COVID-19 Resources

Yoga can be a fun way for kids to exercise while also learning how to relax and have fun!

Learn the turtle pose, the crab pose and the starfish pose to strengthen your back, arms and tummy in the below video:

Hello!

Today we're going to sing about safety and how to feel safe using the "Family Music Time" video, which features the songs "Hello to the Nursery," "The More We Get Together," "Funga Alafia," "Safety Song," "We Are Safe in the Nursery" and "Bye Bye Butterfly":

Give yourself a big, strong hug.

With your arms wrapped around you, walk your fingers up your arm, and down your arm. Try this with your legs, too! Where else can you walk your fingers? On a table? On a chair? Across the floor?

How many ways can you find to hug yourself?

Can you do it standing tall?

Can you do it scrunched down small?

Can you hug and squeeze yourself tight?

Can you freeze your body in a worried-feeling posture?

Can you freeze your body is a safe and secure-feeling posture? 

What is the difference for you?

Here are today's vocabulary words:

• Safe
• Me
• You
• Mommy
• Daddy
• Love
• Loved
• Nursery
• Hug

Here are today's read aloud selections:

Road Safety:

Thank You Baked Potato:

Officer Buckle and Gloria - Read Aloud:

Officer Buckle and Gloria - Short Movie:

Germs Germs Go Away:

How many arms do you have?

How many legs?

Let’s count our fingers and toes!

Here are some other interesting ways to dance and make music around the house. It’s a Safety Dance! 

Parenting, even in more normal times, is hard work! What are your tiny victories today? What do you want to remember about being together with your little one today?

Helpful Link:
Tips for Talking to Young Children About Wearing Masks

Today's activities feature three fun songs for us to sing and dance to - "Jump Up on Your Toes," "Zodiac" and "Alley Cat."

For our fine motor activity - can you and your children share your fingers on your right hand? On the left hand? Can you wiggle all of your fingers? Your toes? Touch your nose?

How many different ways can you:

Shake your head?
Nod your head?
Dance in a circle?
Tap your toe?
Step back?
Walk like a camel?
Jump?
Turn?

Here are today's vocabulary words:

• Jump
• Shake
• Nod
• Toe
• Tap
• Look
• Step
• Back
• Alley
• Camel
• Walk

Here are some dancing videos for you. Can you dance like them?

Masaka Kids:

The Feelingwells:

Parenting, even in more normal times, is hard work! What are your tiny victories today? What do you want to remember about being together with your little one today?

Helpful Link:
The Power of Family Dance Parties
 

Here's a bonus video of The Feelingwells about hand washing!

It’s hard to believe we have been away from PACT over a month.  The PACT staff misses seeing you and your beautiful families each day.

Since being closed, the nursing student from the University of Maryland School of Nursing semester has ended. While spending time in PACT, the students learned the importance of saying “good bye." Since the students were unable to say "thank you" and "good bye" in person, they created a video, along with a “Ways To Maintain Good Hygiene” video.

Gather your family, and enjoy the videos together.
 

University of Maryland School of Nursing Thank You/Good Bye:

Ways to Maintain Good Hygiene:

Since we are unable to get out and explore Baltimore physically, Baltimore City Department of Recreation & Parks created a Virtual Recreation Center.

Gather your family and create memories exploring Baltimore: https://bcrp.baltimorecity.gov/virtual-rec

Today we will sing "The Tooth Brushing Song" and "The Waiting Song" together!

Ask your children the following questions as you watch the above video:

How many different ways can you brush your teeth (real and pretend)?

How can you wiggle your fingers and then stop with 1 finger up? 2 fingers? 3 fingers? 4 fingers? 5 fingers?

Have your child pretend their whole body is a toothbrush. Then have them pretend their whole body is one tooth being brushed!

Make sure your children know these words as they appear in the songs:

• Wake up
• Quarter
• One, two, three, four, five
• Nap
• Brush
• Teeth
• Happy
• Me
• You
• Door
• Alive

Ask your children these questions:

How many teeth can you count in your mouth? 

How many teeth do other members of your family have? 

How many numbers can you count forward? How many backward?

Here are today's read-aloud selections:

Ish

Teeth Are Not for Biting

Everyone Poops (Without the Book)

Everyone Poops (With the Book)

Parenting, even in more normal times, is hard work! What are your tiny victories today? What do you want to remember about being together with your little one today?

Helpful Link:
Caregiver Actions to Support Brain and Body Health in Children and Adolescents

If your children enjoyed today's theme, make sure you watch the below video together!

Today, we'll be singing the songs "Peek-a-Boo" and "Mommy Comes Back" to guide us through our activities.

Ask your children the following questions:

How can you cover the fingers of one hand with the other, before you show them with a Peek-a-Boo?

How many different ways can you use your fingers and hands to cover your face for Peek-a-Boo?

Can your fingers march along the edge of a piece of furniture?

Have your children act out the following scenarios:

How many ways can you turn your whole body around, and then turn back again for Peek-a-boo?

How still can you hold your whole body to be almost-invisible, and then release into wiggly-like-jelly body?

