Education – Page 4

Ktown StoryWalk allows for families to explore a free, outdoor walking adventure in Kensington

January 25, 2021

A stroll through historic Kensington, Maryland, will offer families a self-guided, socially distanced outing to read the book The Mitten by Jan Brett in store windows. The Ktown StoryWalk® by the Noyes Children’s Library Foundation starts at Frankly…Pizza! which is located at 10417 Armory Avenue, Kensington, MD. 20895 and features pages from the wintry children’s book spread out over 15 storefronts. The StoryWalk® will be available through January 31, 2021.

A free craft kit tied into The Mitten will be available for pick up in a box outside the Noyes Library for Young Children which is located at 10237 Carroll Place, Kensington, MD. 20895 on Saturdays and Sundays from 9am to 4pm for the duration of the StoryWalk®.

Families are encouraged to share a photo of the walk, a selfie at Noyes, and/or a photo of the completed craft on the Noyes Children’s Library Foundation Facebook page, post to Facebook and tag the Noyes Children’s Library Foundation, or post to Instagram and tag @makemorenoyes.

Families can also tune into free weekly storytimes on Tuesdays presented by the Foundation on Facebook Live. The weekly storytimes are continuing (you can also watch past storytimes) through their Facebook page.

Nationals Youth Baseball Academy and DC Public Library launch Books & Baseball program

January 14, 2021

The Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy (YBA), in partnership with DC Public Library, launched a new season of the Books & Baseball program – a free, non-competitive, co-ed literature and baseball program for children ages 3-5.

Families can now register for the Winter 2021 season of the virtual program, with sessions occurring every Monday from January 11 to February 22. Each 35-minute session includes the reading of a children’s book by a DC Public Librarian, followed by a beginner-level baseball clinic led by YBA coaches. Virtual clinic activities are easy to complete at home and focus on enhancing motor skills and learning the fundamentals of baseball.

Covid-era gift guide: ideas for crafts, technology, home and outdoors

November 30, 2020

We hope you find this gift guide helpful as we have highlighted items that will entertain your children through the winter as we prepare to spend more time indoors as well as some gifts for your home (or others). Check out these stocking stuffers, all under $10!

For your home:

This steam mop is my favorite purchase during quarantine. Easy to use, I have now put my kids in charge of cleaning the floors! It eliminates 99.9 percent of germs and bacteria with the natural power of steam. I add essential oils to bring an inviting smell in, a bit of olive oil and sometimes a light cleaning product from Branch Basics into my water.

Solo Stove has allowed us to be outside on cool nights! It comes in various sizes and is smokeless (if you have dry firewood). Don’t forget marshmallow and hot dog skewers for the bonfire.

A lot of our friends have stepped up their outdoor spaces with a projector and screen so they can show movies outside alongside their bonfire and/or heat lamp. Whatever allows us to get out of our house in 2020, right?

Seriously don’t know why I didn’t get this sooner. The iRobot Roomba is a vacuum that intelligently maps & cleans an entire level of your home- set it and go! A cheaper option is the Eufy which also cleans hardwood and carpet.

Instant Pot is worth the hype and comes in various sizes. I just wish I had a cabinet it could be stored in.

Our air purifier is a 3-part filtration system that captures 99% of common airborne pm 2.5 pollutants such as allergens, odors, smoke, mold spores, dust mites and pet dander.

Add some green to your home and add a snake plant or palm. We have gifted this succulent subscription box to a friend and they delivered gorgeous succulents.

Get active and outside:

My kids are begging for rollerblades or rollerskates and I’m not opposed.

Socker boppers are another fun way for kids to get out some energy with theses inflatable boppers which can used in a variety of ways.

Another item on my kids list this year is a hoverboard. Perhaps it’s due to the marathon we just had watching Back to the Future.

Micro scooters are great– they come in a variety of sizes and styles and my kids have loved each one they’ve had. The mini-deluxe is perfect for ages 2-5 and the maxi deluxe is the next scooter for ages 5-12 while this micro is great for the older kids who have better balance.

If you have space outside a ninja obstacle course is a great way to get your kids outdoors and burning energy.

Balance stepping stones are great for smaller kids to set up in the yard while developing balance, collaboration and concentration skills

Dueling stomp rocket allows two friends to stomp rockets as high as they can into the sky.

Arts and crafts:

This playhouse allows kids to doodle & decorate a cardboard castle and other designs. A perfect indoor activity that will provide plenty of fun for winter.

Don’t let the word painting steer you away from this. My six year old received this for her birthday and in one day created all of the 12 designs– she LOVED it and it is an activity that allowed her to be completely independent while creating. Grab this big gem diamond painting!

