.

Today we have two “off-beat” holidays: Laundry Folding Day and Take a Walk in the Park Day. So I am proposing two separate activities. Laundry and Taking a Walk.

Laundry

I have been a big advocate through all of this of teaching your children to do chores, to incorporate housework into their day. Today, focus on the task of laundry. Even a young child can help with this. Have your toddler to sort socks by colour. Older kids can find matching socks and you can teach them to roll them.

Older children can be taught to fold and hang laundry according to your family’s preferences. Or, if you want to be adventurous, have your teenager research and apply different folding methods to see which one works the best.

Take a Walk

Many parks are being closed because of people not obeying the social distancing recommendations, but I still want to stress that you need to get some exercise in spite of that. Go for a walk with your family. If there are local parks and green spaces still open, go there as long as you can stay away from other people.

One of the ways we’ve been passing the time away in our walk is by geocaching. Geocaching is a modern-day form of orienteering where caches are hidden in very specific geographic locations. Those locations are then inputted into a website or app. Users can then use an app on their phone to help them locate the past. Now we have not been touching the cache, given everything that’s been going on, but we take pictures of what we find. We make sure to also log those finds on the app. There are lots of caches all across the world, many in easy to get to urban locations. This might be something for your family to try.

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Deanna Toxopeus is a teacher with 20+ years of experience teaching students from Grade 1 to Grade 8. She is currently an Itinerant Teacher of Assistive Technology with the OCDSB. The opinions she expresses in this blog are wholly her own.

It’s me, Deanna, the teacher with 20+ years experience who, like you, is practicing social distancing at home with my child. I have decided to use my training and experience to develop a daily list of activities for you to do at home with your kids.

Note: I have been doing more to support teachers in my board as they are supporting their own students. This means I have less time to work on these posts, so this one is shorter than most. But feel free to look at previous ones for inspiration. 

Reminder: The neighbourhood walk is coming up tomorrow, March 29th, and the theme is flowers. Make one for your window so families going for walks can see the flowers.

Today is Saturday, so I hope you are taking a day off with your kids to relax and recharge. It’s okay to take a breath now and then. I have some suggestions for your breaks today.

Boardgames – Play some boardgames with your kids. Drag them out of the cupboard and just play. Or get a deck of cards and play crazy 8s. The point is to relax and bond over something that could become a family tradition. It is also really beneficial for your kids.

Bake – Make cookies, cupcakes or bread. You will make a delicious treat, which will get you buy in from your kids. It is also bonding time.

Chores – Have your kids do some chores around the house. Change the sheets on their beds. Clean their rooms. Something, anything to contribute to the family environment. You’re helping them  develop into responsible adults. Little kids can help too. My son helped me unload the dishwasher at 15 months old. He could stand and reach the lower rack, so he helped. Admittedly, there were times he thought trying to drop things before I could grab them was hilarious, but the dishwasher got unloaded and he helped.

Go For a Walk – Get the kids dressed and go for a walk. Getting outside with kids has a lot of benefits.

One last thing – Earth Hour is tonight. In the lead up to this, most schools have activities and lessons about the environment. What I would do if I were you instead is observe Earth Hour by turning off all unneeded electronics for an hour and have a talk with your kids during that hour about Climate Change and what you as a family can do to lessen your impact.

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Deanna Toxopeus is a teacher with 20+ years of experience teaching students from Grade 1 to Grade 8. She is currently an Itinerant Teacher of Assistive with the OCDSB. The opinions she expresses in this blog are wholly her own.

Hello!

It’s me, Deanna, the teacher with 20+ years experience who, like you, is practicing social distancing at home with my child. I have decided to use my training and experience to develop a daily list of activities for you to do at home with your kids.

Before we dive in, I want to remind everyone that according to the neighbourhood window walk schedule, tomorrow is the day that we are supposed to put encouraging words in windows. So make sure you set aside some time today to cut out some letters or make a poster.

Also, my work is starting to pick up and I need to spend more time each day supporting teachers so they can provide distance learning for their students. This means I may not be able to keep these posts up to the same level as I have been. I will do my best, but in case these don’t appear as often in your feed.

Now, onto today’s theme. Today is Tolkein Reading Day, a day created by the Tolkein Society to celebrate the works of JRR Tolkein. March 25th was chosen because it is apparently the day that the Ring was destroyed. There are a lot of ways you can tie curriculum into a celebration of this day.

Literature

The most obvious place to start is by reading some of Tolkein’s works. If you don’t own any, check with your local library’s digital service to see if you can get an electronic copy or an audio book.

But you can also spend some time reading Celtic, Finnish, Slavic, and Greek myths. Tolkein was, in part, inspired by these stories when crafting The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. There is also a heavy dose of the Arthurian legends in Tolkein’s work. Even if you’ve only ever watched the movies, have your kids try to figure out what parts are pulled from which myths. (This would be a great time to introduce your kids to the Myths and Legends podcast. Great for long car drives or quiet story time during social distancing.)

For your older, fantasy reading fan, have them spend some time looking at the influence of Tolkein on modern fantasy literature. The could create a mind map or a venn diagram where they contrast Tolkein’s work with their favourite piece of fantasy literature. They can share their findings with you, their siblings or even their grandparents.

Math

One of the great things in Lord of the Rings are the runes that he created. Have your kids use the chart in this document to write secret messages using the runes and then have them decode each others’ messages. Alternately, you can leave some messages around the house for a scavenger hunt. How is this math? It’s a form of code, and codes are linked to cryptography and math.  Cryptography has a great history. Explore other codes and have fun leaving and receiving messages.

History

One of the other things that influenced Tolkein’s work was his experiences in WWI. One of the most obvious is in the relationship between Frodo and Sam, with Sam representing the batman from the British army. This would be an excellent opportunity for your children to learn about WWI. 

DK Findout has a great interactive site on WWI. For older kids, Canada’s History Museum has a lovely interactive site. And of course, you should spend some time with In Flanders Fields.

Geography

Tolkein made some very elaborate maps of Middle Earth. There is an amazing site where you can explore the maps. For older kids, they may enjoy this criticism of Tolkein’s map making which does an amazing job of talking about plate tectonics. This is a great activity on plate tectonics involving some graham crackers and Cool Whip. As a bonus, you could eat some of the experiment. Or break it up over several days to do around snack time. Sometimes lessons in small bits can be wonderful.

This would be a lovely moment to have your kids use what they have learned to look at our world. Print off a copy of the world map and have your kids cut out the continents. Have them then try and put them together like a jigsaw puzzle.  (Hint: Africa kind of fits into South America). When they finish, or if they get stuck, show them this video.

Finally, some fun.

If you need a break and some fun, there is this lovely earworm of a song that you could play for your kids. It would make a nice dance party for everyone. If they are familiar with Tolkein, you can also play this video which posits a different ending for the series. 

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Deanna Toxopeus is a teacher with 20+ years of experience teaching students from Grade 1 to Grade 8. She is currently an Itinerant Teacher of Assistive with the OCDSB. The opinions she expresses in this blog are wholly her own.

Hello!

It’s me, Deanna, the teacher with 20+ years experience who, like you, is practicing social distancing at home with my child. I have decided to use my training and experience to develop a daily list of activities for you to do at home with your kids.

The good news is, at least in my jurisdiction, school boards are beginning to put together learning plans to deal with what is looking to be a prolonged shutdown. And teachers are beginning to reach out to check up on their students. (We really do care for the kids in our classes.) This will take some time though, so in the meantime, I am going to keep making lists.

Today is the birthday of both Bob Mackie and Tommy Hillfinger, two icons of American fashion design, so in honour of that today’s list will focus on fashion, fabric and yarn

Teach Yourself the Fabric Arts

The maker movement has been a huge part of the last few years and as part of it there are plenty of videos on the Internet to show you how to do a variety of fiber arts. Most of us have a sewing kit lying around or those crochet hooks Aunt Marge gave us one Christmas, so why not dig them out and see if your kids can pick up a new hobby. The key here is to watch the videos and then try it yourself.

Sewing – everyone, and I mean everyone, should know some basic hand sewing tips and tricks. My son is learning how to sew by working on his Scouts campfire blanket. There are days it is painful, but this is a life skill.

• Hand Sewing Basics – A video to teach you how to hand sew. 
• Learn How to Sew by Hand: Six Basic Hand Stitches
• Paper piecing made simple | Quilting Tutorial with Angela Walters
• How to Sew a Patch on a Uniform
• Hand sewing 2 Sewing on a button – everyone should be able to sew a button.

Knitting & Crochet

• How to Knit: Easy for Beginners
• Finger Knitting with Children – requires only yarn
• Erin’s Crafts for Kids: An Introduction to Crochet with a Simple Bracelet Project

If these prove to be too easy, there are literally 1000s of tutorials and pages on the web with projects. 

History of Fashion

Children may enjoy looking at the way in which fashion has changed over the years. 

DK History of Fashion – A nice interactive site that looks at women’s fashion throughout the  20th century.

This site is a timeline of fashion history with articles and information that span from ancient times to modern. Would be great for older kids to get lost in for an afternoon.

Glamour has produced a series of videos entitled Evolution that look at a variety of fashion trends over 100, including boys’ and girls’ fashion ones. Watch them with your kids and discuss how fashion has changed over the years. Have your kids make predictions as to where fashion may go in the next few decades. Even better, have them draw those predictions and share them with a family or friend via video conferencing

If you need a podcast on this, I would like to recommend Dressed: The History of Fashion. Each episode looks at famous designers, the evolution of a particular piece of clothing and the hosts, April and Cassidy are fashion historians, so they know their stuff.

Fashion’s Impact on the Environment

One of the issues that has come to the forefront is modern fashion’s contribution to climate change.

For older children – have them research this topic and present a listicle on how to address the problem.

For all of your kids – look at the trend of upcycling.  A couple of the projects they can do themselves include

• T-shirt yarn
• Fabric Twine
• Dish Rag from old socks

Fashion Show

You can certainly take a break from everything and take in the fashion shows from Paris and New York fashion week. Then challenge your kids to make their own fashion show. They can use anything they have in the house. Maybe their stuffies will strut their stuff in the height of social distancing fashion. Maybe it will be their Lego minifigs. Be sure to get a front row seat and don’t forget to wear your shades.

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Deanna Toxopeus is a teacher with 20+ years of experience teaching students from Grade 1 to Grade 8. She is currently an Itinerant Teacher of Assistive with the OCDSB. The opinions she expresses in this blog are wholly her own.

Hello!

It’s me, Deanna, the teacher with 20+ years experience who, like you, is practicing social distancing at home with my child. I have decided to use my training and experience to develop a daily list of activities for you to do at home with your kids.

As we enter what would have been the restart of school at the end of the March Break in Ontario, I know a lot of parents are going to start looking at schoolwork a lot more seriously. Many are thinking about how they are going to homeschool their kids while they work. I am going to give you a few tips.

Structure is Important but It Doesn’t Have to Look Like School

Children need a structure of some kind. Parents know that when that is upended, children can become upset. And because children have not yet learned how to regulate that emotion, it tends to manifest in a variety of ways, such as acting out or shutting down. Some children will try and get your attention, in any way possible.

There are a lot of schedules that have been posted online to suggest how you should structure your day. If those schedules seem overwhelming, or you have tried them and they stopped working after a day or two, I am telling you to not overstructure the day.

The reality is you can’t replicate school in your home. And here’s something that no one is telling you: you are not expected to replicate it either. Instead, focus on developing a structure that works for you. 

In my house, we are using Google Keep. My husband and I create a list of things in a Google Keep note that need to get done that day. This is a combination of academic work and chores. Every time my son completes one thing on the list, he earns himself some free time. Sometimes our day is an alternating cycle of one activity off the list and then some free time, rinse and repeat. Other days, my son strikes three things off the list one after the other to buy himself a longer stretch of free time. And then there are days he gets to take a break, all day. Is it perfect? No. But it is working for us and that’s what’s important.

Most importantly, we are trying to keep our wake-ups and bedtimes consistent. It is easy to slide into a chaotic state of late bedtimes and sleeping in, but doing so would only add to any anxiety that this isn’t normal. Experts are saying that keeping a schedule will help with mental health issues. Admittedly, we aren’t getting up at 6:00 am, but we are not sleeping in until 10 either.