Pick out a few words from the song and make sure your child understands their meaning:

• Finger
• Hand
• See
• You
• Me
• Gone
• Hide
• Mask
• Scarf

Today's virtual story time recommendations:

Good Night Moon:

The Invisible String

The Kissing Hand

Ask your child to try the below!

Can you cover your eyes and count to 5, before you say, “Peek-a-boo?!"

Can you hide under the blanket and count to 5, before you say, “Peek-a-boo?!"

Parenting, even in more normal times, is hard work! 

What are your tiny victories today?

What do you want to remember about being together with your little one today?

Resources:

• Talking to Your Child About Wearing Masks

Tips for Parents:

We hope you and your family are staying safe and enjoying our activity recommendations.

Today's video features some familiar faces. We miss you!

Is your child exhibiting restless behavior?

Yoga is a great way to help your little one get up and moving while relieving some of the restlessness they may be experiencing as a result of being stuck inside.

Yoga is a great activity for both infants and toddlers.

It's important to keep moving and finding ways to stay connected during this time.

We recommend following along with the below video, which features an assortment of baby yoga stretches:

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free books to children ages 0-5. Learn more and get your child registered today. More information.

Happy Monday! Today, we'll be singing "1, 2, 3 I'm Calming Me" together:

Have your child use their fingers to count 1, 2, 3, and 1 & 2 with both their left and right hands. 

Can they count with fingers in the air? With fingers touching the floor? Can they use one hand to touch the fingers of the other hand? Can you touch your child’s fingers while counting?

Ask your child the below questions to get them moving their entire body:

How can you make your standing body into a tall, still mountain? 

How about sitting as a mountain?

How wide can your arms go before you bring them in to hug yourself?

Can you give yourself a big breath standing? Sitting? Lying down? 

What else can you discover about body positions that feel calm?

Make sure your child knows what these words from "1, 2, 3 Calming Me" mean:

• Calm
• Me
• You
• Breath
• Belly
• Hug
• Reach
• Mountain

Have your child count 1, 2, 3 and 1 & 2. Ask them to count how long they can give themselves a hug, or how long they can sit like a mountain!

Here are two read aloud versions of 1, 2, 3, A Calmer Me:

This global crisis is sure to test our strengths and expose our vulnerabilities. For children and adolescents, this period will have an indelible impact on their developing brains and world view. As we shift from functioning within relative certainty to shaping our lives around a frightening new reality with an uncertain end date, we have a tremendous opportunity to promote grit, build resilience, model community responsibility and service, and attend to both the needs and wants of the self and the needs of others.

Click here to read about actions you can take to reassure your child.

Parenting, even in more normal times, is hard work! What are your small victories today? Nothing is too small to notice! What do you want to remember about being together with your little one today?

Today's activities feature use of the song "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed."

We recommend singing along with your child and making sure your child can identify what certain words from the lyrics mean, such as "five," "little," "monkey," and "jump."

As you and your child sing along to "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed," have them count to five on their fingers.

Make it a physical activity by having them channel their inner monkey and jump in place while singing!

In keeping with today's theme, virtual storytime features Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed:

We're going to be using the song "Come to the Sink and Wash Your Hands" to guide us through our activities for today.

For our fine motor activity, practice washing your hand with your child: make sure you wash the front of your hands, the backs, and your fingers!

Integrate math skills by counting your fingers as you wash them!

Find different ways to walk to and from the sink!

Like a dinosaur, like a bunny rabbit, like a dancer... what else can you and your child think of?

Pick out a few words from "Come to the Sink and Wash Your Hands" and make sure your child knows what they mean.

• Sink
• Hands
• Wash
• Front
• Back
• Between
• Fingers
• Wait
• Clean
• Healthy
• Safe

Today's virtual story time features Hands Are Not For Hitting:

As we all work together to adjust to the new reality of the COVID-19 threat, structuring children’s daily and weekly schedules in a way that maintains as many routines as possible will be critical to ensuring continuity in their development, and buffer the impact of chronic stress on a developing brain.

Click here to read more about how to preserve and protect your child's brain and body health.

Let's move! Keep your children moving while teaching them new vocabulary words.

The below video features an assortment of nursery rhymes for you and your children to sing together.

Pick out a few words from each one to teach your child.

For example, during the first song, "The Wheels on the Bus," introduce vocabulary from the lyrics, such as "wheels" and "bus," and make sure your child can identify what they mean.

Make it a physical activity by having theme act out what the words!

Follow along with your child as they do the Hokey Pokey.

Count with them as they move their bodies to the lyrics.

If you are trying to work from home and struggling to find time to read to your children, play them a read aloud video!

We recommend The Little School Bus for today's virtual story time.

Can you sing along to today's song?

The ants go marching one by one.

Hoorah! Hoorah!

The ants go marching one by one.

Hoorah! Hoorah!

The ants go marching one by one.

The little one stops to suck his thumb.

And they all go marching down to the ground.

To get out of the rain.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

Let's play Follow the Leader! Have your child take the lead and follow them throughout your home.

The words to learn from today's lesson are:

• Ants
• March
• One

The Ants Go Marching

Follow along with your child to the Ants Go Marching video.

Count and march with the child while they are moving their bodies to the lyrics: