COVID-19 Guidance, Resources & Case Count

For Families

In these unprecedented times, families are assuming more responsibilities than ever so we wanted to compile a few helpful resources to help you on your journey to finding a new normal. The goals right now are to help our children establish new routines, feel safe and secure, and keep the learning going. This will look different in every household and we encourage you to use the resources you have at your disposal and always reach out to your child’s school for additional questions and support needed. We’re all in this together.

Pandemic-Related Transitions: P-3 Learning Contexts - Across the nation, young students, pre-school through 3rd grade, are experiencing transitions in their learning contexts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “School” may be in-person, at-home, on-line, or a hybrid of these arrangements. The school year likely began in one format and has shifted, once or multiple times, since then.

School districts, elementary schools, and their early care and education (ECE) partners are striving to ease these transitions for students, families, teachers, and staff. Informed by research, this resource highlights strategies and includes crowd-sourced ideas from numerous districts across the country.

PBS Holiday Resource For Parents - The holidays may look and feel different for your family this year, but there are still plenty of ways to celebrate. While the holiday season provides a time for us to focus on loved ones, share good food and participate in family traditions, this time can also be a very stressful one for many. Check out these ideas to learn how to simplify holiday stress, entertain your child with activities, and cherish the memories you create with your family.

Talking to Kids About the Coronavirus (article & video) - If you’re wondering how to bring up the epidemic in a way that will be reassuring and not make kids more worried than they already may be. Here is some advice from Child Mind Institute.

Hawaii DOE’s Continuity of Education Website (+Parent/Caregiver Page)- The DOE is managing and updating resources for teachers, families, and students that cover topics such as:

• Learning Choice Boards (enrichment content and activities by grade/subject)
• Parent Pointer Videos from Principal Stacie Kunihisa
• Creating a Learning Space and Schedule
• DOE Channel 356 Television Programming: Television programming available on TEACH TV Ch. 356 on Spectrum Digital and Hawaiian Telcom. Click on the DOE Channel 356 Programming Schedule for a list of air dates and times. Programming also available on demand via Olelo Community Media.

How long should your child be focused on a single task? - Every child is different … and research says that when working to complete a single task, a neurotypical child has an attention span (or concentration span) of 2-5 minutes per year of life.

In addition to academic enrichment work, we also encourage families to support children in their social-emotional wellbeing through activities that nurture mind, body, spirit, environment, and family connections. Below are some guiding questions and a short list of possible activities that are tied to each.

Stuck at home with young kids due to the coronavirus? Here’s what to do—and not to do (article) - Geared towards caregivers of young children who are unable to do independent, virtual enrichment opportunities. Highlights a couple high-quality resources such as The Kennedy Center’s daily lunch doodle with children’s book author Mo Willems and the PBS Kids Play and Learn Science app which provides ideas for hands-on, non-screen science projects.

​Enrichment Resources Spotlight

​Our team has been compiling an extensive list of Distance Learning Educational Resources and will continue to update that weekly. However, we wanted to showcase a handful of the best FREE resources that are immediately available.

ABC Mouse (Ages 2-8)- ABCmouse.com helps kids learn to read through phonics, and teaches lessons in math, social studies, art, music, and much more. There are interactive and progressive lessons which contain games, worksheets, and videos are part of a coherent curriculum. It’s available on computers, tablets, and smartphones.

• How To Access (FREE): Visit www.abcmouse.com/redeem and enter school code SCHOOL2131 to create an account with your email address/info. Enter “Charter School” for the school name.

News ELA (Ages 5+)- News ELA takes authentic content from the world's most trusted news providers and turns it into learning materials that are classroom- and learner-ready which focus on skill development in reading, writing, and humanities. Their articles are leveled for different reading abilities to ensure your child can find the right level of independent reading content.

• How To Access (FREE): Visit newsela.com/about/distance-learning, click “Get Started”, and create a (free) account with your information. No class code or credit card required.

Khan Academy (Ages 5+)- Khan Academy offers exercises, quizzes, and tests so students can practice and master skills, as well as instructional videos to help students learn or review material. Khan Academy is most well-known for it’s Math lessons but it also has courses available in Science, Engineering, Computing, Programming/Coding, Arts, Humanities, Economics, Finance, and many others. Visit this webpage for more details on grade level courses available.

• How To Access (FREE): Visit www.khanacademy.org and set up an account for free (no code required). Khan Academy Kids App is available for ages 2-7.

Great Minds (Ages 5+) : Every day on this site, they’ll offer newly recorded lessons for Math (for Grades K–12), our English language arts (K–8), and Science (3–5). Customized by grade and module, these consistent and coherent video lessons, delivered by our experienced teachers, will be viewable on any device.

• How To Access (FREE): Visit greatminds.org and select the grade level and content area you wish to explore. No sign-up or log-in required.

Maker Challenge Cards (Ages 4+)- Looking for activities that will get your child(ren) making something with their hands and not connected to a screen? These “Maker Challenge Cards” give kids a prompt to create something or solve a problem using typical household objects. This resource focuses on skill development in problem-solving, engineering, art, science, and much more.

• How To Access (FREE): Visit the Mackin website and select the grade level range to download a set of challenge cards. Print and cut into cards if possible or re-write some challenge cards on any paper to provide choices for your child.

​PBS Learning Media - PBS LearningMedia is free for PreK-12 educators and students. Students and teachers can access thousands of classroom-ready, curriculum-targeted digital resources aligned to Common Core and national and state standards. You can find lesson plans, videos, audio recordings, and documents. Browse by standards, grade level, subject area, and special collections.