A NOTE FROM EARLY MATTERS: Right now our country is hurting and our children are watching. If you’re looking for resources to help start the conversation about race and anti-racism with your children, we have compiled a list below. To read our statement in solidarity with Black children and their families in our community, please visit our homepage.
Raising young children is hard enough without social distancing, working from home, layoffs, food insecurities, and school shut-downs in the mix. It can be difficult to know how best to support your child during a crisis. Just know that right now what your children need above all else is YOU. And whatever you’re doing, you’re doing a GREAT JOB. Now is not the time to stress over brain development and following a curriculum. The most important thing is for you to love your children through the stress.
For those parents still in need of activities and tools to help get you from breakfast to bedtime during social distancing, read on below for a list of compiled resources for at-home activity ideas as well as support for mental and social-emotional health. There are also links to adult-specific resources like balancing working from home. Remember, although it may be hard to see at present, this is a very precious time with your children.
Resources on Race and Anti-Racism
Library of Congress – Hear You Me video discussing ways to hear and support kids during a period of nationwide protest against injustice
Local Resources
TFP Families – A resource for parents and children during coronavirus outbreak featuring stories about the great things some of our member organizations are doing like the Creative Discovery Museum, Chattanooga Public Library, and Chattanooga Zoo.
First Things Firstcreated a page with resources to keep yourself and your family healthy & positive during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Chattanooga Basics – Five simple, evidence-based parenting and caregiving principles that can benefit children from all backgrounds. Subscribe to receive weekly email encouragements to help your child thrive.
Activities by Age
Activities for Infants
Chattanooga Basics– Activities you can do with your infant
Ways to Occupy Babies While Staying at Homefrom theeverymom.com
Pathways.org – Activities for baby’s brain development, month-by-month
What to Expect – The First Year milestones, baby’s growth, and tips to make life easier
Activities for Toddlers
Simple activities you can do with your children at home RIGHT NOW from theeverymom.com
At-home activities for parents and young children from Brookes Publishing
20 Activities to Alleviate Cabin Fever
Creating new routines can be a learning opportunity, like having lunch on a picnic blanket on the floor instead of at the table. See more ideas fromSesame Street’s Routines During “The For-Now Normal”
Dolly Parton reads bedtime stories. If you’re not signed up to receive monthly free books from Imagination Library, click here!
Chattanooga Basics– Activities you can do with your toddler
Activities for Toddlers (inside and outside) from No Time for Flashcards
Read Together. Books likeElmo’s Emojis: A Book of Faces and Feelings and 100+ other Sesame Street ebook titles are free for families right now — find them wherever e-books are sold: Apple, Barnes and Noble, Google, Kobo]
Ways to Stay Active with Kids at Homefrom schoolclosures.org
Activity Pages and Coloring Pages from Sesame Street
Activities for PreK
Simple activitiesyou can do with your children at home RIGHT NOW from theeverymom.com
PBS Pre-K resource: Chattanooga WTCI provides 2 hours of high-quality instructional content from 11 am – 1 pm
Enriching Activities for PreSchoolers
Preschool Activities and Plans for Working Parents from No Time for Flash Cards
10-Day Preschool Plan from Teachers Pay Teachers
PreK Prep – Home activities and Outdoor Play Exercises by Ignite
Ways to Stay Active with Kids at Home
Activities in Spanish
First Aid for Feelings, a free workbook to help kids deal with feelings during Coronavirus
PreK Learning From Home Packet
First Things First digital Parent Kit – or Guía para Padres de Familia – and Ages and Stages guides for children ages two months to 5 years old
Social-Emotional & Mental Health Supports (for children)
Supporting Children During Coronavirus (COVID19) – an NCTSN fact sheet
Harvard Center on the Developing Child– How to support children (and yourself) during COVID-19
Resources for Supporting Children’s Emotional Well-being during the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Impact of a Parent’s MoodVideo
Ways to Promote Children’s Resilience to the COVID-19 Pandemic– Child Trends
Self-Care and Well-Being with Young Children– Ways to bring more peace and compassion into the day
Nickelodeon Kids Together Town Hall with Kristen Bell – Kids ask experts questions about the coronavirus
Link to easy pillow calming corner – “Curl up and read their favorite book,” suggested Denise Daniels. “Write in a feelings journal. Listen to calming music. Draw pictures of what they’re afraid of and talk through those feelings. Encourage kids to tell themselves to be brave and that they be OK.” Huff Post Article “She also recommended designating a calming corner ― a soothing place in your home or apartment where kids can go when they’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed.”
Resources for Grown-Ups
10 Tips for Working from Home With Kids During the Coronavirus Outbreak
Self Care Checklist, NCTSN
Parenting Stress: 10 evidence-based tips for making life better
What to Do if Your Child May Be Sick
How to Keep Your Baby Safe While You’re Working from Home
Survival Mode: Parenting in the Time of COVID by Appalachian Perinatal Mental Health Alliance and Cherished Mom. A free webinar series to help parents cope with stress and anxiety related to pregnancy and parenting during COVID. Fridays 12:00 – 1:00 pm. Register at https://www.cherishedmom.org/survivalmode/
For more tips and tools, follow @ChattBasics on Social Media! Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
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