Welcome to the first blog post in our Learning from Home series. We’re hoping to post new content a couple of times a week for you, although the changing nature of the world we now find ourselves in may affect that. I hope that you find the resources below helpful while your students or children are learning from home.
First thing’s first, we’ve had many enquiries about our policy on virtual/on-line read alouds. Please find it here. This page contains both the necessary information you will need about how to utilise the temporary licence to provide virtual/on-line read alouds to your students, as well as a form you will need to complete.
Depending on the age and interests of your child, TED and TEDx Talks can also be a great way to keep them entertained (and learning, even if they don’t realise it!). Many of these talks are by or for children, and quite a few may not be directed at kids, but children will still find them fascinating. (My all-time favourite TED Talk is about the best way to tie your shoelaces . I’m not joking – it changed the way I tie my laces forever!) This will particularly be the case if you have a child interested in a field of science, or obsessed with a literary genre. Maybe they could even make a ‘TED’ Talk about something they’re passionate about to be shared with their class, or friends and family.
Do you have a child who would love to be an author or illustrator? Does your child love to draw? Author and illustrator Matt Stanton has his very own YouTube Channel, where he will take you inside his studio and share insights into his life making wonderful children’s books. Stanton offers tips and tricks about creating characters, using both words and illustrations. You can even watch some of his previous book ‘launches’ – which are unlike any other book launches we’ve ever seen!
The Kids News website is already very well known by many of you, with their child-friendly news articles, competitions and classroom resources. These are all reason enough to recommend the site to you, but they have also committed to providing free daily activities for children from Prep/Kindy to Year 9. Activities cover topics as diverse as yoga, resilience and bridge building, so there’s sure to be something for everyone.
Thanks for spending some time on the blog, and I hope you’ve found something useful. Stay well, and I look forward to our next instalment.
Regards,
Jemma
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3 Responses
This all sounds very helpful. Thank you. However, it is possible to indicate/ separate somehow primary school from high school ideas and activities – just will save time and effort if I can skip what is not actually relevant to me. I anticipate there will be more PS stuff, but the occasional high school item would be very appreciated in these difficult times. I realise that some might cover late PS and early HS but these could be indicated too.
Thanks for the suggestion Sue. Many of these activities can be done by children of any age – even adults – which is why we haven’t specified age groups or year levels. Where it is appropriate, we will do so.
Teenagers are prickly about being treated as littlies. If I use something it must be age related, hence my suggestion. Just thought maybe ideas could be put into a sort of order, PS first and down the pages later HS, with common work in the middle.