I know there's a general thread with resources, but I thought we could share specific materials we've used.
I'll start.
I wanted to reinforce safety with my kids. With all the time at home it seems they're not being as careful, or maybe it's just that there's more opportunity for things to happen. I found this and I've been going through it on screen with them, a few pages a day, taking turns reading aloud:
Torah Safety Commission illustrated handbook
It really helps reinforce and review safety rules.
OK so I'm going to post what I'm trying to do with my kids. It's kind of a gardening curriculum and so far we're up to the seed starting part. I have a lot of material and I hope to add to it as I get further. Hope it can be useful to someone
Here it is in a downloadable PDF: Educational Fun Gardening Project With My Kids
I'm pasting most of the info here, but it's better in the PDF.
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Lots of useful resources for kids here, including easy to use PDF printables with clear illustrated guides for each step of the process https://carton2garden.com/reso.....room/
Planting dates for my area.
http://rocklandcce.org/gardeni.....dates
You can google the same for your own area. Local colleges have “cooperative extensions” with websites that should give you area-specific planting information. You can find the cooperative extensions for all states here. You might have to do a bit more clicking in each site to get to your local region: https://www.almanac.com/conten.....vices
Very complete videos on this channel, but might be too involved for kids. Good if you need detailed info about a part of the process. https://www.youtube.com/channe.....TZLSw
Group decision about what to grow
Suggestions:
Potatoes
Cherry tomatoes
Cucumbers
Squash: winter/summer
Peas/beans
Onions
Melons
Sweet potatoes
Avocado pit (probably will not plant it, just grow indoors as experiment)
Make chart: space needed, growing season, how long it takes, effort
https://youtu.be/0BooidIdo_o good thorough video on how to start tomatoes from ordinary grocery store tomato (not the usual method of buying seeds).
What we would need, based on this video:
-Container to start seeds - half a plastic bottle would work. Needs to be perforated on bottom
-Long, large container to separate and continue seedlings
-Chicken wire to go over large container and keep out pests
Audiobooks from Hoopla that might be nice, haven’t tried them. Hoopla is a free app that anyone with a library card can use. You get 5 downloads a month, and I think during the current pandemic everyone gets an extra 5 for a total of 10 downloads a month. https://www.hoopladigital.com/
(Images of the audiobooks I found are in the PDF)
oy why is no one posting here? The kvetching threads seem to go a lot better!
These are all on the computer..
Ages 7-16.
My kids are loving diy.org short videos on different how tos for kids, including science and cooking (sort of..) kinda cute..
There's a wonderful chabad mom doing 1 hour art classes once a week on Instagram, check out popcakery from Pittsburgh
Camp rena talent camp has scheduled a month full of exciting guest classes from singing, dancing to art, makeup etc etc on zoom for May
I usually turn on some exercise class like jumping jax once a day
Theres a beautiful video I jear on the Bais hamikdosh im still planning to see one day
All on computer, it's the only time I get a break...
We planted the tomato seeds!
We watched these 2 videos. Both completely clean and informative:
Then my kids made a seed starter using the instructions below, and keeping in mind instructions from the videos. We didn't decorate the top of the box, we just took off the cover, and we used the whole carton instead of cutting it in half. And they planted the seeds!
We are keeping them indoors in a warm, well-lighted area. I plan to leave them on the stovetop at night so they can be close to the light bulb that's under the oven vent, which I'll leave on for a few hours.
The Daily Do-it: (Noun) A series of teacher-created educational materials that are easy, suitable for home, and require no unusual supplies or skills! Each morning you can click and print the new craft, story, activity and game to start off your children’s day with consistency and structure.
Story of the day | Craft of the day | Activity of the day | Game of the day