I’ve been working part-time at a school for a few years now. One of my daily tasks (that I love) has been finding a new Live Stream to run in the background on a large Promethean Board in the Library everyday. It’s a lot of fun finding new streams or going back to old favorites - sometimes they have to do with timely current events (like a NASA launch), other times it’s a nature-related live stream, and other times it’s a peek into a different part of the world and their culture. We always mute the streams so they’re not disruptive and just add a fun element running in the background. Here I thought I’d share some favorites and I’ll be sure to add to the list periodically.
DISCLAIMER: Please use your best judgement and double check links before showing. At the time of writing this post, these links point to the topics described but there’s always a chance the streams/channels may change in the future. Also while all of these streams would likely be considered “school safe” for most grades/age groups, they are LIVE and therefore there’s always the chance of something unexpected happening on them. Stream at your own risk.
Nature
- SpaceX Launches - I'm linking to the general SpaceX channel here, since new live stream videos will be made as new things are launched. SpaceX launches happen pretty frequently, and they're always exciting and interesting.
- NASA Launches - Linking to the general NASA channel here. NASA Launches happen less often than SpaceX ones but are still fun to see.
- International Space Station (ISS) Stream - This shows a live view of Earth as seen from the ISS. A very relaxing and neat stream to run in the background.
- Rotating New England Live Streams - we enjoy this stream because it rotates amongst many locations around New England. We often put this stream on when bad or snowy weather is coming in (we're local to New England) to see how the weather is in other areas and how much snow they're getting. (Many of the videos featured have their own stand-alone streaming channels too and you can look them up individually if you choose to.)
- Mount Washington, NH Live Stream - Mt. Washington is known as "Home of the World's Worst Weather" and can be an interesting channel to live stream.
- Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Live Cam - busy stream of traffic coming and going across the Brooklyn Bridge and surrounding area.
- Bank of America Winter Village Skate Cam at Bryant Park, NYC - This is a favorite live cam to run in the library around the holidays/Christmas. The kids love watching the ice skaters and the wide range of skills they have ;)
- Boston Marathon - no link for this one because coverage changes every year. But when "Marathon Monday" (which is the 3rd Monday in April) rolls around every year we put on some kind of live stream or news coverage of the Marathon.
- Everest Base Camp - I can't find the link for it now, but last spring we were able to watch a live stream of Everest Base Camp.
Current Events
I won’t link anything here because these are often temporary or one-time events… but here are some general ideas of things we have streamed or could stream for current events:
Weather coverage of a current weather event somewhere in the US - like an incoming nor’easter snowstorm or hurricane
Presidential election coverage or inauguration
Local election coverage
Royal wedding or coronation abroad
9/11 or Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremony
Olympics coverage
SpaceX or NASA Launch
News conference regarding a science discovery
Baby watch of an animal about to give birth (like a giraffe at the zoo)
Livestream of a local event
DISCLAIMER: Please use your best judgement and double check links before showing. At the time of writing this post, these links point to the topics described but there’s always a chance the streams/channels may change in the future. Also while all of these streams would likely be considered “school safe” for most grades/age groups, they are LIVE and therefore there’s always the chance of something unexpected happening on them. Stream at your own risk.
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Having worked at a middle/high school for a few years now I’ve experienced a few “Anything But a Backpack” Days for Spirit Week and they can be pretty hilarious. …What does that mean? you might wonder - well, it pretty much means what it says - leave your backpack at home that day and come up with a creative way to carry your things around school for the day. I thought I’d share a list of some of the favorites I’ve seen or have heard about form others - some are quite creative and ridiculous. Disclaimer: always make sure you check with your school for any parameters or rules for this event as every school will have different expectations as to what’s acceptable or not.
“Anything But a Backpack” Day Ideas
laundry basket
hamper
stroller
car seat
remote control car
PowerWheels
wagon
toy shopping cart
real shopping cart
Easter basket
pizza box
toolbox
bucket
a really ugly/tacky purse or bag (can be found cheap at a local thrift shop!)
tool chest
mini fridge
microwave (that has to be heavy!)
a car bumper (very tricky to put your stuff in - and yes, I have seen this one myself!)
a kayak
a canoe (very awkward to get up the stairs)
golfbag
milk crate
horse saddle bag
office chair
cooking pot
cat carrier
birdcage
wheelbarrow
guitar case
suitcase (the ones with the wheels are handy!)
fishing net
traffic cone
stuffed animal that has a zippered pocket
trick-or-treat bag or container
trash bag or trash can (just make sure your stuff doesn’t get thrown out by accident!)
Check out our Spirit Week Theme Day Ideas blog post for other theme day ideas!
