As the school year starts up again, we thought it would be a good time to focus on resources for learning with kids at home. Of course, The Family Center/La Familia provides childcare year-round but nonetheless, many centers, including ours, cannot run at full capacity, leaving many in varying circumstances not only working from home but with kids at home as well.
Now more than ever there are TONS of great resources out there for learning with kids at home. We wanted to provide some quick links to a couple of these great resources and then focus specifically on some resources that can support Latinx families in our community!
- The CDC provides a simple list of tips for helping set a routine for kids to learn at home, including a list of online free learning websites: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/children/learning.html
*The CDC has the option to translate their site into multiple languages, including Spanish (https://www.cdc.gov/spanish/).
- This printable learning schedule can help create an at-home learning routine: https://icdn.kiwico.com/landing/at-home/KiwiCo-at-home-learning-schedule.pdf
- KiwiCo has lots of resources for parents, activities by age group, and even a weekly community challenge on their at-home resources page: https://www.kiwico.com/kids-at-home
- This blog has a list of free learning websites for kids broken up by subject and age group: https://www.kiwico.com/blog/2020/03/18/free-learning-websites-for-kids/
While these resources provide a great starting point, we recognize that not all parents and families come with the same means or capacities to help their children succeed with at-home learning, no matter their age. Our early childhood education center, El Nidito, is not just low cost and affordable for families in need but also provides bilingual support services for families. An extra challenge is placed on English Second Language (ESL) parents in our community when they are asked to have their kids learn from home. Here are some additional tips and resources for teachers and families to support ESL individuals.
- Commonsense.org has created a resource page where every link has been translated into Spanish to provide tools for parents with kids at home: https://www.commonsense.org/education/toolkit/audience/family-engagement-resources-in-spanish
- The Smile & Learn – Español YouTube channel has a whole host of learning videos for young kids: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCZpm6436NiU__lcBAlEZmQ
- Etapa Infantil is an organization and website in Spanish with resources for parents about educating their kids at home and much more: https://www.etapainfantil.com/educacion
- Last but not least, the League of United Latin American Citizens has a page dedicated to information and resources for parents, many of which are in English and Spanish: https://lulac.org/covid19/families/
One of the best ways to support our organization, and the kids and families that we serve is through monthly donations. Learn more about the impact your monthly donation can make here: