The world is currently grappling with an unprecedented upending due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. In the tumult, children and families are finding themselves in new and unforeseen environments and configurations. While this column, Making the News, typically covers how an issue unfolds over a year or more, we felt it important to share our library of news articles and resource to help process this crisis in real time. Our library of links spans just a few weeks, but includes a wealth of resources, reflections and quickly changing news.For regular news updates moving forward, we encourage you to sign up for First 5 LA’s Week in Review, here.
The United States saw its first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus in January. Since then health officials have identified more than 40,000 cases, with more than 400 deaths, 67 of which were in California, according to NPR (and as of March 26). The virus is unknown to scientists, which has forced leaders at the federal, state and local levels to employ the best public health measures at their disposal, chiefly what has been called social distancing, or the practice of physically distancing people from each other.
California has been nimble in responding to the virus. In the span of a few weeks, Governor Gavin Newsom went from an initial state of emergency declaration on March 4 to his most recent stay-at-home order on March 19, employing some of the most stringent social distancing restrictions in the nation. There are only 16 work sectors considered critical and exempt from the order, including health care and grocery workers.
California schools began to close early in March, and on March 13 LAUSD shut down its 900 campuses serving more than 670,000 students. As of March 23, LAUSD will not reopen until May 1, however Newsom forecasted that schools could be closed for the duration of the school year. LAUSD has set up “Grab & Go” food stations for students who rely on school lunches.
With the shutdown of schools across the nation, most parents and caregivers are now in the position of keeping their children occupied and educated, while in many cases also working from home. To help offset the impact, the federal government included paid family leave for parents in The Families First Coronavirus Response Act which passed on March 19, although it only applies to companies with 500 or fewer employees.
For parents grappling with how to suddenly be educators, several online education resources have been made available — LAUSD for example partnered with PBS SoCal and KCET to provide both on air and online resources. First 5 LA, as well as our partners like Quality Start Los Angeles and Child 360, have also compiled a list of online resources available for kids under 6. Many parents are still struggling with the new reality, however, with one mom, who is also an associate professor of educational leadership, openly stating in a New York Times op-ed she refuses to “run a coronavirus home school.”
Even though K-12 schools have shut down, the child care sector is considered necessary by Newsom, which has caused confusion and controversy among parents and educators. On the one hand most child care centers operate with thin margins, and any drop in enrollment could mean permanent closure. However, the potential threat of the virus spreading to caregivers, children and parents makes keeping the doors open a risky proposition; and while many reports show that children are less likely to get seriously ill from the virus, they can carry it and infect others, including grandparents in the high-risk age group.
Child care is imperative for the parents in the sectors deemed necessary, however, so a group of early childhood advocates have recently come together to ask Congress to fund the sector in the next coronavirus-focused legislative package. The group is asking for $50 billion for the sector.
We also encourage you to visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the California Department of Public Health, California Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health for the latest information.
We hope you find this library of article links helpful as we navigate this new world together.
