Family Resources for At-Home Living & Learning
As we all navigate the new realities of staying put, we have compiled (and will continuing to gather anew) resources to help all our families and students stay curious and active during these weeks.
Use the buttons below to jump right into an area of interest:
Online Events Online Resources Sample Daily Rhythms Outdoor & Indoor Adventures Backyard Bingo
If you have resources that you think would be a great fit, let us know!
FREE ONLINE EVENTS
- Facebook live readings of stories from the Little Round Schoolhouse – a community of families focused on simplicity and joy in early childhood – M-F at 10 am
- Free online environmental, sustainability, and climate education from Beverly-based Change is Simple – M, W, F at 11 am
- Lunch doodles with author and illustrator Mo Willems – M-F 1 pm
- Live streamed student yoga and meditation with Waldorf at Moraine Farm’s Branigan Reed on our facebook page – M, W, F at 2 pm
- Cincinnati Zoo Home Safari – M-F 3 PM
Virtual Field Trips
- Arts and Culture on Google
- Smithsonian Natural History Museum – virtual tours of exhibits past and present
- Great Wall of China – (how cool is this?)
- Discovering Egypt – great for middle school students
- Monterey Bay Aquarium – Live animal feeds!
- Zoo Atlanta – Panda Cam!
- Animal activities & games – San Diego Zoo
FREE ONLINE RESOURCES
- NASA craft activities for grades children or parents of younger children
- A large selection of children’s stories – for all ages – on Audible
- Month-long subscription to Sparkle Stories, gentle audio stories for children, with code FUNATHOME
- Downloadable rhythm worksheets and seasonal schedules from Meagan Rose Wilson
- Well-known children’s stories translated into Spanish and spoken – slowly – by a native speaker
- A round up of easy at home crafts from Sparkle Stories
SAMPLE DAILY RHYTHMS
Daily rhythms and schedules can help families create stability and consistency in their days. That consistency becomes an invisible set of arms around a child, offering an internal stability that can last a lifetime. At school, the regular schedule or “rhythm” will grow as the child grows. From nursery to kindergarten, for example, circle time and stories will become longer. Play time will grow more active and robust. The children’s ability to settle into focused work activities will expand. By eighth grade, they won’t call it play time, but the eighth graders will still be going outside for some rejuvenation and recess, to breathe out after a focused morning of academic work. As Waldorf early childhood educator Susan Weber says in her essay, Some Thoughts on Rhythm, “This work-play-rest rhythm is a healthy habit for a whole lifetime.”
Our faculty have shared the following suggested schedules.
Sample Rhythm for Early Childhood Students
- 8:00: Get dressed/washed/breakfast
- 8:45 Morning nature walk
- 9:30 Morning circle, snack then free play
- 11:00 Daily Activity
- 11:15 Indoor free play, prepare for lunch
- 12:10 Lunch
- 12:40 Clean up, rest and story
- 2:00 afternoon outside time
Sample Rhythm for Elementary School Students
- 8:00: Get dressed/washed/breakfast
- 8:30 Movement/Singing
- 9 am: School Lessons
- 10:15 Snack and recess
- 10:45 School Lessons
- 12:00 Lunch/ Recess/ Chores
- — end of “home-school” part of day —
- 1:00 Nature/Movement/Excursion
- 3:00 Music/Art
- 5:00 Homework/Dinner -or- Dinner/Homework
Sample Rhythm for Middle School Students
- 8:00 Morning Routine and Breakfast
- 9 – 12 pm Morning Lesson and Skills Instruction
- 12 pm to 1:30 pm Lunch and Break
- 1:30 – 3:00 pm Art/Handwork/Music
- 3:00 – 5:00 pm Break/Nature/Movement
- 5:00 Dinner and Homework
INDOOR & OUTDOOR ADVENTURES
Fun, meaningful, and generally pixel-free at-home learning
(Note: Full credit to Wade Whitehead – https://www.wadewhitehead.com/)
Easy, Local Walks & Longer, Farther Hikes
note: we are removing properties as we learn they are closed, but please check before heading out.
- JC Phillips Estate, Beverly – easy walking, dog friendly, off leash trail options, old estate ruins, right next door to our campus on Cabot Street
- Bradley Palmer State Park, Topsfield
- Maudslay State Park, Newburyport – beautiful old estate, scenic views, bike riding
- Lynn Woods, Lynn – 30 miles of trails to bike and walk, dogs welcome on leash
- Greenbelt Essex County Land Trust
- Beverly, MA trail maps
Longer list of great hikes – near and far, courtesy of the Reyes-Wangh family
Add a layer of adventure to your outdoor excursion with our Back Yard Bingo card – created by Coleen Ryan, our Science in Nature teacher. Click on the image to down load and print PDF.