3-D printing pen is the first in a 3D printing device!

Light-up tracing pad is a favorite in our house. It has a variety of designs featuring 1 graphite pencil, 12 short colored pencils, 10 tracing sheets, 10 blank sheets, and 1 graphite pencil.

The art case that comes with everything your budding artist needs and you can keep it all in the carrying case.

Grow n glow terrarium is another favorite in our house. It is an indoor activity for kids that allows them to craft, plant, water and grow your own mini ecosystem. Just add water for a unique science experience!

Aquabeads give your child a chance to place the beads following the template and spray with water to complete! Flip the tray to remove the design, wipe dry and continue creating with Aquabeads!

Build and paint a wooden car (or rescue vehicles) with 42 pre-cut & sanded wooden pieces to make 3 cars, sand paper.

Tech:

Oculus Quest 2 transports your movements directly into VR with intuitive controls. Get the best seat in the house to live concerts, games, groundbreaking films, exclusive events and more.

Echo Dot for kids lets kids ask Alexa to play music, read stories, and call approved friends and family. The included year of Amazon Kids+ (FreeTime Unlimited) gives them access to thousands of hours of kid-friendly Audible books, interactive games, and educational skills.

Fuji film instax mini camera + accessories is an awesome gift for kids who enjoy snapping photos. Photos immediately are printed and can be added to the photo albums.

VTech KidiZoom Smartwatch is great for kids 4+. They can take photos, learn to tell time and play games on this watch. It comes in a variety of colors.

Powerbeats wireless earphones: Up to 9 hours of listening time with secure ear fit. Apple Airpods Pro are another good option in fact these are my favorite as they are noise reducing and I can pop them in while my kids are doing virtual school if I need to cancel out the noise.

Wireless karaoke microphone is a handheld karaoke microphone which is small in size and easy to hold. Kids can practice and share favorite songs using music apps (YouTube , Pandora, Spotify..)

Osmo starter kit: Children interact with actual hand held pieces & an iPad, bringing a child’s game pieces & actions to life (No WiFi necessary for game play).

A bluetooth speaker is great to have when you go outdoors as it is bluetooth compatible. We brought this one along on our beach trips this summer and it worked great. A cheaper option is this Bose one.

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

Thanksgiving books, crafts, games and volunteer opportunities for families

November 19, 2020

Thanksgiving themed books-
Balloons Over Broadway
Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving
How To Catch A Turkey
The Great Thanksgiving Escape
The Story of Pilgrims
Would You Rather? Thanksgiving Edition
Thanksgiving on Thursday: Magic Treehouse
Thanksgiving Activity Book

Crafts & games-
We have added some fun activities and games to our Pinterest page to get your kids thinking about what they are grateful for. Our family will be creating a grateful tree and I love the idea of having them create a handprint runner and decorating it for our dinner on a long sheet of inside out wrapping paper. A few more of my favorites that are on our Pinterest page are:
-Disguise the Turkey
-Thankful Banner
-Gratitude Scavenger Hunt

Need last minute Thanksgiving decor? Check out Caravan Shoppe for downloadable (send to a local print shop) interactive decorations!

Volunteer opportunities are a bit different this year but nonetheless more important than ever.

Election Day activities and fun for kids

November 3, 2020

It’s Election Day! Hopefully you already voted or plan to vote today. We’ve got a few ways to get your Bambinos involved in the day!

Make a poll at home—
It can be as simple as everyone votes for their favorite dinner or ice cream flavor and then you celebrate by eating the winning flavor. You can create a ballot box using a shoebox or even a tupperware container. Or you could hop on the bandwagon and create a fun ‘would you rather’ questionnaire.

Map it—
Older kids can start watching election night news to see how the electoral college works in action and color the states red or blue. Print this map or use a blank interactive one.

Songs & performances—
Some popular songs include PBS Kids, Sesame Street and Hip Hop Harry. You can watch a virtual performance of TheaterWorks USA’s children’s musical We the People: America Rocks! It was recently filmed without an audience at the Paper Mill Playhouse. The show follows American’s Founding Fathers as they help a teen win her school election.

Crafts—
Make posters to hang around the house while twirling red, white and blue crepe paper around banisters. Bambinos can spend the day crafting and recipe making with the help of The Week Junior. Of course there are many delicious recipes you can make and ideas runneth over on Pinterest.

Since my kids are off school, I will have some printable activities for them as well as some books they can read about voting and elections.

Print—
Election day ABC order worksheet
Election day for kids
Election day word searches and more

Books—
I voted: Making a Choice Makes a Difference
Sofia Valdez, Future Prez
V is for Voting
If I were President
Splat the Cat for President

Games—
Election Night
Monopoly: House Divided

Eat—
Many restaurants and bakeries offer fun election day deals.

Ring in the new school year with ‘Back to The Yards’ giveaway event

September 22, 2020

Lancer Photography, 2020. All rights reserved.

The Yards, DC’s most exciting waterfront neighborhood for living, dining, shopping, and relaxing, is ringing in back-to-school with Back to The Yards! While this school year looks different for many students and parents, The Yards will be giving away FREE boxes of fun school supplies curated for younger Yards guests when they dine-in or pick up take-out from any Yards Restaurant on Friday, September 25th from 5:00-8:00pm.

Back to The Yards boxes will contain fun, colorful essentials for back to school (or homeschool), wherever that may be! Boxes are limited to one per family, while supplies last, for pick-up at The Yards Park.

Back to The Yards boxes will include festive supplies like: pencils, notebooks, colorful post-its, stickers, highlighters and more fun. Special boxes with fun school supplies are free to each family with a receipt from any Yards restaurant. All participating restaurants can be found here – meaning a receipt from one of these restaurants will allow you to pick up a free back-to-school box from Yards Park. We hope the start of the school year has been okay for everyone.

Bookroo delivers books to your doorstep + DISCOUNT

September 10, 2020

I have shared my love of reading on the blog before. As a former teacher with a background in reading, literacy plays an important part in our house. Bookroo approached me to share their services with readers a few years ago and you can find those posts here and here. The mission of Bookroo is to enable and empower parents to build their children’s book collections in an affordable and exciting way through curated monthly book deliveries. They believe in the power and impact of the written word in the life of a child, and believe it’s never too early to start reading to children! Book boxes are geared for ages 0-10. This month’s curated box for our fourth grader can be seen below.

Bookroo is offering a huge discount for you for the month of September– 20% off any 3-month subscription! Use code: KEEPCALM

The code cannot be combined with any other offers or used more than once per household. Valid Sept. 1, (12:01 am ET) – Sept. 30 (11:59 pm PT).

A message from Bookroo:
Last spring, school was a challenge for many of us, and many of us are still facing a lot of uncertainty, anxiety and worry about this school year being any better. Bookroo has a simple suggestion to help: Keep Calm & Read On!

Too often we overlook the power of reading as a teaching resource. Reading is one of the best tools we have to keep our kids (and ourselves!) happy and productive this school year.

The American Academy of Pediatricians has said, “reading regularly with young children stimulates optimal patterns of brain development, strengthens parent-child relationships at a critical time in child development, which, in turn, builds language, literacy, and social-emotional skills that last a lifetime.”

Brain development, social-emotional skills, relationship building? Doesn’t that sum up what we hope our kids gain from school? And it’s all possible with an activity so simple and enjoyable.

So this fall, don’t lose hope, give up or panic. Instead, in the good moments, and especially the difficult ones, keep calm and reach for a book! If all we manage to do this year is spend a lot of time reading, we’re all going to be okay.

Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center: Bringing the wonders of the Smithsonian to your living room

August 24, 2020

This post comes to you from the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center. We’ve had the opportunity to visit their space and participate in various workshops they offered prior to the pandemic and can’t recommend their family programing enough. We look forward to being able to go back one day and hope you will too!

When Covid closed our museums and our city, the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (SEEC) had to develop a new plan for its weekend family workshops. It was imperative to keep the essence of programs the same: forming relationships, connecting with Smithsonian objects, and learning through play.

Fostering relationships is at the core of our work at SEEC. Young children learn better in a social context with trusted adults and peers. Moving to a digital platform makes this challenging, but not impossible. SEEC’s family workshops are limited to six families so that everyone has a chance to get to know each other and participate fully. Families will sign up for a four-week session on a topic, which allows for the deepening of relationships over time. In addition to the virtual classes, families will receive a video with activities in between each session to help continue discoveries.

While families are unable to physically visit the objects and artwork of the Smithsonian, SEEC’s virtual classes allow children to experience these objects in closer detail and at their own pace while at home. SEEC believes objects are powerful learning tools as they often bridge the gap between the familiar and the unfamiliar, opening up windows to new worlds. The virtual weekend classes will use objects to share stories and help children practice critical thinking skills.

Learning happens through action and SEEC’s virtual classes will be action packed and fun! The classes will encourage all types of active learning including dramatic play, movement games, singing, storytelling, sensory experiences, and more. Children will be laughing, playing, and exploring as they learn about all the Smithsonian has to offer.

SEEC has missed its family workshop participants over the last six months and are so excited to reconnect in this fashion! To learn more, please visit our website.