Disclaimer: Always make sure you check with your school for any parameters or rules for this event as every school will have different expectations as to what’s acceptable or not. This list is for ideas/entertainment purposes only.
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We’re definitely living in different times right now… and it’s becoming clearer that it looks as though we will have to co-exist with the COVID-19 virus for the foreseeable future. Because of that anything we can do that might mitigate the risk of virus transmission, like always wearing face masks or face coverings when outside our homes, have become a part of our “new normal.” Since mask-wearing should be part of your new routine whenever you leave your house, it’s a good idea to have a system in place to make sure you always have clean masks at the ready and you never leave home without one. | This post contains affiliate links |
Disclaimer: I am not giving medical advice. Make sure to always consult the CDC and local health officials for up-to-date recommendations on mask wearing, storage, and care. Cloth masks are not considered medical grade and should be washed in between each use… check with individual mask makers/companies on the best way to store/wash/care for your masks.
It’s a good idea to keep your clean masks in a designated area of your home, preferably in a place where you’ll be sure to grab one on your way out the door to do errands, go to work, etc. At first glance it might look like we have a lot of masks, but we really don't considering we're a household of four and it's essential to have enough masks to get through between laundry loads. We're still staying home and social-distancing very seriously, but whenever we have to do an essential errand/appointment or just go for a drive to get out of the house, we always make sure to have a clean mask for everyone that’s leaving the house.
In our home, we've designated a special basket that sits up high on our mudroom shelf, full of clean masks. We put the adult masks towards the back, and then kids masks in the front. I was unable to find a basket the same size on Amazon to link to, but I did find this
sleek bamboo box that looks to be the perfect size. If you don't have shelf space for a basket, you could alternatively use wall-mounted baskets for storage.
Our masks are a mix of ones made with love for us by family members, as well as ones purchased from
Old Navy
and
Miss Harlow VT
(one of the local makers I featured in my "Masks by New England Makers" blog post).
If you don't like the idea of using a basket like we do and would rather hang your masks by the door, another option would be using
a small set of hooks
such as a set of compact coat hooks or key rack - or even just simple
Command Hooks.
We have found a
slim wipes container
is the perfect size for holding several face masks on-the-go! In fact, we always make sure to leave our case packed with an extra mask for each family member in the car. That way we're always covered if we forget one or need to change masks while we're out of the house.
I think this would be a great way to carry extra face masks in your bag for work, or your child's backpack whenever they return to school. It would probably be a good idea to also keep a ziplock bag or separate sealed container in your bag in case you have a dirty/used mask that needs to be brought home to wash.
And if you wanted to take it a step further and have an organzied mask system on-the-go to put in your work bag or child's backpack, you might want to consider having two cases - one for clean masks and one for dirty masks. I ordered these clear mask cases from Amazon and cut labels for them on my Cricut. We'll be packing one with extra clean masks, and the other will be empty for dirty masks to come home in. Since we recently invested in some better quality masks I wanted to make sure they stay in cases when not in use to keep them in good shape.
Alternatively, if you don't have any slim wipes containers hanging around you could also use
Small Craft Storage Cases
, which come in clear and a variety of colors. This might be more cost effective too if you needed multiple cases - especially if you needed one or more cases for each family member, or if you were a teacher and wanted to make a case for each student in your class.
You can also easily label any of these cases with a
label maker.
We always make sure to keep the car stocked with our plastic case of extra face masks, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant wipes to help protect ourselves when we’re out doing errands.
Always refer to individual mask makers/companies on the best way to care for each of your masks (hand wash only vs machine wash, line-dry vs dryer, etc.) But in general, all masks should be washed and allowed to thoroughly dry in between each use.
Since all of our masks are machine washable, we've found using a mesh lingerie laundry bag is perfect for keeping the masks from getting lost in the wash or caught on other items.
If you feel like your face mask is a little large or isn’t fitting as closely to your face as you would like, you can typically adjust it very easily by making a small knot in the ear loop elastics (as shown above) to make it smaller.
One mask accessory that we've found super helpful lately are
Mask Lanyards. We personally use them most often when we're out hiking or going for a long walk, that way the time we're out alone we can keep our masks down, however in the event we see someone coming up we can easily put them on if we need to pass others on the trail. We made a point to choose lanyards that have a breakaway safety feature, but use at your own discretion/risk.
Disclaimer: I am not giving medical advice. Make sure to always consult the CDC and local health officials for up-to-date recommendations on mask wearing, storage, and care. Cloth masks are not considered medical grade and should be washed in between each use… check with individual mask makers/companies on the best way to store/wash/care for your masks.
Vaccination Card Protector
Vaccinated? You may want to consider getting a Vaccination Card Protector for your vaccine card to help keep them protected and clean at home or while you're traveling. These are nice because you can remove your vaccine card to record updates/boosters if needed.
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With the Covid-19 Pandemic still persisting and school in our state cancelled for the rest of the school year (and maybe longer), average parents have been thrown into the role of becoming teachers too and most of us weren’t prepared at all. While I have a degree in Art Education, I went a different career route after graduation and my teaching/classroom management skills are now quite rusty. So I pulled from my own classroom and remote teaching experiences - as well as polling many teacher friends, homeschooling parents, and regular now-remote-teaching-parents for ideas on what’s working for them and what supplies have been lifesavers as they navigate this new remote learning world. | This post contains affiliate links |
Give Yourself Grace
This is probably the biggest takeaway from everyone I’ve talked to…. remote learning during a Pandemic is definitely uncharted territory and everyone is trying to figure things out - readjusting roles, schedules, expectations, everything. Most of us weren’t cut out to be teachers, and it can be incredibly hard to motivate and focus your own kids as well as their teachers are able to. Ultimately, it’s a matter of doing the best that you can in the circumstance you’re currently in… and don’t beat yourself up if everything isn’t perfect.
Communicate with Teachers and Administrators
If you have a lot going on at home (working from home yourself, several kids schedules to juggle, other personal hurdles to deal with, etc) or if the teacher’s expectations for remote learning are just unrealistic, definitely reach out to them to voice your concerns and come up with a plan. Maybe deadlines can be extended, or the workload can be reduced to the essential assignments. Maybe the big group Zoom meetings are too overwhelming and frustrating for your young child and they need a one-on-one meeting instead. Maybe the schedule the teacher came up with won’t work for your family with your own work and other school schedules.
The point is - if you or your kids are feeling overwhelmed and stressed about about the whole remote learning process, it’s worth discussing with their teachers and administrators so that you can come up with something that works for everyone and still meets all the learning requirements.
Come up With a Schedule that Works for Your Family
This will take some trial-and-error. And if you have older students with a heavier workload, their home school day might just look very similar to a regular school day schedule-wise and time-wise - especially if they can work pretty independently. But for us with younger kids, mom or dad needs to be there to walk them through each assignment, activity, and online meeting.
If you’re also working from home or juggling other kids schedules too this can be particularly challenging and exhausting... if you need something to buy periods of occupation from your kids (maybe so you can do an uninterupted confrence call, or you can concentrate helping one child with an assignment while keeping the other kids busy), consider giving them something they will enjoy doing and keep them safely occupied (but always under some parent supervision of course). Maybe it's educational games on the Kindle, or perhaps low-mess craft projects, or an hour of TV time, or reading a book series on their own that they enjoy, etc. Or maybe you find school work or office work done in fragments at unusual times is what works best for your family.
For us personally with younger kids, we’ve fallen into a good rhythm and schedule over the last two months of remote learning. For our family we’ve found it best to buckle down in the mornings and get the work done first thing when attention spans are at their best and everyone is well rested. So our daughter works through her assignments one-by-one every morning with breaks for snack and classroom meetings. Our goal is to have all her work completed for the day by lunchtime, and while some days that doesn’t happen and things need to be finished after lunch, most of the time she’s done by noon which leaves the afternoons for “free choice fun.” Typically, spending the whole afternoon outside if the weather is nice or inside playing legos or watching a movie if it’s raining (and while the kids are playing I can chip away at whatever work I need to get done too). Our days have consistent expectations and a nice rhythm to them now which helps a lot.
Set Snack and Meal Times
As anyone with kids home 24/7 can tell you, they can and WILL eat you out of house and home if you let them. By having set snack and mealtimes it will help your pantry and wallet by not blowing through all your quarantine snacks in 2 days flat. I’ve seen some parents even pack their kids lunch box every morning, just like they would for school, so the kids have a finite amount of snacks and lunch food for the day.
Designate a School Space and Stay Organized
Having a designated “school space” that has all the supplies your kids will need to complete their assignments at their fingertips can be crucial to success. Ideally having a desk or separate workspace would be ideal, but any designated space can work. For us, we set up one end of our kitchen island - it has a laptop where our daughter completes most of her assignments online and a small basket where we store paper, workbooks, flashcards, and a few ziplock bags containing different supplies that she uses often (markers, counting chips, etc). By having everything ready to go each day, there's no excuse when it's time to get to work.
I polled many friends, both teachers and regular parents who are now remote teaching, and compiled a list of things they have needed or found to be extremely helpful during this time. Younger kids definitely tend to need more learning aides so the list has many items geared to younger students but there are also some items that can be useful for older grade levels listed too. Click the button below to browse our picks, which I will be periodically adding to as I get more suggestions:
Is there anything you’ve found to be helpful during this time? Please comment below or send me a message.
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