Art by Garth Williams, 1948 from Wait Till the Moon is Full by Margaret Wise Brown
Oh, Stone Families! How sad it is that we won't be seeing each other for a little while! In the meantime...
Fun at-home activities from the library:
• Book check-out! All students will be given time on Monday, March 16th to check out a big pile of books! Students should return these resources on their scheduled library day the week of our return.
There are no late books during the period of the Coronavirus hiatus; please ignore any automated email notices you may receive from CPS that suggest otherwise. If you select not to have your child to attend school on Monday, please avail yourself of the
CPS Virtual Library and other online reading resources
here.
• Tra-la-LAAAAA! The Junior Librarian Team will be sponsoring a graphic novel contest and showcase after the quarantine, open to all grade levels! Stories should be original and school appropriate, full-color and unlined paper preferred, all mediums accepted (marker, ink, crayon, pencil). You may work with a friend (if possible) or a sibling! Don't forget: personal narratives and non-fiction make great subjects for comic books! We are not looking for great art, we are looking for great laughs, great stories, great information or great feeling. Have fun making it and it will be fun to read! Children can make more than one and submit a favorite.
• Book Club! Grades 4 and up are welcome to join in a community read:
City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau and
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin!
Access to books is going to be different for different families, and these are not mandatory...but for students looking for reading community, read these books and be prepared to join in fun conversations online and upon your return! These books also make great read-alouds and fodder for a family book club.
• VIRTUAL LIBRARY! Speaking of book access, don't forget the
CPS Virtual Library, which includes lots of FREE e-books and books on tape for every CPS student! Children can "check out" e-books using their CPS login information (Ms. Johnson has personal logins if you don't remember yours). Your child should never be without something to read online using this resource! Also, check out the
International Children's Digital Library which has books in many languages and from around the world, no login required.
Some helpful hints for parents for your homeschooling adventure:
PLEASE TURN ON THE CLOSED CAPTIONING FEATURE ON YOUR COMPUTER/TELEVISION!!!
It is anticipated that most families will be having a little more screen time than usual during the quarantine. By turning on this feature when your child watches a show, you are ensuring important exposure to print even when your child is not reading a book. Please! This is a small thing to do that
can make a big difference...it's a great way to painlessly increase a child's sight word vocabulary and reading fluency!
YOU DON'T HAVE TO REPLICATE THE SCHOOL EXPERIENCE TO HAVE AN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE.
Filling the days with piles of worksheets and assignments will likely bore your child and create conflict. Keep in mind, many children can get a lot more done in less time working at home, where there are fewer bathroom breaks and transitions between classes and peer distractions. Children learn from relationships. Teach your child to make scrambled eggs or walk them through a family recipe. Play board games. Work on tying shoes. Read aloud. Interview an elder. Write letters to friends. Plant a windowsill garden. Learn a craft on YouTube together. Watch a classic movie together (suggestions to come). Build indoor forts, or models, or cardboard box dollhouses. Whatever you can do is enough, whatever you have can be enough. Don't stress. This can be a positive and memorable time just by being as present as possible. Find your own flow and put the mental and physical health of your family first.
MOVE THE SCREENS WHERE YOU CAN SEE CHILDREN USING THEM AND PRACTICE CYBERSAFETY.
The internet has rich offerings during this time but also potential pitfalls. Have a conversation about screen time and phone use at the outset. Especially with older kids, come up with a plan you can agree upon and a cut-off time for phone usage to avoid conflict as the days wear on. While we don't want to isolate children during the quarantine, we also don't want them to develop poor habits. Increased unsupervised online activity can also be a recipe for exposure to inappropriate thematic content or contact with inappropriate strangers or online bullies. Check histories, activate filters and put screens where activity can be monitored.
TALK TO YOUR CHILD ABOUT THE NEWS. In middle school library classes, we have been talking about citing sources and the credibility of what we read, where information comes from and considering the viability of who is speaking or writing. Who do we believe? What makes information fact and what makes something an opinion? Use the news that the children encounter online and on television to continue that conversation and to mitigate fears during this stressful time.
ENCOURAGE JOURNALING. Children can keep a personal diary of life during this time or make a daily family newspaper. Remember, this is an unprecedented time. Remind kids they are living the history we read about. Their stories matter and will matter.
GIVE YOUR CHILD THE RECESS WE CAN'T. Your child loves, craves and needs physical activity. Because of mandates of the way time is spent during a school day, we can't give them the long recess they developmentally deserve. You can. Long, long walks and bike rides are encouraged while keeping social distancing. It will help focus and mood. Recognizing that many parents work; do it as you're able.
IT'S OKAY TO BE A LITTLE BORED. While it is helpful to have art supplies and books and resources within your child's reach, it is not your job as a parent to fill and schedule every moment. A little down-time fosters creativity, imagination and autonomy...and reading! Speaking of...
MAKE READING DURING THE QUARANTINE ABOUT CHOICE, NOT LEVELS.
Comic books are real reading. Sports magazines are real reading. Cookbooks are real reading. Books on tape are real listening (and reading, if you get a copy of read along). Picture books are real reading and promote visual literacy. Read-aloud across the grade levels is one of the most academically beneficial things you can do for your child during this and any time. Even when your child knows how to read, reading aloud with your child following along in the book (you can run your fingers under the word as you read) does wonders and also fosters positive connections with books and with you. Additional and specific book recommendation blasts from the recent past may be found
here,
here and
here, and on my personal children's book review website
here, but again, access to specific titles is going to differ from house to house and there are no wrong choices. Your assignment: read what you have and read for fun.
SET REASONABLE GOALS IN READING AND ALL THINGS. Try a Book Bingo (sample card
here, but
tons from which to choose). Or create a reading batting average (picture book = single, nonfiction = double, chapter book = triple, classic finished as a family = home run; use the sport of your choice and the categories of your choice). Or, how many award-winners (or any genre) can you read? Small, attainable steps toward a goal or open-ended achievements build confidence.
ADDITIONAL HOMESCHOOLING ONLINE RESOURCES here! Try not to be overwhelmed; remember, you don't have to do them all or any of them at all, they are tools to be used if needed. An "assignment" might be for children themselves to explore five a day and write "reviews."
Please check back to this blog for updates and special hellos from our library hero, Grabby Bunny. Wishing you all health and enjoyment of books and one another, from my house to yours.
XOXO,
Ms. Esme
