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California Help Line for Parents: English, Spanish, and other languages

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California Help Line for Parents: English, Spanish, and other languages

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Call 855-4APARENT for more info

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California Parent & Youth Helpline | Parenting Help

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We’re here to support parents and youth with the stress and concerns of COVID-19 and its impact on California families. Call or text 855-427-2736.

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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Where the Wild Things Are Book Read Aloud | Children's Books Read Aloud | Bedtime Stories

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For fun: The Lorax, rapped over Dr. Dre beats

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For fun: The Lorax, rapped over Dr. Dre beats

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Enjoy the rhythm of language with your children

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THE LORAX | Dr. Seuss Raps over Dr. Dre Beats

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Helpful hints for planning to use this worksheet below!

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Have you tried the 5-point scale? A great resource for behavior management for ALL children!

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Have you ever used the Incredible 5-Point Scale? This is a very simple tool that can be used to teach self-regulation. It was originally designed for children with autism, but it is highly effective with anybody of any age. It's simply a 5-point scale for regulating. It was created by Kari Dunn Buron who describes herself as a pretty good teacher from Minnesota. Although I have not found specific research conducted on the scale itself, it is a form of self-management and similar to other self-management strategies. Self-management is considered an evidence-based strategy by the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders. Consequently as a tool for implementing self-management, it would be considered evidence-based and you can learn more about self-management strategies in general through the Autism Internet Modules.
This post includes affiliate links. That means if I recommend a resource, I may gain a small commission. You will get, at no extra cost, a resource that can help you in your classroom. See my disclosure statement for more information.
What is it?

The 5-point scale is exactly what it sounds like. A 5-point scale that is developed to help an individual understand and learn when emotions, voices, or whatever you are moderating is getting out of control. It can be developed by the teacher or parent or as a collaboration between the teacher / parent and the individual with autism (or other behavioral issues). I have used it successfully from kindergarten through high school. And many times I think it might be useful for some "typical" adults.

Anger Management Tool

The example below was developed for a student who had difficulty managing anger. A 1 meant everything was fine and 5 meant he was hitting, screaming and crying. The goal was to try to recognize that he was a 2 or a 3. Then he needed to learn to bring the anger level down before it reached a 5. To do this he could take a break, do some deep breathing, or other strategies we had rehearsed with him when he was calm.

Why I Like the 5-Point Scale

Simplicity: How difficult is it to break something down into 5 levels. I have also simplified it with younger children or individuals with more cognitive difficulties to a 3 point scale. I would recommend, if you simplify it, to simplify it as 1, 3, and 5 so that later you can add 2 and 4 if needed. However, I have had folks who used a 3-point scale in the same manner.

Objectivity. By rating feelings and behaviors as numbers, they aren't labeled as good and bad. Being angry isn't bad and we all have been angry. It's what we do to express that anger and manage that anger that matters. The 5-point scale helps individuals with difficulty learn how to manage it in an appropriate way.

Flexibility. This one scale of 5 levels can be used for a wide variety of emotional management, voice levels, anxiety and even understanding other's behavior and social awareness. For instance, the Incredible 5-Point Scale website has one designed for teaching dating rules.

Easy to Use. The 5-point scale, once a student has learned it, gives caregivers and students a shorthand to talk about feelings. I know teachers who model, "I'm feeling like a 3, I better take a break." And the scale gives the opportunity to just say to the individual, "How are you feeling?" and he or she can respond with a number. Then no one around him has to know what that means and he doesn't have to generate much language to express feelings of distress.

Link What to Do with How You Feel. You can use the scale to help students link how they feel with actions to try to reduce their level of stress, anger, voice volume, anxiety, etc. Simply use one of the columns to write actions in. You can have the student generate them with you to talk about it as well.

Resources

So, that is the 5-point scale and why I like it. Let me share some resources to use it.

The first, and most useful resource is Kari and Mitzi Curtis' book which comes with a free CD with blank scales you can use to make your own. The book is a treasure trove of resources for creating and using the scales in a variety of different manners. The new and improved edition of this book goes into much more detail and has so many great examples, it is really a must-have resource for any teacher working with positive behavioral support across the ages.

The Social Behavior and Self-Management book is also a great tool if you are working with adolescents and/or adults to manage and regulate behavior in the community and job sites. The beauty of the scale is that it can be used at any age. This is a small book and relatively inexpensive but it has some great examples of scales appropriate for those of an older age.

The next two books, below, are designed for students to read and I have used them extensively for older students to understand how to use the scales and why it is important.

Looking to use a version of the 5-Point Scale? You can find one in my I Can Handle Making Mistakes Behavior Toolkit!

Have you used the 5-point scale? Please share ideas in the comments.

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The Incredible 5-Point Scale: Review and Tools - Autism Classroom Resources

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Have you ever used the Incredible 5-Point Scale? This is a very simple tool that can be used to teach self-regulation. It was originally designed for children with autism, but it is highly effective with anybody of any age. It's simply a 5-point scale for regulating.

