From our homes and neighborhoods to the entire world, all of us with the Center for Teaching Through Children’s Books share the uncertainties and fears as we continue to grapple with COVID-19. We also stand in support of our community of educators and librarians, creators and book sellers, parents and guardians who find themselves scrambling to find new ways to meet the needs of the young people in their lives.
Our Friends of the Center group is comprised of teachers and professors, librarians and literacy experts, each of whom are eager to share the resources they have found useful: websites, online activities and read-alouds by amazing authors, on-line drawing and art lessons by incredible illustrators and artists and so much more.
As more of our friends and colleagues reach out to me to share resources, I shall be adding to this compilation.
On behalf of all of us with the Center for Teaching Through Children’s Books we send out hopes to you all for health and strength . We believe our true power flows from supporting each other and sharing resources and ideas. Together we will weather this storm.
From Betsy Bird
Collection Development Manager, Evanston Public Library
Encantos Learning Hub
http://www.encantosbrands.com/learning
Bilingual and cultural resources for children 6 and under
The Today Show Homeschooling Resource Collection
A robust compilation of resources for parents, guardians and teachers who find themselves conducting lessons and activities for their children/students from home.
From Anny Rusk
Youth Services Library Associate, Winnetka-Northfield Public Library
http://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/resources-learning-home-during-covid-19-school-closures?
Health Safety Lessons and activities
https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/coronavirus.html
Disney Fun
https://insidethemagic.net/2017/10/home-imagineering-9-disney-diy-ideas-add-pixie-dust-domicile/
https://insidethemagic.net/2020/03/disney-printables-ec1/
https://insidethemagic.net/2020/03/disney-recipe-gastons-famous-cinnamon-rolls-kc1/
Boeing Virtual Field Trips
https://www.boeingfutureu.com/virtual-field-trips
From Margaret Pyterek
EdD-Adjunct Professor, National Louis University
My suggestion for home immersion in books is to get delivery of books or rapid pick-up from favorite independent book stores and after reading, post reviews on Goodreads. This way, other readers can learn about new titles to read!
I hope that this small idea can work for literature lovers!
From Maureen O’Shea
Substitute teacher, East Maine School District 63 & Substitute in the Chicago Public Library’s Teacher in the Library Program.
Toy Theater
http://toytheater.com
Toy Theater is a collection of elementary level interactive educational games. They are all free and are designed to work on computers, tablets and mobile devices.
Math Games
Coolmath Games is a brain-training site, for everyone, where logic & thinking & math meets fun & games. These games have no violence, no empty action.
ABCya
Educational games for grades PreK through 6 that will keep kids engaged and having fun. Topics include math, reading, typing, just-for-fun logic games.
EPIC
www.get epic.com
Instantly access 35,000 of the best books, learning videos, quizzes & more. A free 30 day trial.
Khan Academy
You can learn anything. Expert-created content and resources for every course and level. Always free.
Hour of Code
Anyone, anywhere can organize an Hour of Code event. One-hour tutorials in over 45 languages. No experience needed.
30+Virtual Free Trips for Kids
https://theeducatorsspinonit.com/virtual-field-trips-for-kids/
Stuck at Home? Here are 30+ great Virtual Field Trips for early learners to explore from your home on your couch. From zoos and landmarks to famous museums, you can explore the world with your child with over a month of virtual field trips!
- GoNoodle
This is a free website that has a lot of fun, silly, kid-friendly videos, games, and dances for kids to do. It’s a great way for kids to move around a little to fight the quarantine blues.
Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmzjCPQv3y8
Children’s author Mo Willems teaches you how to draw different characters from your favorite book
Free Creative Apps:
StopMotion: Allows people to make videos through stop motion animation.
Toontastic: Storytelling app.
PicCollage: Photo collage app
Scratch Jr. -Coding/Animation app
Light Bot Jr. - A coding/puzzle game
Five Minutes of Gratitude- A journaling app that specifically helps with positivity and gratefulness.
Diary- A digital app that helps chronicle moments in time.
Longwalks- Guided journaling app
From Our Colleagues, Creators and Friends
From WNDB (diversebooks.org)
https://diversebooks.org/covid-19-resources/
From SCBWI (scbwi.org)
https://www.scbwi.org/digital-directory-for-remote-learning-resources/
From Edith Campbell
Assistant Reference and Instruction Librarian, Cunningham Memorial Library
https://libguides.indstate.edu/JEDI
Resources for PreK-12 addressing Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI)