A resource list of kid-friendly Activities
Find guided activities and educational programs to support student learning and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Reading for Multilingual Families
A child's success as a reader begins much earlier than the first day of school. Reading, and a love for reading, begins at home. Our one-page parent tips offer easy ways for parents to help kids become successful readers. Although we've divided these tips by age, many of them can be used with children at various ages and stages — we encourage you to choose the ones that work best for your child. - RR
Reading Rockets provides a comprehensive list of reading materials in several languages. Also, there are resources for parents with children who have disabilities.
SpaceCraft Activities
At-home projects are not rocket science! Follow the step-by-step activity guides provided by NASA. For example, if you want to build your own helicopter this activity takes 30 minutes. Recommended for 3rd-8th grade students.
Check out more activities and media provided by NASA STEM @ Home For Students Grades K-4+.
Summer Learning (Gains)
Start With a Book makes reading and learning fun! Do you know children who are fascinated by dinosaurs, planes, bugs, birds, animals, the moon and stars, art, thunder and lightning? Are there any young detectives, explorers, or superheroes at home? Do your kids love reading poetry, myths, or tall tales? Start with a book … and open up a world of discovery and learning! Browse their topic library below to jumpstart your summer adventure. - SWB
Digital Reading Platform
Reading just got a lot more fun with Big Universe
Big Universe is a digital reading platform, offering access to over 17,000 books for students in grades K–12.
STEM Series
Let’s Learn About… DNA, snow, ancient technology, and more!
This series presents a handful of topics with guided activity plans, videos, and more resources to help students and families learn. This collection presents information with the intention of making learning engaging and fun!
Healthy Eating
PBS for parents offers activities, experiments, and media to engage kids in a variety of subjects.
Create Cute Veggie Snails - 30 min activity
Get your student interested in wild animals just like the Kratt Brothers. Have fun learning about animals while making your own veggie creature creations.
Coding For Kids
This website complies a list of the 12 best coding tools & resources for kids in grades 4 - 12. Learn more about how you can support youth tech literacy HERE.
Reading Support
Kids LOVE to read when they know HOW to read. #MassLiteracy will help all kids learn the skills they need to love reading. Get access to resources here!
L.E.I programming
The Latino Education Institute (L.E.I) is providing support for Latino families in #Worecester. We would like to highlight the Parent Navigation Center which will support takers in learning new skills to support their families, themselves, and the community.
Click HERE
Tech Support
Worcester Public Schools has been developing a Caregivers #Technology Academy Website - it is a GREAT resource for staff, students, and families/parents. It is user-friendly and explains and walks you through all the applications students will be using during remote learning. From Google Classroom tutorials all the way to Zooms/Google Meets. Another great feature is they have it translated into over 6 languages and are looking to add more.
School Reopening Guidance
In light of schools reopening, Lesley University's Center for Inclusive Education Institute for Trauma Sensitivity, published a brochure to help parents and families.
Download and share the PDF here
LIFTS Community Hub Resources for more information on each value here
Understanding Trauma Sensitive Practices Training
View the full PDF here
The COVID-19 outbreak and the magnitude of its disruption has amplified the impact of racism and inequality. It has compounded existing traumas and created new ones. If left unaddressed, trauma can derail normal development and lead to long-term negative impacts. The scope of this community trauma calls on all of us to aid in the social and emotional well-being of our youth. This 6-Module Training Series is intended to build capacity and increase empathy and understanding for ourselves and each other. Free and Open to the public. We hope you can attend all sessions but are happy for whatever you can do. Registration is required.
List of Free Resources During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Dealhack List of Free Resources During the COVID-19 Pandemic is a compilation of websites, educational institutions, and other businesses that offer free services and programs not just for home-based learning but also for your general well-being throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. You can download and print this guide in PDF format so you can access it even without Internet access.
Click HERE
Summer WORDS
Knowing lots of words helps children become strong readers. Worcester Reads’ Word of the Day (WOD) project will help children learn new words throughout the year. Summer is a great time to explore new words!
Ask them if they know the WOD, use their answers to define it and use it in a sentence.
• Then use the WOD in sentences throughout the course of the day.
• Post the WOD or WOD Calendar on your blackboards, bulletin boards, marquees, storefront windows, reception desks, Facebook pages, and websites.
• Talk it up with everyone!
Click HERE for the summer schedule
Queer Media for Kids
Positive queer representation in media, especially for younger audiences, allows LGBTQI people to see that they're not alone and that they have role models to look up to. Here's a list of queer media (movies/series) for children that your family can support this. Click here!
Summer Math Classes
Math is fun online too! Khan academy designed the Get Ready for Grade Level math courses to help students master the most important skills they’ll need for the next grade. Course levels from 3rd grade - pre-calculus here!
Free Trauma Training Series
The Worcester Education Equity Roundtable Presents Understanding Trauma Sensitive Practices. Free Zoom Lecture Series 6/24, 6/25 & 6/26/20. Convened by Worcester Education Collaborative, funded by Worcester Together. More sessions coming in August.
WellNess ToolKit
The Center for Youth Wellness published a 7 Domains of Wellness Toolkit was created to help support families experiencing stress. This toolkit will give you free, easy-to-follow tips and activities to help you and those you love get through this together using the 7 domains of wellness: supportive relationships, sleeping well, eating well, exercise, mindfulness, mental health care, and nature.
Download the PDF HERE in English
Download the PDF HERE in Spanish
Learning STEM
Remake Learning provides tools and resources that support science, technology, engineering, and math.
Download guides, video tutorials, and more for the following programs:
‣ CSforPGH
‣ Maker Learning Collaborative
‣ Personalized Learning
‣ Professional Learning Collaborative
‣ STE(A)M Ecosystem
‣ Youth Voice
Kid-Friendly Content
There’s just so much science, nature, music, art, technology, storytelling and assorted good stuff out that kids haven’t seen yet. To find kid-friendly content, check out TSSK. Kids can enjoy around 10 to 15 newly-added videos every week, browse the collections, and search topics in the archives.
education and activity resources
The Washington Post has complied resources in 10 categories: education, travel, reading, mental wellness, music, art, physical activity, theater and dance, languages and entertainment.
Whether it’s exploring a museum's collection or practicing mindfulness, click here to find your next activity!
SUPPORTING
YOUNG
CHILDREN
What can we do when we have so many hours to fill with our children at home? What can we do to help them stay active and engaged and to thrive? What about screen time?
Defending the Early Years (DEY) provides a guide for parents with a list of communication strategies, play time activities, screen time suggestions, and how to talk to young children. Click HERE.
Tinkergarten At Home
Tinkergarten suggests free activities to get outdoors – from simple discovery walks to mud puddles and much more. Explore the website where you can find weekly activity plans, live sessions, and facebook groups.
Also written in Spanish!
How to Support Children (and Yourself)
The Center for the Developing Child at Harvard University offers you a guide on how to support children and yourself – simple 3 steps with links to videos, tips, and suggestions, and resources. Click HERE.
1️⃣ Practice “serve and return”
2️⃣ Maintain social connections
3️⃣ Take a break (to manage your stress)
Wide Open School
Wide open school is a website that provides FREE daily schedules with suggested activities for educators and families. Schedules are organized by grade level with links to educational material on platforms such as Youtube, Khan Academy, Scholastic, etc.
Activities that support emotional well-being, English-language learning, life-skills, science & much more!
Free website on phone, tablet, computer ✔️
Accessible for grade levels Pre-k through 12 ✔️
Scheduled activities encourage fun learning ✔️
No subscription or log-in needed. Start here!
REC Woo Online
Rec Woo Online is a program of the City of Worcester Division of Youth Opportunities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and stay at home advisory which provides enrichment opportunities for youth through online platforms.
Three 20 minute videos each week!
Arts, Academics, and Athletics activities!
Tune in weekly for new videos, activities, and challenges! They will be posting video lessons and activities for youth and families to follow along with from home!
Tune in through DYO’s website, Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube!
Resources for Parents
EdNavigator created a great resource for parents (in English and Spanish): their One Great Thing For Tomorrow newsletter. Click to subscribe
Child Trends put together an article on Resources for Supporting Children’s Emotional Well-being during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Massachusetts Advocates for Children is an advocacy group that has established many resources amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic. They even offer virtual chats with parents in both Spanish and English to discuss accessing special education resources at this time. To access further resources in Spanish click here.
Reading Rockets Newsletter has lots of resources for learning from home, particularly for reading, writing, and listening to poetry!
Free Learning Resources
Scholastic is offering free daily lessons for children in elementary and middle school. Click HERE for access.
WGBH offers a free streaming service called WORLD Channel for middle school and high school students. Click HERE for the schedule and streaming.
Arcademics offers educational games covering a range of subjects for grades K-8.
Dreamscape offers reading games for grades 2-8.
Khan Academy offers activities, video lessons, and quizzes in a range of subjects for children of all ages in 40 different languages.
Teach Western Mass creates a Distance Learning Resource Compendium (Live) of resources and guides about distance-learning and COVID-19 response plans
Scouts offers free access to games, ideas, and instructions for activities and projects to make the indoors fun and educational
With access to hundreds of books, authors, readings, and performances, TeachingBooks is providing free access to its at-home Book and Reading Engagement Kit
**Click HERE for a comprehensive list of free learning resources to find which fit your family best!
Click HERE for a full list of museums around the world that provide online tours!
Access to Books
Libby gives you mobile access to ebooks and audiobooks with a Worcester Public Library card.
The Spanish Experiment is free service offers popular children’s books narrated in Spanish. Read along with your kids! Click HERE for access.
Entertainment
Kanopy offers free movies to stream with a public library card.