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La semana de 11 de mayo

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Trabajos de la familia y rutinas

Las rutinas ayudan a los niños a sentirse seguros al saber lo que se espera de ellos a lo largo del día. Estas actividades permiten que sus hijos sepan su papel en el hogar y ayudan a mantener a todos los miembros de la familia trabajando juntos.

Encontrando y haciendo patrones

Guiar a los niños para que entiendan los patrones es una habilidad fundamental en matemáticas. Use estas actividades de patrones para ¡explorar su hogar de manera diferente!

Baile y movimiento

Viajar implica mover el cuerpo a través del espacio. Aunque puedan estar limitados al espacio dentro de su casa, ¡estas actividades ayudarán a sus hijos a divertirse mientras se mueven!

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Healthy at Home: A Toolkit for Supporting Families Impacted by COVID-19

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Las rutinas ayudan a los niños a sentirse seguros al saber lo que se espera de ellos a lo largo del día. Estas actividades permiten que sus hijos sepan su papel en el hogar y ayudan a mantener a todos los miembros de la familia trabajando juntos.

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Week of May 11

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Meaningful Mealtimes

Mealtime is a perfect time for learning! Build an awareness of sequence and patterns by talking about the steps in a recipe. Support language and literacy skills by describing the foods you are eating.

Little Muscles, Big Fun!

Before children can write legibly or tie their shoelaces, they must develop the small muscles in their hands and fingers! Tearing paper, using tweezers, rolling dough, and pinching leaves are examples of activities that grow these important muscles. Try these fun activities throughout the day!

Dressing for the Weather

Springtime means that the weather is changing almost all the time! Before your child gets dressed for the day, look at the weather forecast and talk about what the symbols and numbers tell us. Encourage your child to use what he knows about the weather to choose which clothes are best for your weather!

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Healthy at Home: A Toolkit for Supporting Families Impacted by COVID-19

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In order to serve educators and families during the COVID-19 crisis, ReadyRosie developed this free toolkit as a resource to support families with information and resources for supporting the children in their care. The current content on this site will be available throughout the summer.

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Materials needed: cornstarch, food coloring, water, brushes, containers

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With summer here in full force, it's time to bring out the warm weather activities! Sidewalk chalk couldn't be more fun and perfect for your driveway, wood fence, or back deck. With this DIY recipe, kids get to make and take their own crafty chalk. So much fun in the creating and the decorating!

Take summer fun to a new level with this easy DIY sidewalk chalk paint recipe! Sidewalk chalk is a classic activity that kids love to take outdoors during summer. There are so many ways to play and learn with chalk which makes it a super versatile and affordable activity for summer. This recipe is super easy to make and only takes a few simple supplies that are most likely already in your pantry. It's a new take on the classic sidewalk chalk but your kids will love it. They will have a great time doing art on your sidewalk or patio!

This DIY sidewalk chalk paint is so easy to make! Grab some cornstarch and food coloring from your kitchen and you are ready to make some sidewalk chalk paint!

Supplies:

Cornstarch

Water

Measuring Cups

Mixing bowl

Food Coloring

Paint Brushes

Muffin Tin or Small plastic bowls

Instructions:

How to make sidewalk chalk paint

1. add 1 cup of water to 1 cup of cornstarch.

2. Mix until there are no clumps of cornstarch and then pour the mixture into the cups of muffin tin or into small plastic containers.

3. Next add a few drops of food coloring to each cup and mix until blended.

That's it!
TIP: If you don't have food coloring handy, try mixing in some tempera paint.
Now hand off to your kids with a couple of paint brushes and let them create!

This sidewalk paint goes on wet but as it dries the colors really pop out at you! My kids love to paint our back patio or pick rocks from the garden to paint on. I like that it just washes right off. We haven't had any issues with the food coloring staining the sidewalk. It always washes right off.

What I really love about this sidewalk chalk paint recipe is that it works really well on all sidewalk types. We have a rocky sidewalk and patio area which makes using typical sidewalk chalk difficult and not very fun for my kids. Regular chalk is hard to get a smooth line and usually takes several tries to get it to show up. Thankfully this sidewalk chalk paint goes on smoothly and leaves a bright line as it dries!

So pretty! It's normal for the colors appear a bit watery when the kids begin painting but don't worry! They dry vibrant and your kids will have a great time covering your sidewalk with masterpieces! Make it today!

More Sidewalk Chalk Ideas:

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DIY Sidewalk Chalk Paint for End of Summer | Make and Takes

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With summer here in full force, it's time to bring out the warm weather activities! Sidewalk chalk couldn't be more fun and perfect for your driveway, wood fence, or back deck. With this DIY recipe, kids get to make and take their own crafty chalk. So much fun in the creating and the decorating!

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5-15 minute videos with tips for behavior management for young children

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Skip to content

Join us at Excellence: Where Communities Grow in Connection and Sustainable Outcomes for Lasting Change.Dec 4-6 More Info

Improve staff collegiality and retention

Increase healthy social and emotional skills school-wide

Reduce discipline referrals and absenteeism

Improve academic achievement and school climate

Our Mission:

To offer every adult the inspiration, knowledge, and skills to self-regulate and create healthy relationships for generations.

Our Vision:

An interconnected world where people consciously pursue their best possibilities together.

NEWS: Conscious Discipline Achieves CASEL's SELect Program Designation

Conscious Discipline has achieved CASEL's SELect Program designation, recognizing Conscious Discipline as a leader in impactful social and emotional learning (SEL). Conscious Discipline meets CASEL's SELect Program designation, the highest designation for evidence-based programs, in the CASEL Guide to Effective Social and Emotional Learning Programs. This designation indicates that Conscious Discipline can play a central role in a school's approach to promoting student social and emotional learning. The CASEL Program Guide identifies well-designed, evidence-based SEL programs that offer comprehensive programming, ongoing training and support, and a demonstrated statistically significant positive impact on student behavioral outcomes and/or academic achievement.
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Conscious Discipline offers every adult the inspiration, knowledge and skills to self-regulate and create healthy relationships for generations. Using a trauma-responsive social and emotional learning (SEL) lens, we believe this approach will lead to transformational change and an interconnected world where people consciously pursue their best possibilities together.

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A story and if you can print it out...a coloring book, too!

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Read aloud

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Read aloud

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Popular Children's Spanish Songs by Jose Luis Orozco

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Make a PB&J with visual supports and written words

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Make a PB&J with visual supports and written words

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Have your child tick the boxes if you can print it, or just look at the list together. Ask "What's next?"

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Number Song, Count to 10

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Numbers Song Let's Count 1-10 New Version

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Padlet for Family Resources

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Addressing Trauma in the Early Years through PLAY

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Power of Play to Address Trauma and Build Resilience, FINAL (2).pdf

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Cómo crear una tabla de rutinas para los niños

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Lo más normal es que un niño no obedezca una orden a la primera. Lo más normal es que tengas que repetir lo mismo una y otra vez hasta que por fin te hace caso. Contra esta 'técnica del disco rayado' existe la 'técnica de la rutina'. Es decir: la solución para no tener que perder los nervios al tener que repetir lo mismo un millón de veces, es simplemente, crear en los niños una rutina. Pero... ¿cómo?

Lo mejor es usar una tabla de rutinas, y que sea el niño quien la cree, con tu ayuda. Al ser obra suya, no podrá 'escabullirse' y deberá respetarla. ¡La hizo él! Pongamos un ejemplo: ¿no vendría bien crear una rutina para irse a dormir y evitar tener que perseguir al niño hasta las 11 de la noche? Te explicamos cómo crear una tabla de rutinas para los niños mediante disciplina positiva.

La idea es que los niños colaboren en la creación de la tabla de rutinas, y que ellos estén totalmente de acuerdo con lo que deben hacer. Para eso, les podemos consultar pero siempre decidiendo en última instancia qué es lo mejor para ellos. Imagina que quieres elaborar una tabla de rutinas para la hora de dormir. Por fin conseguirás que tu hijo se vaya a la cama sin 'rechistar'. ¿Cómo? Sigue estos sencillos pasos:

1. Te sientas con tu hijo y le dices que vais a crear una tabla de rutinas para la hora de dormir. Para ello necesitas que te diga qué cosas suele hacer antes de ir a dormir.

2. Apunta todo lo que él te diga tu hijo en una hoja. Tampoco pueden ser demasiadas cosas. Después podrás acotar la lista. Imagina que tu hijo te dice que le gusta ver la tele, jugar, cenar y que le cuentes un cuento.

3. Bien, ahora está en tus manos acortar la lista y darle un orden lógico. Podría ser perfectamente el siguiente: Ver la tele un poco o jugar, bañarse, cenar, lavarse lo dientes, escuchar un cuento y dormir.

4. Explica a tu hijo que ahora deberá crear la tabla de rutina en una cartulina. Puede hacerlo mediante dibujos o bien recortando imágenes y pegándolas según el orden establecido: primero un niño viendo la televisión, luego un niño cenando, luego un niño lavándose los dientes...

5. Coloca la cartulina con la tabla de rutinas en un lugar bien visible de su cuarto. Recuérdale que debe seguir esos pasos todos los días.

Las rutinas son una forma positiva de conseguir que los niños nos obedezcan y a demás, les da seguridad. Evitamos gritos y amenazas, que a la larga no consiguen nada más que atemorizar a los niños y minar su autoestima. Gracias a la creación de rutinas consigues lo siguiente:

- Tu hijo se siente responsable. Gracias a las tareas que él mismo decidió realizar cada día, descubrirá el importante valor de la responsabilidad.

- Estarás criando un niño más autónomo e independiente. Nada como ver que es capaz de realizar ciertas tareas sin ayuda y por iniciativa propia.

- Gana en autoestima y confianza en sí mismo. Poco a poco verá que es capaz de hacer muchísimas tareas sin que nadie se lo ordene. Se sentirá con más confianza en sí mismo y por supuesto, más valioso.

- Descubrirá que puede ayudar dentro de la familia. Nada como sentirse útil para los demás. En cuanto vea que es capaz de seguir una rutina y realizar ciertas tareas por sí mismo, se dará cuenta de que esto también es una ayuda hacia sus padres.

- Será bueno para su salud física, psicológica y emocional. Comer a determinada hora, dormir siempre a la misma hora, no sólo beneficia al niño a nivel emocional, sino también físico.

Te va a sorprender, pero a la mayoría de niños les encanta seguir una rutina. Pare ellos es como un juego. Para ti, un alivio. Utiliza este mismo sistema para crear rutinas con todo lo que necesites: la hora del baño, ir al colegio, la hora de los deberes... Verás como gracias a las rutinas, baja tu nivel de estrés y mejora el comportamiento de tu hijo.

Puedes leer más artículos similares a Cómo crear una tabla de rutinas para los niños, en la categoría de Conducta en Guiainfantil.com.

Publicado:
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Cómo crear una tabla de rutinas para los niños

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Te enseñamos a crear una tabla de rutinas para los niños. Nada mejor que las rutinas para conseguir que los niños nos obedezcan a la primera y adquieran buenos hábitos en su cotidiano. Con disciplina positiva los niños pueden seguir una rutina básica, como estudiar, bañarse, cepillar los dientes, etc., sin quejarse.

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Apoyemos a Nuestros Ninos a Sentirse Seguros Durante Este Tiempo de Tension e Incertidumbre

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Julie Kurtz at Center for Optimal Brain Integration

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PSA: Apoyemos a Nuestros Ninos a Sentirse Seguros Durante Este Tiempo de Tension e Incertidumbre

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PSA: Supporting Children during Stressful Times

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Julie Kurtz at Center for Optimal Brain Integration

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PSA:  Supporting Children to Feel Safe During Stressful and Uncertain Times

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Ask a Specialist!

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Have a question about your student's IEP? Need guidance with getting your student to do their assignments at home? Looking for support to establish a routine? For help navigating the COVID-19 shelter-in-place, reach out to a SELPA Specialist at https://forms.gle/TWpfNjvHb2hb1Ztg7.
The Mendocino County SELPA serves approximately 1,700 of the 12,000 students in Mendocino County's public schools.

There are approximately 133 SELPAs in the State, ranging in size from those fewer than a 1,000 students to those serving more than 10,000 students. Each SELPA must have an Administrative Unit (AU) which is the legal entity that receives funds and is responsible for seeing that every eligible child received a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). The Mendocino County Office of Education is the AU for the Mendocino County SELPA.

The Mendocino County SELPA provides support to the districts in the following areas:

Program Development

Program Availability to all Students with Disabilities

Professional Development

Parent Support and Training

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Interagency Collaboration

Management Information System (MIS)

Fiscal Allocation and Monitoring

For additional information or resources, please contact the SELPA office at (707) 467-5166.

For Procedural Safeguards, please visit our Legal Disclosures page.

MISSION

The mission of the Mendocino County SELPA is to support special education students in achieving a high level of academic/functional performance according to national, state, and local standards. To assure this outcome, the SELPA department will provide information, resources and support to students, parents, and all schools within our county.

VISION

All students can learn and students with disabilities must be given an equal opportunity to become contributing members of their community.

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mendocino county office of educationspecial education local plan area (selpa) | mendocino county office of education

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Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) | Mendocino County Office of Education

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Have a question about your student's IEP? Need guidance with getting your student to do their assignments at home? Looking for support to establish a routine? For help navigating the COVID-19 shelter-in-place, reach out to a SELPA Specialist at https://forms.gle/TWpfNjvHb2hb1Ztg7. The Mendocino County SELPA serves approximately 1,700 of the 12,000 students in Mendocino County's public schools.

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Read alouds, updated monthly

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The SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Daytime Emmy-nominated, Storyline Online, features celebrated actors reading children's books to inspire a love of reading in millions of children worldwide.

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Math at Home

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Use these resources to encourage your child's math learning at home!

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Resource and Referral Agency at North Coast Opportunities

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CCLD has released a new Provider Information Notice: PIN 20-04-CCP statewide waiver for operation of child care facilities, including licensees, registered TrustLine providers, and temporary employer sponsored child care, along with guidance for the implementation of prevention, containment, and mitigation measures for COVID-19.S.
Click here to view/download a copy of PIN 20-04. Program Director - Teri Sedrick
Email: tsedrick@ncoinc.org

Tel: (707) 263-4688 ext. 410

Program Description: Rural Communities Child Care (RCCC) is made up of several programs to provide child care subsidies for children from low-income families and continuing education for child care providers in Lake and Mendocino counties.

Resource and Referral: (R & R) provides free child care referrals to child care facilities and community resources and events, free information on starting and managing a family child care home business or child care center, and resource lending library for child care providers and parents. Specialized workshops are offered for parents and child care providers on family related topics. The program also provides a community resource directory and quarterly newsletter.

*If you are in need of Child Care, please email childcare@ncoinc.org and provide your name, phone number where you can be reached, the days and hours of child care needed, and age(s) of child(ren) needing care

The Alternative Payment Program: subsidizes child care payments for eligible families who are working, in school or training or participating in a welfare-to-work activity.
To download and print the eligibility LETTER, click here for English
To download and print the eligibility FORM, click here for English

Spanish eligibility letter and form coming soon

The Child Care Food Program: (CCFP) reimburses family child care providers who provide nutritious meals and snacks to children. Ongoing nutrition training is provided. The Child Care Food Program is currently serving 672 children and reimbursing 64 providers for nutritious meals served to children while in their care.

The Family Child Care Home Education Network: (FCCHEN)provides subsidized childcare services for eligible families who are working, in school or training, or looking for work. A select group of family childcare homes provide specialized early childhood development services and developmental assessments.

Who We Serve: Children, families and child care providers through education, resources, and the promotion of quality child care services. RCCC provides advocacy for children, parents and child care providers.

Established: The program was established in 1975 and is funded through contracts with the California Department of Education, Child Development Division.

Funding We Bring to Our Community: In 2018, our budget was approximately 7 million dollars. Since the program's inception, we've brought more than 245 million dollars to our community.

How We Operate: The role of RCCC is to provide a multifaceted approach to help families. We support parents with case management services and the growth and development of their children are supported with enrollment in programs specific to need. In addition, the infrastructure of the child care community is strengthened. We provide a variety of direct services including individual conferences with families, determination of family eligibility, family needs assessment, assisting families with accessing services, referring families to other community resources, educating parents, maintaining eligibility lists, doing business with child care providers as independent contractors and providing technical assistance to parents and child care providers. We support the family, the child, and the child care community through resources, subsidy and technical assistance.

Our staff takes pride in our work and our commitment to and responsibility for the children and families we serve. We strive to maintain a non-judgmental attitude in supportive relationships with each other and clients. We believe in fostering an atmosphere of mutual respect, open communication and cooperation. We strive to practice healthy boundaries, separating work values, and balance these qualities with compassion, mutual support and flexibility. We recognize initiative, self-discipline and positive attitudes as leadership qualities and strive to foster these qualities among all staff.

RCCC is currently serving 512 families, which include 925 children through the Alternative Payment Program alone. There are 391 active child care providers providing child care to families enrolled on the Alternative Payment Program in Lake and Mendocino Counties.
RCCC Staff, December 2018

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Rural Communities Child Care- . NCO Inc. . 2020

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CCLD has released a new Provider Information Notice: PIN 20-04-CCP statewide waiver for operation of child care facilities, including licensees, registered TrustLine providers, and temporary employer sponsored child care, along with guidance for the implementation of prevention, containment, and mitigation measures for COVID-19.S. Click here to view/download a copy of PIN 20-04.Program Director -...

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Salud Conductual

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Behavioral Health

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Play During Crisis

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The world is coping with the unprecedented crisis of the corona virus pandemic. The pandemic itself and governments' responses to it have had a significant impact on children around the world.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) identifies the fundamental rights of children and these include their right to play. There is a heightened need to support children's right to play at this time, so the International Play Association (IPA) has developed the IPA Play in Crisis: Support for Parents and Carers resources.

Each page, made available to you here, provides parents and carers with information and ideas so you can support your child's play. We have included topics such as the importance of playing in times of crisis and how to respond to children's play needs. We have also included issues that may concern parents like children playing with difficult themes of loss, death and loneliness.

The International Play Association recognizes playing as a basic and vital part of the pleasure of childhood. We see it as an essential part of all aspects of children's development. During times of crisis, play has a significant therapeutic role helping children recover a sense of normality and joy.

The mission of IPA is to protect, preserve and promote the child's right to play as a fundamental human right. We hope this resource will help fulfill that mission while assisting parents and carers during a particularly difficult time. We encourage you to share these resources widely throughout your networks.

Together we can ensure our children have the opportunities to play that are essential for them to thrive.

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The world is coping with the unprecedented crisis of the corona virus pandemic. The pandemic itself and governments' responses to it have had a significant impact on children around the world. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) identifies the fundamental rights of children and these include their right to play.

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Cindi Kaup for North Coast Journal

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We are living in uncertain times and with uncertainty can come anxiety, which can affect the way we interact with and parent young children. Consider how your child or the young children in your life will look back at this moment in time five years from now. Will they remember long walks and snuggling with a good book? This is an opportunity to create special memories, to build deeper social connections every day, to appreciate time with each other and to have fun.

Managing your own stress

Young children can sense your stress; they may see it in your body, hear it in your voice or experience it with your actions. When you remain calm and reassuring, you help children feel safe. When stressed, find someone you feel safe to talk to about your fears and worries, and avoid talking about them in front of your children. But it is OK for children to see you experiencing emotions. Use this as an opportunity to name your emotion and model ways to cope, such as, "I just read some news that made me nervous. I am going to take some deep breaths right now to feel better. Want to join me?" Some strategies for managing your own stress are:

* Manage your "self-talk." When you are worrying about events outside your control, it causes your internal stress to increase. So increase your positive self-talk by identifying and sharing your positive accomplishments ("I made a healthy dinner," "We played a new game," "We laughed a lot today"). Search for the good and beautiful things that are happening around you and show gratitude in the moment.

* Remember that stress affects your health and behaviors. This is a time to strengthen your immune system, practice a healthy lifestyle and model this for your children.

* Keep calm, build in breaks and find ways to nurture yourself (e.g. a quiet bath, a cup of tea, five minutes of meditation or prayer).

* Create a "calm down spot" for you and your children. This could be in a corner of the room or under a table. Add special blankets, lotions, calming toys, pillows and stuffed animals.

* Go easy on yourself. Do your best to offer an enriched home environment while your child is out of school, but don't pressure yourself to be the world's best teacher while also being the chef, housekeeper, gardener and activities director.

* Ask for help. Reach out to others when you feel distressed or lonely. When taking a walk, make eye contact and check in with neighbors. Reach out to friends and family. Search for new and interesting ways to build connection with others.

Be informed and communicate appropriately

Stay calm and share accurate information with children about the novel coronavirus. Describe the disease in an age-appropriate way, answer their questions and satisfy their curiosity. Try not to make them more anxious or afraid. Stay informed but avoid exposing children to the news media, especially images. Teach children how to stay safe and healthy, giving them strategies of things they can do and a sense of control: coughing into their elbow, washing their hands while singing happy birthday two times. PBSkids ( www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-coronavirus) has some excellent tips for parents and videos for young children.

Create a comfortable, predictable routine

Humans crave predictable routines. They help us feel safe, secure and comfortable. Be sure to set regular times to eat together, to be active and to get plenty of rest. This is not the time to allow children to stay up late or eat poorly. A sense of order is soothing and something we can control. Consider blocks of time every day for book reading, drawing, dancing and cooking. Plan your schedule with your children and allow them to help plan the routine. Limit the amount of screen time while encouraging more social and physical activities.

Teach children to relax their bodies

Your children may be experiencing a wide variety of big emotions. Ask children how they're feeling - take their "emotional temperature" while labeling and validating their feelings. Acknowledge that it's OK for people to experience a wide range of feelings. In order for your child to learn to identify and name emotions, practice by looking through books together and talking about the emotions the characters in the book may be feeling. You can create an emotion book together and you can talk to them about how emotions feel in their body. Try to resist the urge to fix their feelings, patiently listen and let your child know you are really interested.

Young children demonstrate they are stressed in a wide variety of ways. You may notice your child crying more frequently, experiencing nightmares, acting more fearful of being left alone, withdrawing, acting more aggressively or acting like a younger child. If you notice your child appears anxious, offer extra comfort with a hug and gentle words. Teach them ways to cope and relax their body with deep belly breaths, yoga poses, walking, swinging arms, petting animals or playing in warm water.

Play!

Find time every day for children to be joyful and engage in fun activities. Create a sense of normalcy in their days. Through play, children are building their creativity, working on motor, math and problem-solving skills. This can be done through drawing, going on a scavenger hunt, washing dolls/toys, building a blanket fort, blowing bubbles, having a picnic in the backyard, planning a dance party or playing hide and seek. Play is an important tool for helping children cope with stress and anxiety. Maintain your sense of humor by telling jokes, reading funny stories and laughing at silly things that happen in the day. Remember that it's important for you to model for children that a part of managing stress is doing things that lift your spirits and build connection.

Explore new ways to connect

Social distancing doesn't mean social isolation. Stay connected through social messaging, phone calls, going outside, virtual field trips, care packages, art and sending messages to neighbors, friends or the postal worker. Other ways that you and your children can feel connected are by planting seeds, taking care of a pet, making gifts, arranging "digital dinners," donating clothes, washing, watering and caring for indoor plants, cleaning the house and making sure others are doing well and have what they need. We are so fortunate to have technology to help our children connect with friends, family, caregivers and teachers via video chat. Integrate this into your routine regularly. Talk with your child ahead of time to help them plan what they would like to share and questions they want to ask.

Remember each day to focus on what is most important: the health and safety of your family. In uncertain times such as these, take advantage of the opportunity to teach your children that together we can cope with adversity. Focus on the fact that you can model how it's done because, "To the world, you may be just one person, but to one person, you may be the world."

For a list of additional resources, please click here.

Cindi Kaup is the mother of three grown children, serves as the early childhood education coordinator for the Humboldt County Office of Education and prefers she/her pronouns. She holds a Master's degree in early childhood special education from Humboldt State University, has worked in the field of early child development for 30 years and lives in Eureka.

Editor's note: This is one of three columns this week looking at how to maintain wellness for you and your family while shelter in place. Find the other parts here and here.

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We are living in uncertain times and with uncertainty can come anxiety, which can affect the way we interact with and parent young children. Consider how your child or the young children in your life will look back at this moment in time five years from now.

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20 "doable" activities for parents who are working from home

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Here we are, home with the kids for an undetermined amount of time. Plus, we can't go to our regular fun or make-it-through-the-day places. Can we really do this? Absolutely. And it doesn't need to be stressful. Keeping it simple is the secret to making it work for everyone.

The key to a successful extended period of time at home is balance. Rest is equally important to outside play. Fun activities are equally important to everyone (including parents) as having alone time. Make time for each of these types of activities to ensure everyone is weathering their time at home well. Write these activities down, let the kids pick what they want to do for the day (or for the hour), and just go from there.

Outside Activities

One of the blessings in the timing of this is that spring is on the horizon. It is the perfect time to play outside (just avoid common play areas like playgrounds.) The fresh air and sunshine or even splashing in puddles in the rain are great ways to have a change of scenery.

Host a teddy bear picnic in the backyard

Draw with sidewalk chalk or sidewalk chalk paint (Learn to make your own here)

Blow bubbles

Play in the sandbox

Collect rocks/shells/treasures

Indoor Activities

Playing dress up for the one thousandth time in a week is going to lose its appeal fast. Indoor activities don't need to be complicated or boring. Have some fun without feeling stressed to gather tons of different materials.

Hand over a doll and encourage your child to hold, talk, dress, and take care of it.

Do a puzzle

Read a book

Print some free coloring pages and color away

Play with blocks

Watch a movie

Family Activities to Do at Home

During stressful times, being physically present for our kids is essential. As long as everyone is in good health and following guidelines, you can still sit together, give hugs and remember that you are in this together. Set aside time to do things together and be fully engaged will help all of you feel intentionally connected (yes, even little ones!).

Hide a toy somewhere in the house, and ask your child to find it. Explore with her, using cues like "warmer" and "colder" to guide her.

Clean together (my kids always loved mopping!)

Play "Red Light, Green Light"

Make Play Dough

Do YouTube exercise activities like this one

Prepare a meal together

Bake dessert

Take a walk

Do a scavenger hunt (This one is super simple!)

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20 Activities That Are Actually Doable If You're Working From Home With a Toddler

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Here we are, home with the kids for an undetermined amount of time. Plus, we can't go to our regular fun or make-it-through-the-day places. Can we really do this? Absolutely. And it doesn't need to be stressful. Keeping it simple is the secret to making it work for everyone.

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Aprendiendo en casa

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Trabajos de la familia y rutinas

Las rutinas ayudan a los niños a sentirse seguros al saber lo que se espera de ellos a lo largo del día. Estas actividades permiten que sus hijos sepan su papel en el hogar y ayudan a mantener a todos los miembros de la familia trabajando juntos.

Encontrando y haciendo patrones

Guiar a los niños para que entiendan los patrones es una habilidad fundamental en matemáticas. Use estas actividades de patrones para ¡explorar su hogar de manera diferente!

Baile y movimiento

Viajar implica mover el cuerpo a través del espacio. Aunque puedan estar limitados al espacio dentro de su casa, ¡estas actividades ayudarán a sus hijos a divertirse mientras se mueven!

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Healthy at Home: A Toolkit for Supporting Families Impacted by COVID-19

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Las rutinas ayudan a los niños a sentirse seguros al saber lo que se espera de ellos a lo largo del día. Estas actividades permiten que sus hijos sepan su papel en el hogar y ayudan a mantener a todos los miembros de la familia trabajando juntos.

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Emotional Well-Being

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With the growing impact of the COVID-19 virus, ReadyRosie is developing this free toolkit as a resource to support families with information and resources for supporting the children in their care.

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Prevention and Care

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With the growing impact of the COVID-19 virus, ReadyRosie is developing this free toolkit as a resource to support families with information and resources for supporting the children in their care.

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Learning at home

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Meaningful Mealtimes

Mealtime is a perfect time for learning! Build an awareness of sequence and patterns by talking about the steps in a recipe. Support language and literacy skills by describing the foods you are eating.

Little Muscles, Big Fun!

Before children can write legibly or tie their shoelaces, they must develop the small muscles in their hands and fingers! Tearing paper, using tweezers, rolling dough, and pinching leaves are examples of activities that grow these important muscles. Try these fun activities throughout the day!

Dressing for the Weather

Springtime means that the weather is changing almost all the time! Before your child gets dressed for the day, look at the weather forecast and talk about what the symbols and numbers tell us. Encourage your child to use what he knows about the weather to choose which clothes are best for your weather!

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Healthy at Home: A Toolkit for Supporting Families Impacted by COVID-19

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In order to serve educators and families during the COVID-19 crisis, ReadyRosie developed this free toolkit as a resource to support families with information and resources for supporting the children in their care. The current content on this site will be available throughout the summer.

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A curated list of online resources for all ages of students

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A Youtube channel full of stories with movement and mindfulness

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"kids yoga" "yoga for kids" "yoga for children yoga story for kids" "children's yoga" "yoga adventure for kids" "kindergarten yoga" "preschool yoga" "kids me...

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YOGA | MINDFULNESS | RELAXATION FOR KIDS! Screentime that gives kids SUPERPOWERS! ⬇️ D O W N L O A D T H E C O S M I C K I D S A P P ⬇️ 🍏Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cosmic-kids/ 🛍️Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cosmickids 🖥️ Desktop (great for teachers!): https://app.cosmickids.com/ 📺 Roku: https://rb.gy/44r8d -------------------------------------------------------------------- Why watch on the App?

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A classic preschool activity you can recreate at home

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There is a entry way in my house that is covered in small lines documenting the growth of my children. My kids love going back to it month after month to see how much they've grown. It's important to teach our kids that growth is a part of all living things, not just humans.

Growing seeds in a plastic bag is a fun way for kids to see how seeds grow. Really? Seed germination in a paper towel? The best part of this STEM activity is showing that these seeds don't need soil or a hole in the ground to grow. Your little gardeners can watch how seeds sprout with a clear view from the plastic bag. There is a lot to learn in this experiment, yet it is so simple to do!

Learning About Seeds And Growth:

bean germination experiment

ASKING STUDENTS TO OBSERVE AND IDENTIFY GROWTH TEACHES LIFECYCLES AND BASIC NEEDS. STUDENTS CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS LIKE:

What does our seed need to grow?

What do you think would happen if we put the bag in a room with no light?

How are our bodies similar to the seeds?

What do the roots of the plant do?

How long does it take for beans to germinate?

How fast or slow did your beans grow (germination rate)?

This experiment is a great way to show kids how flowers and some of our fruits and vegetables can grow.

No messy soil or holes need to be dug. No flower pots spilling on the floor. Your kiddos hands will stay clean (relatively anyway) and the growing can take place inside a classroom or even a kitchen.

The seed in a bag activity can be used during a unit on plants or introducing lifecycles.

In addition to learning about growth here are some more ideas for what you can teach about using the germinating seeds in a paper towel experiment:

Observing similarities and differences

Predicting what might happen

Identifying uses of a plant

Documenting (drawing or writing) growth

Why Is It Important For Kids To Conduct Experiments?

Besides the fact that kids love exploring, there are so many other reasons you should do experiments with your child.

Observational Skills

Conducting experiments with your kids help them to become more observant about the world around them. It also encourages higher order thinking and asking questions. Have your child tell you about their germinated bean seed.

Increases Vocabulary

By observing and taking note of changes, children will build upon their vocabulary to note colors, sizes, shapes, textures and smells. Ask your students to explain how to plant a germinated bean.

Problem Solving

Problem solving is a task that children will use everyday. In experiments, students problem solve by brainstorming and trying different things.
Why did my plant not grow? Maybe I added too much water. Let's try again!

Understand the Life Cycle

Starting as seeds and ending with bean plants shows the process the beans in a bag go through. From dry beans to green beans, children can see where some of our food comes from.

Tools you'll need

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Don't worry about making a special trip to the store. You can get all the supplies for this activity right here. Click the pictures above to get what you need.

"They loved this more than Play doh. I was amazed. "

I did this today with my daycare kids. They loved this more than Play doh. I was amazed. With it being too cold to go outside, this was great.

Honestly they played for 1.5 hours and probably would of longer, but we had to get lunch ready. Thank you so much for this.

How To Create The Germination Seed Bag

How To Grow Seeds In A Plastic Bag In Preschool

Before starting the experiment, soak your bean seeds overnight in water. This will sort of "wake up" the seeds and get them ready to germinate. You'll get faster results if you pre-soak your bean seeds this way. Drain the seeds before placing them in the bag.

Dampen a paper towel and fold it into the bag.

Place the seeds along one side of the bag, pressing them against the paper towel. Seal the bag tightly, and hang in a window using tape.

Make sure the beans are visible on the side of the window where the kids will be observing their seeds sprout.

Wait 24 hours. You should be able to see the seeds start to pop open and sprout after this time.

Within 3 days to a week, you'll have fully sprouted seeds! In a few more days, you'll see the leaves start to emerge.

At this point, your beans are ready to move to soil. Plant them in a rainboot garden, or another small planter and watch them continue to grow!

Fava Broad Windsor Seeds, 20 Premium Heirloom Seeds Or use this great growing window from Learning Resources:
Our Favorite Garden Books for Kids:

We can't live without these!

Once your child's creativity is sparked with this fun activity, take it a step further with these engaging resources:

Find even more engaging activities in the Life Over C's shop!

More Garden Theme Toys for Kids:

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Kids will love sprouting their own seeds in a plastic baggie! With just a few materials, kids can watch seeds sprout by germinating seeds in a bag.

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A lovely and timely poem

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Children's read alouds in Spanish

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Chicken Little

A modern adaptation of the classic tale: What happens when a completely normal chicken believes everything he reads on the internet? This story is written in the present tense, because it's a good thing to learn.

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Our first ever original story, about a bird and a whale and their shared love of little fish. Inspired by a song by Tom Waits, and an episode of Adventure Time.

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The classic tale of shoddy building materials, DIY folly, and the perils of emparedados de tocino (a.k.a bacon sandwiches). No pigs or wolves were harmed in the making of this story.

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Why you should probably lock your door when you go out for a walk, even if you live en medio de un gran bosque. Why are the three bowls of sopa different temperatures when they were poured at the same time? Science, is why.

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A deeply troubling investigation into what happens when you let your children walk somewhere alone: Caperucita Roja eats fresas, picks margaritas and talks to el Gran Lobo Feroz on the way to Grandma's house. (Warning: Contains highly improbable medical scenes.)

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Spanish Children's Stories - The Spanish Experiment

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Well-known childrens stories translated into Spanish and spoken by a native Spanish speaker. Read along in Spanish or English. Great for adults too!