How to keep kids learning at home during coronavirus school closures
Spring break has turned into an extended vacation for kids in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
More than 20 Houston-area school districts have announced that schools will remain closed through at least April 10. If you’re a parent, this means it will now be your responsibility to keep your child busy throughout the day. And that shouldn’t mean nonstop Netflix and video games — however tempting that may be.
During the summer, kids can develop a case of “summer brain drain,” sometimes known as “summer slide” or “summer setback,” referring to a loss of skills and knowledge. According to Oxford Learning, kids can lose almost three months of math skills and two months of reading skills over the summer. They then have to spend weeks relearning once school is back in session.
But don’t freak out just yet. “Relax, be patient, and let things settle. Let kids get used to the new, temporary norms without pressure,” says Elcida Rodriguez, a bilingual literacy specialist at Mahaffey Elementary in Tomball. “Start with keeping things simple and fun while maintaining routines. Keep them reading and writing. But don’t worry too much yet about them falling behind. Schools are working hard on getting plans together.”
Even if your school has yet to provide formal guidelines for instruction, there are several online resources you can use right now, offering everything from reading and math to virtual tours and music classes.
Here is a sample of what’s available.
Children’s Museum of Houston
The museum is closed through March 31 but will continue to engage kids with a daily virtuallearning broadcast schedule. It includes:
• 10:15 a.m. “O Wow Moment” on Facebook (facebook.com/ cmhouston)
• 11:15 a.m. Story Time (English) on Instagram (instagram.com/childrensmuseumhouston)
• 12:15 p.m. Educator Moment on Facebook and Instagram
• 1:15 p.m. Story Time (Spanish) on Instagram
• 3:15 p.m. Toddler Time on YouTube
There are also tons of free resources at cmhouston.org.
Rock Hall of Fame (edu.rockhall.com)
Rock Hall EDU, the Rock Hall of Fame’s digital learning platform, includes lesson plans, activities, videos, playlists and more from the Rock Hall’s Library & Archives. And it’s free. Among them are the Music & Civil Rights Collection, An Introduction to Rock Drumming with Max Weinberg and Good Vibrations Experiment.
GoNoodle (gonoodle.com)
This is a fantastic resource for kids that includes everything from learning to dancing to overall wellness. It helps kids deal with anxiety, learn how to relax and even makes yoga fun. Good Energy at Home includes movement, mindfulness videos, offscreen home activities and more at no cost.
Scholastic (scholastic.com/ learnathome)
Scholastic is offering more than two weeks of free resources and activities for kids from pre-K to sixth grade.
Khan Academy (khanacademy.org)
A free online learning platform with practice exercises, instructional videos and a learning dashboard for students. It also has specialized content from NASA, the Museum of Modern Art, the California Academy of Sciences and MIT. There are now daily schedules for students in pre-K through grade 12 to follow from home.
Outschool (outschool.com)
Outschool is offering free live online classes for students ages 3-18 that are done via video chat. Classes include English, math, social studies, science, coding, health and wellness, music, art and world languages.
PBS Kids (pbskids.org)
PBS Kids offers a newsletter with activities and games for students ages 2-8. The PBS KIDS Video app offers educational videos and a livestream of the
PBS KIDS channel. The PBS KIDS Games app has almost 200 educational games. And PBS KIDS for Parents includes information, activities and tips for parents, including “How to Talk to Your Kids About Coronavirus.”
ABCmouse.com, Adventure Academy (adventureacademy.com) and Reading IQ (readingiq.com)
Get free access to ABCmouse.com, Adventure Academy and ReadingIQ, which serve kids up to age 12. Use code SCHOOL7771 for free access.
Storyline Online (storylineonline.net)
Videos featuring award-winning actors reading children’s books with illustrations. Celebrity readers include Viola Davis, Allison Janney, Annette Bening and Betty White.
Prodigy Math (prodigygame.com)
A free platform offering math games and more.
Duolingo (duolingo.com)
A free language learning platform that can teach you Spanish, French, Japanese and more.
Story Time from Space (storytimefromspace.com)
Astronauts read children’s books from space. Really.
Raddish Kids (raddishkids.com)
Free cooking kits, recipes and live classes for kids.
Virtual farm tours (americandairy.com/ dairy-in-schools/ virtual-farm-tour.stml)
The American Dairy Association is offering virtual tours of farms for kids of various ages.
Fluency & Fitness (fluencyandfitness.com)
K-2 reading and math, indoor recess, brain breaks and more. Parents can get three free weeks of access.
Houston Zoo Webcams (houstonzoo.org/ explore/webcams)
Free, live and up close (when they’re in the mood). See giraffes, gorillas, rhinos and more.
BrainPop (brainpop.com)
Parents can request free access to the site’s variety of games, animation and activities on a variety of topics.
America’s Test Kitchen Kids (americastestkitchen.com/ kids)
The site is offering all resources for free, including recipes, activities and experiments that promote healthy eating and cooking together. There are also daily lesson plans and videos.
Crayola (created.crayola.com/ homelearning)
The Crayola Education Team will host a virtual event at 9 a.m. March 24 to provide families with hands-on activities they can do with their children. It will include questions, vocabulary, ways to adapt the activity for older and younger children and a video example.
Tinkergarten at Home (tinkergarten.com)
Free weekly activities, including outdoor fun, parent insights, online sessions with others and more.