Impact on Child Care and School Closures
LAist: How The State Says California Schools Should Respond To Coronavirus – Newsom issued that statement over the weekend as the California Department of Public Health sent updated advice to local school districts about how to handle the virus. (Nordberg, 3/9/20)
The Los Angeles Times: Why shutting down schools to prevent coronavirus spread could actually make it worse – The University of Washington announced Friday it was moving all instruction online for the next two weeks, keeping more than 50,000 students out of classrooms as the death toll from COVID-19 continued to rise. (Read, 3/6/20)
The Los Angeles Times: L.A. school district declares state of emergency to prepare for coronavirus response – The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday declared a state of emergency, giving Supt. Austin Beutner the authority to take actions needed to close schools if necessary in response to the coronavirus outbreak. (Blume & Kohli, 3/10/20)
Vox: The coronavirus will cause a child care crisis in America – As schools close and parents lack paid leave, who will take care of the country’s kids? (North, 3/10/20)
EdSource: Education and coronavirus: What’s the latest? – The Los Angeles Unified school board voted Tuesday to declare a state of emergency across the district, authorizing superintendent Austin Beutner to take “any and all actions necessary” in response to the coronavirus. (EdSource Staff, 3/11/20)
U.S. News & World Report: Coronavirus School Closings Threaten America’s Poorest Children – Children stand to miss out on nutritious meals with school cafeterias closed due to the coronavirus. (3/13/2020)
CBS Sacramento: Coronavirus School Closures Leave Parents Scrambling To Find Child Care – Schools are closing their doors across the area sending a seismic shockwave for parents scrambling to find child care for the next few weeks. (Wulff, 3/13/20)
The Los Angeles Times: Los Angeles Unified district to close all schools – Los Angeles school officials on Friday announced that the nation’s second-largest school system will shut down its 900 campuses serving more than 670,000 students beginning Monday, citing concerns over the rapid spread of the coronavirus and joining an escalating number of districts throughout the state and nation. (Multiple authors, 3/13/2020)
LAist: All LAUSD Schools Are Closing Monday. Here’s What You Need To Know – The Los Angeles Unified School District has announced plans to cancel in-person instruction starting Monday as the coronavirus spreads worldwide. (Stokes & Javier, 3/13/20)
EdSource: How learning will change across California’s K-12 schools amid coronavirus closures – With online learning presenting barriers, schools across California are finding different ways to teach students remotely. (Burke & Johnson, 3/13/2020)
Daily News: L.A. County education department asks all schools to close amid coronavirus concerns – The Los Angeles County Office of Education has recommended all schools in the county close, effective Monday, March 16, amid ongoing concerns over the new coronavirus. (Haire, 3/13/20)
CALMatters: Schools shut down in massive numbers across California amid coronavirus fears – In less than 24 hours, school was canceled starting next week for millions of students, effectively ending debate over whether it was better to keep kids away from vulnerable adults or away from crowded classrooms. (Cano & Wiener, 3/13/2020)
The Los Angeles Times: Millions affected as schools across U.S close to combat spread of coronavirus – Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest school system, will shut down its 900 campuses serving more than 670,000 students beginning Monday. (Blume & Branson-Potts & Vives & Wigglesworth, 3/14/2020)
ABC 7: Coronavirus school closures and cancellations: List of Southern California schools and colleges affected – School districts, colleges and universities in Southern California are joining a growing wave of schools that are closing or canceling in-person classes and shifting to online instruction to help contain the coronavirus outbreak. (3/14/2020)
The San Francisco Chronicle: Nearly 1.5 million California kids out of school for weeks over coronavirus – Nearly 1.5 million students have been told to stay home for up to four weeks as public and private schools across California shut down to combat the coronavirus. (Tucker & Bauman & Thadani, 3/14/2020)
The New York Times: Americans Brace for New Life of No School and Growing Dread – Millions of Americans braced for the week ahead with no school for their children for many days to come, no clue how to effectively do their jobs without child care, and a growing sense of dread about how to stay safe and sane amid the relentless spread of the coronavirus. (AP, 3/14/2020)
The New York Times: Here’s Why We Closed Los Angeles Schools – They are a place of refuge for nearly 700,000 students. But they can’t protect them from a pandemic. (Melvoin, 3/14/20)
EdSource: Amid concerns about children’s health and safety, Gov. Newsom holds off on ordering closure of California schools – As over 30 states move to close their schools, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sunday that he would hold off on ordering all schools closed in California. (Freedberg, 3/15/20)
The Los Angeles Times: L.A. Unified scrambles to get help centers ready amid coronavirus school closures – Los Angeles school officials were racing Sunday to organize the complex logistics of opening 20 meal pickup sites and 40 family resource centers to serve students who will be displaced from campuses beginning on Monday in an unprecedented shutdown to limit the spread of the coronavirus. (Blume, 3/15/20)
The Los Angeles Times: School closures stress families as coronavirus halts L.A. service centers – Millions of families in Los Angeles and across the state were forced to adjust Monday to closed schools, childcare hassles, an uneven move to online learning and a strained social safety net — the education system fallout from an unprecedented effort to halt the spread of the coronavirus. (Blume & Vives & John, 3/16/20)
The Washington Post: Coronavirus Closes School for Nearly 30 Million Children in U.S. – More than half the nation’s schoolchildren are out, with huge economic, academic and social repercussions. (Belkin, 3/16/20)
The Los Angeles Times: L.A. Unified won’t open family resource centers, citing coronavirus health risk – Los Angeles school officials have halted a plan to open 40 family resource centers due to increasing concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. (Blume, 3/16/20)
LAist: Here Are Places That Will Provide Food To Families In Need While Schools Are Closed – We are compiling this list of resources for families who may need help, and we will update as we hear more. (Javier, 3/16/20)
NBC Los Angeles: Here’s Where Students in SoCal Can Get Free Meals While Schools Are Closed – Schools around Southern California are offering free breakfasts and lunches while classes are canceled for at least the next two weeks during the coronavirus pandemic. (Kandel, 3/16/20)
NBC Los Angeles: California Begins a New Chapter in the COVID-19 Fight – Sweeping changes were evident Monday, when students across the state stayed home from school. (AP, 3/16/20)
The Washington Post: States are rushing to close schools. But what does the science on closures say? – Ohio went first. With just 10 confirmed cases of covid-19 in his state, Gov. Mike DeWine (R) ordered every Ohio school to close for three weeks. Within a few days, more than 30 states had followed. (Meckler & Sun, 3/16/20)
The Washington Post: Schools serve more than 20 million free lunches every day. If they close, where will children eat? – In Cincinnati, school officials were trying to figure out what kind of nonperishable meals they could distribute to homeless students, who constitute nearly a tenth of the student body. (Balingit, 3/16/20)
The Fresno Bee: ‘Everybody has to eat.’ Fresno schools aim to keep students, families fed during crisis – The hallways of Roosevelt High School were empty and quiet Monday as students and teachers stayed home to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. (Dieppa, 3/16/20)
The Sacramento Bee: Sacramento area YMCAs turn focus from fitness to child care amid coronavirus closures – The YMCA in the Sacramento region is turning some of its fitness centers into emergency child care sites, so medical staff and first responders have somewhere for their children as they respond to the coronavirus spread and an increasing number of COVID-19 cases. (Ahumada, 3/16/20)
CPR News: Don’t Close Child Care Centers Even If Schools Are Closed, State Officials Urge – Citing the needs of working parents, especially frontline health care workers, state agencies called on Colorado child care centers to stay open even after dozens of Colorado school districts announced closures to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. (Schimke & Meltzer, 3/16/20)
The Los Angeles Times: School closures stress families as coronavirus halts L.A. service centers – Millions of families in Los Angeles and across the state were forced to adjust Monday to closed schools, childcare hassles, an uneven move to online learning and a strained social safety net — the education system fallout from an unprecedented effort to halt the spread of the coronavirus. (Blume & Vives & John, 3/16/20)