Avoid Worksheets When Possible

In the education business worksheets are often referred to as busywork. There is a place for their use, but worksheets really don’t lead to deeper understanding and learning. (I won’t get into it here, but there is a big discussion happening right now in education on Depth of Knowledge and your average worksheet rates about a level 1.) In many cases worksheets are boring too. And bored kids tend to act out, which is the last thing we all need.

Instead, look for activities that spark your kids curiosity. Do they like dinosaurs? Then challenge them to learn something about their favourite dinosaur from the resources you have in the house or the ones you can help them find online. Are they into hockey? Have them learn about aspects of its history? Or use the statistics to plot trends. Art is a marvelous way to express themselves and explore, let them draw or use tools like Chrome Music Lab or Garageband to make some music.

And the key here is to have them retell that new information they have learned in their own words. They can tell you while you cook dinner or fold the laundry. Or leverage the power of technology and have them call their grandparents and tell them. If a child can retell what they learned in their own words, then the chances are they have understood it and internalized it.

You Don’t Need a Desk

At home, a lot of school work happens at a dining room or kitchen table. But don’t feel that it has too. Remember, you are not trying to recreate school. Let your kids do their word in a comfy  chair, lying on the floor or even outside if the weather is nice enough (It is snowing where I am this morning.)

My only two restrictions on how work is happening in my house right now are as follows:

1. TV off – Multitasking is a myth. Your brain can really only focus on one thing at a time. So for tasks that require my child to focus, no TV. If watching a video is part of the activity, such as viewing a documentary, then the TV can be on, but when it comes time for my son to demonstrate his learning, the TV is off.
2. No work in bed. – As tempting as it is, working in bed can cause sleep disruptions, among other things, so it is better if only recreational activities like reading take place in bed.  

Multi-Age Groupings Are Your Friends

If you have children of different ages, don’t feel like you have to run a seperate program for each of them. Instead, try to run an activity that they each get something different from. For example, on your daily walk, your three year old can try and find as many different leaves as possible, while your five year old tells you if the trees you are pasing are deciduous or conifer, and the 8 year-old and you try to identify what some of the trees are with help of an app.

You can also use siblings to work with each other. Older siblings can listen to a younger one’s reading practice. Younger siblings can be the audience for an older one’s dramatic reading. 

Real Life Skills

I am going to stress again that one of the best things that can come of this, aside from all of us staying healthy, is bolstering your kids’ life skills. Have them help you with the cleaning, teach them how to fold laundry, let them choose a recipe and then help you make it. You will be helping them develop the skills they need to be independent adults and you will be getting much needed chores done. You will also be building memories and bonds that are so important.

Spend Time With Them

For some  of us, our work expects us to work from home. For others, we don’t have the choice but to leave to go to work. But even with all that, we all need to carve out some time to be with our kids. This is a scary time for anyone, but for children who may not quite understand what is happening, it can be worse. Or think of the teen who is reading things on social media that would be terrifying for an adult to process. Your presence can be quite comforting, even if it means you are sitting on the couch, working on your mileage report while they take a break with Peppa Pig. That simple thing can help make this time easier for them. Give them the extra cuddle when they are looking for it, even if they are fifteen.

Tomorrow, I will be back with more of a traditional list, but I really wanted to take today to remind people to breathe. You don’t have to be all things to all people.

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If you have made it this far, a quick reminder that today ‘s Neighbourhood Window Walk topic is animals. Make an animal and hang it in a window that can be seen from the street so that families on their walk can see it.

Hello!

It’s me, Deanna, the teacher with 20+ years experience who, like you, is practicing social distancing at home with my child. I have decided to use my training and experience to develop a daily list of activities for you to do at home with your kids.

Today is World Water Day, a day designated by the UN to draw attention to the importance of freshwater. Today’s activities are focused on learning about and with water.

