Wellness Resources for Caregivers
Articles, resources, and activities that will help you as a parent or caregiver support your children’s social and emotional needs at home.

How can parents and caregivers actively support social-emotional development at home?
We are currently faced with the daunting reality of staying at home with our children for weeks or months. While educators are working on “take-home” packets and online resources to support children academically, supporting their emotional well-being during these unpredictable and stressful times is a caregiver’s job.

Playworks at home (K-5)
Playworks wants to help make sure kids still get to play every day. With families looking for ways to keep their kids engaged, active, and having fun, Playworks has free video tutorials of games that follow CDC guidelines and can be played at home, a printable playbook, and virtual recess on Facebook.

Social-emotional learning skill activities (grades 6-8)
Help your children become more socially-savvy with lessons you can do at home on attitude, boundaries, and more. These five free activities include worksheets and discussion points to support you in talking through social-emotional topics with your child.

Why learning at home should be less structured and more authentic
With social media filling up with color-coded learning schedules, it’s easy to think this is what you should do, too. But this tight structure is hard to implement and unnecessary at home. This article explains how self-directed learning is easier to manage and more aligned with your child’s development.

Quaranteenagers: strategies for parenting in close quarters
Because of coronavirus, teenagers’ lives have been upended and they’re missing out on major rites of passage. These strategies can help address unforeseen parenting challenges, especially at a time when many adults are struggling to hold it all together.

Parent & caregiver guide to helping families cope with coronavirus
Knowing important information about the outbreak and learning how to be prepared can reduce your stress and help calm anxieties. This resource helps you think about how an infectious disease outbreak might affect your family – physically and emotionally – and what you can do to cope.

The Play-at-Home Playbook: Games and Activities for Your Family
Playworks’ activities are proven to get kids moving while teaching them social-emotional skills like cooperation and conflict resolution. Now more than ever, these skills are essential to helping kids combat stress and anxiety and successfully navigate uncertainty and change.

Virtual Learning: Tips for Getting Started
These tips for parents and caregivers will help you get started with virtual learning, with ideas for creating a dedicated learning space and establishing a routine. There are also resources you can use for support on subject matter, lesson planning, and creating projects.

SEL in an Unplanned Home School Setting
With the nation’s schools closed, many households have suddenly become unplanned home schools and parents have become educators. They have all of the responsibilities that go with the job, including setting the climate for learning, managing “student” behavior, and supporting their child’s motivation.

5 Social-Emotional Learning Games to Play With Your Child (Elementary)
Looking for ways to help your child with social-emotional learning? Many schools have started teaching kids how to do things like cope with feelings, set goals, and get along with others. You can help your child work on these skills at home, too.
How Can Mindfulness Help My
Child Through Tough Changes?
Mindfulness is the practice of observing and accepting the present moment. It offers a wide range of potential benefits, from improving physical and mental health to promoting prosocial behavior. Increased mindfulness can enhance a range of important social and emotional skills, including self-awareness, empathy, handling stress, and identifying emotions. You can start practicing mindfulness with fun and engaging apps as a family!
Positve & Productive Childcare While the Kids Are Not in School
As parents, there are times our children drive us crazy! In this time of rapid change and, for most of us, some confinement at home, this can be especially true. Randy Sprick, parent, grandparent, and world leader in effective behavior management, shares 10 tips to help kids learn to become more independent and responsible. And you will learn that you are already doing many things exactly right and learn strategies for making things better!