Seattle Times: ‘Social distancing is impossible in a preschool’: Child care during coronavirus – Amid the confusion, and while shutting down almost every other industry, Inslee announced Monday that child care facilities will remain open. (Hillman, 3/16/20)
TIME: ‘What’s the Right Thing to Do?’ Coronavirus Forces Families to Make Painful Childcare Decisions – When they were told to work from home, the Philadelphia couple had what they thought was a long and careful conversation with their nanny about whether she was comfortable still looking after their 8-month-old twins and 2-year-old son. (Luscombe, 3/17/20)
KCRA 13: Can day cares stay open amid coronavirus outbreak? Yes. – As many public school districts across California remain closed for weeks because of the coronavirus outbreak, many people have noticed that some day care centers still have their lights on. (Martinez, 3/17/20)
KPBS: While Schools Close, Some Daycare Providers Are Staying Open … For Now – While school districts were closed Monday due to the coronavirus, daycares across the county remained open. (Trageser, 3/17/20)
The New York Times: ‘It Is a Nightmare Out Here’: Seattle Parents Struggle to Balance Work and Child Care – One of the first major cities to face coronavirus is now dealing with a child care shortage. (Caron, 3/17/20)
CBS Los Angeles: Coronavirus: LAUSD To Offer Grab-And-Go Meals Instead Of Opening Family Resource Centers – With new, tightening restrictions on social distancing in the effort to slow the spread of coronavirus, LAUSD has scrapped its plans to open Family Resource Centers and will instead work to establish grab-and-go centers. (3/17/20)
EdSource: Grab-and-go and drive-up allow families to pick up food at closed California schools – The state urges districts to set up drive through and grab-and-go distribution to limit contact. (Tadayon, 3/18/20)
Romper: Should I Send My Child To Day Care During Social Distancing? Consider Everyone’s Safety – Navigating the COVID-19 pandemic has been confusing for everyone, to say the least. Everyone has so many questions about what to do and how to go about their everyday lives. (Booth, 3/18/20)
KPBS: County Shuts Down Gyms, Limits Child Care to ‘Stable’ Groups of 10 – San Diego County public health officials expanded public health orders in response to the coronavirus Wednesday, closing all gyms and fitness centers and restricting child care to “stable” groups of 10 children with one child care provider, effective at midnight. (City News Service, 3/18/20)
EdSurge: Teacher, Interrupted: Leaning into Social-Emotional Learning Amid the COVID-19 Crisis – As psychologists, we at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence are concerned about everyone’s emotional state. How will students and educators cope with life being turned upside down so quickly? (Cipriano & Brackett, 3/18/20)
EdSource: California school districts learn more about what state expects during a long shutdown – Gov. Gavin Newsom advised school districts on Tuesday that they should expect to be closed the rest of the school year. (Fensterwald, 3/18/20)
New America: What School Closures Could Mean for English Learners – As schools across the country have closed their doors in response to COVID-19, the needs of English learner students are top of mind. English learners (ELs) represent a growing share of the U.S. student population and federal law mandates that they receive specialized instruction to support their English language development. (Multiple Authors, 3/19/20)
Huffington Post: Coronavirus Crisis Workers Need Child Care Help. These States Are Stepping Up. – “This is amazingly challenging,” one expert said. (Mandel, 3/19/20)
The Economist: How covid-19 is interrupting children’s education – Almost a billion children have seen their schools close. (3/19/20)
New York Times Parenting: What Should You Do About Your Babysitter During Coronavirus? – Parents with regular caregivers are facing tough decisions as coronavirus forces people to isolate. (Wenner Moyer, 3/19/20)
LAist: The State Is Expanding Childcare Capacity — But Will Providers Stay Open? – Now that schools are closed, the state agency that licenses childcare providers is expanding the ability to provide care. But some providers are questioning whether they should take on more kids, or even stay open at all. (Dale, 3/18/20)
The Washington Post: Closing School May Cause Some Kids a Lifetime of Harm – Journalism, it’s been said, is the first rough draft of history, to which I’d add that opinion columns are the first draft of journalism. (Kluth, 3/20/20)
CBS Sacramento: Coronavirus Outbreak: Child Care Concern – With the stay-at-home order, there has been a lot of confusion and concern about preschool and child care. (Mader, 3/20/20)
Fortune: Unpaid childcare is an invisible subsidy to companies and the economy—it’s time to change that – Any working parent knows that full-time childcare is most often not as full-time as their job. Despite sick kids, caregiver absences, and more, we show up at work each day, because most of us can’t not. (Edwards, 3/20/20)
The Sacramento Bee: Sacramento offers free child care for first responders, health care workers during coronavirus – The city of Sacramento is offering free child care for first responders, health care workers and city employees who must continue to go to work during the coronavirus outbreak. (Clift, 3/20/20)
The Hill: Babies don’t do social distancing – From the moment their day starts, early educators are cradling infants, getting that toddler to blow their nose, or gathering children for story time. (Austin & Whitebook & Williams, 3/20/20)
New America: As Closures Continue, Child Care Providers and Early Educators Struggle – As an increasing number of states across the country decide to close K-12 schools indefinitely in response to the coronavirus outbreak, it has become clear in recent days that child care providers are also facing an uncertain future. (Loewenberg, 3/20/20)
CALMatter: As coronavirus upends California, question remains: Who’ll watch the kids? – As schools, businesses, governments and most other venues go dark in the effort to restrict the pandemic, state officials are allowing child care centers to remain open, in an effort to support essential workers who can’t leave their children otherwise. (Aguilera, 3/21/20)
The Los Angeles Time: Editorial: Are California kids actually learning anything since coronavirus closed their schools? – Some students in the Los Angeles Unified School District are receiving their lessons and homework assignments via the internet. (The Editorial Board, 3/22/20)
NBC Los Angeles: LAUSD Extends School Closures to May 1 Due to Coronavirus Pandemic – Schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District will be closed through May 1, the district announced in a statement Monday. (Lloyd & Arabian, 3/23/20)
Impact on Parents, At Home Learning and Other Resources for Families
The Cut: What If Coronavirus Means Your Kids Are Stuck at Home? – Last week, NPR reported that attempts to stem the spread of the coronavirus meant almost 300 million students worldwide were not in class. (Gann, 3/10/20)
The New York Times: We Don’t Need to Close Schools to Fight the Coronavirus – Shutdowns could likely do more harm than good, since there’s little evidence that children are a major source of the spread. (Nuzzo, 3/10/20)
Forbes: Dual Career Couples – What’s Your Plan To Manage Childcare Disruptions Due To Coronavirus? – “What’s the latest?” “Is your school closed yet?” “What supplies do we need?” “How in the world are we going to work with our pre-schoolers and younger children home all day too?” (Ferrante, 3/12/2020)
LAist: Kids Stuck At Home? Here’s How To Keep Them Busy And Grow Their Brains At The Same Time – “You don’t necessarily require any sort of special tools or instruments or materials,” said Dawn Kurtz, chief research officer at Child360, an L.A. non-profit related to early childhood education. (Dale, 3/13/20)
The Sacramento Bee: Sacramento-area coronavirus closures mean kids will be at home. What that means for parents – As droves of Sacramento-area school districts order weekslong closures in response to the coronavirus outbreak, parents are left with the unexpected task of taking care of their kids when they would have been at school. (Moleski & Bizjak & Morrar, 3/13/2020)
The New York Times: What Are the Rules for Play Dates During the Coronavirus Crisis? – We asked the experts. (Moyer, 3/13/2020)
Huffington Post: I’m So Confused About How To Parent In The Face Of Coronavirus – Where’s the parenting manual on proper “social distancing” during a pandemic? (Ives, 3/14/2020)
The Washington Post: Parenting during coronavirus: What to know about play dates, education and more – If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed and struggling to keep up with the ever-growing list of cancellations, closures and other news surrounding the novel coronavirus, we feel you. (Joyce & Williams, 3/14/2020)
Forbes: 5 Tips To Balance Remote Working While Your Family Is Also At Home – Your ability to strike a reasonable balance between family and work life demands is about to be tested like never before. (Whitehead, 3/15/20)
KPBS: At-Home Learning: Where Children Matter – In collaboration with the San Diego County Office of Education and San Diego Unified School District, KPBS has launched an at-home learning response to school closures for all children and youth in San Diego and Imperial counties. (3/16/20)
The Atlantic: How Parents Can Keep Kids Busy (and Learning) in Quarantine – As American schools close, parents are suddenly faced with the challenge of keeping their children occupied at home. (Fetters, 3/16/20)
The Los Angeles Times: Stuck at home with kids? Amy Adams and other celebrities will read you a story – Once upon a time, famous actors and authors united during a pandemic to ease children’s anxieties through storytelling. (Carras, 3/16/20)
CNN: How ‘regular school’ parents can homeschool their kids – School closures due to the COVID-19 outbreak mean millions of parents and guardians who have grown accustomed to sending their children to traditional schools are now faced with the task of educating them at home. (Villano, 3/16/20)
The Wall Street Journal: New Normal Amid Coronavirus: Working From Home While Schooling the Kids – Tapping grandparents, other backup babysitters isn’t always possible; the 4 a.m. shift. (Weber & Te-Ping Chen, 3/16/20)
Mashable: How to manage kids’ screen time during coronavirus isolation – Arcadia Kim usually has no problem with her three children enjoying time on their various screens. (Lindenfeld Hall, 3/16/20)
New York Times Parenting: A Big List of Podcasts for Little Kids – Here’s a list of great shows to keep kids ages 2 through 6, and their caretakers, occupied. (Patterson, 3/17/20)
The Washington Post: What it’s like to be a single parent in a pandemic – As the virus that causes covid-19 spreads, health experts have instructed businesses, schools and parents to plan. Plan to stockpile necessary prescriptions. (Stine, 3/17/20)
The New York Times: ‘It Is a Nightmare Out Here’: Seattle Parents Struggle to Balance Work and Child Care – One of the first major cities to face coronavirus is now dealing with a child care shortage. (Caron, 3/17/20)
Forbes: As Schools Continue To Close, How Are Parents Coping? – In total, more than 72,000 schools have closed their doors, with 38.8 million public school children affected. As more school closures are sure to follow, this has quickly become one of the most significant upheavals in American schooling. (Moon, 3/17/20)
The Los Angeles Times: Got kids under 5? Use the coronavirus-quarantine school resources for parents – As the parent of a young child trying to survive under quarantine, Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube have become my best friends. (Sharp, 3/17/20)
Brookings Institute: A parent’s guide to surviving COVID-19: 8 strategies to keep children healthy and happy – For many of us, COVID-19 has completely changed how we work. Remote work might have its advantages for some, but when the kids are out of school and libraries and museums are closed, juggling two roles at once can be a challenge. (Hirsh-Pasek & Golinkoff, 3/17/20)
EdSurge: How to Keep School Rhythm and Routines for Young Children at Home – As schools shift to remote learning models for the foreseeable future, parents and caregivers are finding themselves in a new role—that of the school co-teacher. Though parents are naturally a part of their children’s ongoing education, co-teaching is a new role for many of them. (Richards & Valentine, 3/17/20)
The New York Times: Children Stuck at Home Can Still Explore the Zoo or Aquarium. Some Penguins Could, Too. – Hippos, otters and penguins can be viewed through webcams, virtual tours and “home safaris.” And at one aquarium, penguins strolled through the exhibits. (Padilla & Vigdor, 3/18/20)
The New York Times: When Home Becomes a Classroom – The coronavirus pandemic is becoming the world’s largest experiment in online learning. (Ovide, 3/18/20)
Education NC: Suddenly at home with your young children? Here’s how to keep them engaged and learning. – As child care facilities struggle to decide whether to close during the coronavirus pandemic, many parents might face a lot more time at home with their children. (Bell, 3/18/20)
USA Today: 18 totally free educational resources for kids stuck at home – With the coronavirus pandemic keeping everyone indoors, you’re facing weeks—potentially months—of spending time at home with your kids. Whether your school is providing “distance learning” resources, or whether you’re venturing into homeschooling unassisted, you’re still going to have quite a few hours that need to be filled with activities. (Lane, 3/18/20)