The Water Cycle

Create a Mini Water Cycle – Fill a large bowl a quarter of the way with water and then place an empty mug or cup into the bowl.  Cover the whole bowl with plastic wrap. Tie a string or place a rubber band around the plastic wrap to keep it in place. Place it outside in the sun or in a south facing window if, like me, you live in a part of Canada where winter is still going strong. Over the course of the day, the water will evaporate and then drip into the bowl. Have your kids draw a chart with times and have them check on the bowl periodically.

You can repeat this experiment, but this time with two seperate bowls. Place one in the sun and the other in the shade. Have your kids observe the difference in what happens. When you are done, please share the following with them.

Cloud in a Bottle

This next activity will require adult supervision. Fill a 2-liter bottle ⅓ of the way full with warm water. Screw on the cap. Firmly grasp the bottle and then squeeze and let go. Ask your kids to tell you what they see.  Then take off the cap. Now for the part that requires adult supervision. Light a match, blow it out and then quickly place it into the bottle while it is still warm. Screw the cap back on and repeat the squeezing and letting go of the bottle again. If all goes right, a cloud will form inside the bottle and you have just demonstrated how a cloud forms. (If you want, you can read them this after to explain what they have seen.)

Build a Water Filter

This is a classic science class activity that is easy to replicate in your home. There are tons of pages on the web that explain this activity, but how I would switch it up is let your kids do it a second time and see if they can make their filters better. Have them record their observations, just like real scientists by making a list of how much of each material they use for the various models, how long the water takes to filter, how well they work, etc.

Water Play

Playing with water is an important part of childhood. Unfortunately not all of us live by the ocean or somewhere where swimming is viable given the temperature right now. You can still give your kids a chance to play with water in your own home. Here are some ideas:

• Washing Toys Water Activity for Toddlers
• ICE FISHING AND COLOR MIXING
• PRESCHOOL SCIENCE – SINK OR FLOAT?
• Pouring Station Activity for Toddlers
• ALPHABET SENSORY PLAY

And if you don’t have a water play table, don’t worry here are some ideas on how to set up an alternative. This is also a good activity to co-opt your older children to help/supervise with, as I saw a good friend do with her tween daughter and two year-old son.

If it is warm enough, you can also send the kids to the back yard with some water pistols or sponge balls and have a water fight.

Water WebQuest

There are a variety of water webquests on the web. Choose the one you like the best and have your kids complete it. Better yet, have them make one for you to do!

• Water Webquest – Middle School Learning Tool for Water Education
• Webquest: Water
• Water Cycle Webquest

Research Water Issues

For older children, have them look at UN Sustainable Development Goal #6 and do some reading and research around the targets and indicators. Have them share their findings in some way. Blog post,vlog, slideshow, infographic, discuss them with a friend or family member on a video call, you name it.

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And now something just silly and fun. 

Today is also International Talk Like William Shatner Day. Started by Maurice LaMarche and Doug Van Horn, this day is meant to celebrate the very unique vocal stylings of William Shatner, the man who played Captain Kirk on the original Star Trek series. Start off by showing your kids some classic Kirk scenes like this one or this one. Then show them this how-to video from Maurice LaMarche, a renowned, Emmy winning voice actor responsible for such iconic characters as The Brain, Calculon and Lrr. LaMarche also does a very good William Shatner impression. He teaches you to speak like William Shatner in this video.  (Cut it off when the camera switches to the camera.) It is also a good lesson on different speaking techniques, which your kids can apply to their own presentations. (Or try to avoid.) And then practice. Try speaking like William Shatner as you do things around the house. Video tape and share your results. Laugh. Because we all need to laugh at this time.

And if your kids can handle it, share with them the song stylings of William Shatner. Also, keep an eye on his Twitter feed. Shatner is apparently making Captain’s Log entries, in between promoting his TV show.

Hello!

It’s me, Deanna, the teacher with 20+ years experience who, like you, is practicing social distancing at home with my child. I have decided to use my training and experience to develop a daily list of activities for you to do at home with your kids.

Today I want to focus on one of the most important things we can do with our kids, sharing stories with them. You probably already do some of what I am going to suggest, but it doesn’t hurt for all of us to be reminded about the importance of stories in our life.

Read to Your Child

Reading to your child is one of the most important things we can do. The benefits of reading are well documented. Even though I teach pre-teens and teens, I still read out loud to them on a regular basis. And they love it.

So take some time during this social distancing to read to your kids. No matter how old they are. Gather together once a day and read from your favourite books. They could be the picture books you read to them when they were little or grab a classic you want them to love off the shelf and read a chapter a day. 

Try and make it fun. Use voices. Insert some gestures. Try some call and response. And if you can’t do that, because it isn’t who you are, above all else remember that a child learns to love reading in the laps of their parents.

(And it’s World Poetry Day today, so if you can share some of that, bonus!)

Have Your Child Read to You

One of the things that is truly magical is hearing a child read. Have them grab a book and read to you while you do chores around the house. If could be anything. A joke book, a book full of facts about their favourite animal or a novel. Let them read. If they hit words that they are having trouble pronouncing, help them learn to say them. It might help make lunch go faster and your child is practicing their language skills.

This would also be a good time to fire up the video calling software on your phone or tablet and have your child read to a family member or friend.  Grandparents would LOVE this activity, so leverage it to get a bit of free time for you. Or have the grandparents read to them via video chat.

Share Your Stories

As you go about your day, tell stories that are related to what you are doing. If you are making cookies using the same recipe your mother used to use, share the stories that come from those cookies. Were the cookies so good that you had to take extra in your lunch because your friends would beg you to share? As you eat ice cream, share the story of your aunt who used to keep gourmet french vanilla for her cat. These are your stories. Pass them onto your children. And encourage them to pass theirs on to you. No matter how long or off topic they are.

Create Your Own Stories

A great way to incorporate storytelling into your routine is to make it part of your daily routine. So it isn’t just putting laundry in the washing machine, it’s using cloth missiles to take on the washing beast. I have done this with my own son, and even though he is eleven, he still enjoys participating in these mini-adventures. It can make chores fun and you are encouraging your child to develop their creativity. These may become the stories that they pass on to their children.

Audiobooks

There is a whole world of audiobooks out there. They can be purchased from your favourite online store or you can check your local library website to learn how to download one from them. Also check on YouTube, as some people have read their favourite books aloud using that platform.

Podcasts

Podcasts are a family favourite for us, giving us hours of entertainment. You can find a podcast ap in the Play or App Store (although one comes already loaded on an iPad). You can also play them on your web browser by going to the podcast’s webpage. Why not make some coco and listen to one of the storytelling podcasts out there? Some of our favourites are listed below:

• Myths and Legends – a great podcast by Jason Weiser that is appropriate for the whole family. Wiser has a great, informal storytelling style that he uses to look at the myths and legends of the world.
• Fictional – also from Jason Weiser, this podcast retells the classics of Western literature. This one would be better for tweens and up, but you know your kids best.
• Levar Burton Reads – the title says is all. Levar Burton reads short stories. It is like an updated Reading Rainbow. Note: this is for tweens up.
• The Two Princes – a fantasy adventure for the whole family.
• Stories Podcast – framed as a bedtime podcast, it retells classic stories, fairy tales and even some original stories.
• Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian – the story of an 8 year-old boy’s adventures in space.

Author and Celebrity Readings

One of the things that has been absolutely amazing through this period of social distancing is that so many people are stepping up to offer their talents. Among those are children’s and YA authors. Many of them are turning to social media and the web to share readings of their books. Celebrities are also doing read alouds. Some of the ones I want to highlight are:

• Mo Willems – the award winning author and illustrator is hosting a daily doodling session for kids. Each day, he includes instructions for people to download.
• Josh Gad – The star of Frozen and Beauty and the Beast is reading a story a day on Twitter. 
• Neil Gaiman – the author reads all of his book Coraline on his website.

Others can be found here and here and here.

TV & Film

I also want to put a plug in for these. These can be scary times for kids, so some time spent with a familiar media property can make them feel better.

Or sit with them and introduce them to one of your favourites from your childhood. Give them the stories that comforted you.  

***And since you have made it this far, it is also World Puppetry Day, so if you feel up to it, have the kids make sock puppets or paper puppets to help them retell a favourite story.