NPR: Yes, You Can Take Your Kids For A Walk – Parents and caregivers face a daunting task right now: Keeping their children safe, active and engaged for what will likely be several weeks of school closings. The good news is that all kinds of people — families, educators, artists — are sharing best practices. (Blair, 3/18/20)
The Conversation: 4 ways to help kids relax as the coronavirus upends everyday life – The best way to protect children from experiencing anxiety is to keep life as normal as possible. Even though children are no longer following their usual school day routines, you can establish and follow a new routine at home. (Fornander, 3/18/20)
The Conversation: 3 smart ways to use screen time while coronavirus keeps kids at home – Rather than handing over the remote or the iPad, parents can help young children by choosing media that’s worthwhile. By the time children are about age 3, high-quality media like “Sesame Street” can help them learn about words, numbers and even important facts about how to stay safe, research has shown. (Dore, 3/18/20)
CBS Sacramento: California Schools Working To Provide Alternate Resources For Students Stuck At Home – Many questions still not answered as California’s massive education system begins to face a new reality:
The school year may already be over. (Perlman, 3/18/20)
The Washington Post: Kids are carriers. Grandparents are vulnerable. Now parents must make wrenching choices. – The gravity of our new reality is setting in, and Americans are beginning to grasp the sacrifices required to slow the spread of the virus, which has left families wondering how to protect their loved ones. (Gibson, 3/18/20)
The San Diego Union Tribune: Experts share how to keep kids healthy, learning during coronavirus school closures – Children’s health experts warn against too much screen time, encourage setting a daily routine. (Taketa, 3/19/20)
The New York Times: Figuring Out Work and Family in the Age of Coronavirus – Two journalists with five children between them have an honest discussion about what the last few days have been like. (Donner & Purtill, 3/19/20)
CALMatters: Confusion reigns as California families ponder coronavirus homeschool – With the coronavirus pandemic raging and 99% of schools likely closed through summer, state education authorities are urging families to do their best with online classes, PBS and homeschooling. How it all will work out is unclear. (Cano, 3/19/20)
The Washington Post: ‘How do I plan a lesson?’ Here is a teacher’s guide for parents reluctantly home-schooling their kids. – ‘What if my kids won’t listen to me?’ (Strauss, 3/19/20)
The New York Times: How to Home School During Coronavirus – It’s not easy, even for professionals. Start with these sample lesson plans. (Hill, 3/20/20)
Forbes: 18 Tips On How To Cope With Children During Quarantine – Not being a parent myself but being surrounded by parents, teachers, experts and entrepreneurs (with children) I thought I ought to reach out to them to get some expert tips on how to manage little ones during the quarantine. (Cole, 3/20/20)
WAMU: ‘I Can’t Do This Forever’: With Schools Closed, Frazzled Parents Juggle Child Care And Work – Zunnobia Hakir keeps her 6-year-old son’s schedule busy. There are piano lessons and chess club, chorus and sign language classes. (Truong, 3/20/20)
The New York Times: ‘I Feel Like I Have Five Jobs’: Moms Navigate the Pandemic – Families are scrambling to balance work and child care in a society where women still do most of the domestic tasks. Will a worldwide emergency change anything? (Haelle, 3/20/20)
CBS Sacramento: Coronavirus Outbreak: Why Are Preschools Still Open? – Amid the stay-at-home order, there has been a lot of confusion and concern about preschools and childcare facilities that remain open. (Watts, 3/20/20)
The Wall Street Journal: Children, Parents and Teachers Get Creative in Time of Coronavirus – An eighth-grader does a video about quarantine; ‘people were saying it cheered them up’. (Burton, 3/21/20)
The Washington Post: Stuck at home with young kids because of the coronavirus? Here’s what to do — and not to do – With schools closed in most states because of the coronavirus and the length of those closures looking increasingly long, millions of parents find themselves juggling full-time jobs and full-time parenting. (Mader, 3/21/20)
The Washington Post: Stuck at home with young kids because of the coronavirus? Here’s what to do — and not to do – With schools closed in most states because of the coronavirus and the length of those closures looking increasingly long, millions of parents find themselves juggling full-time jobs and full-time parenting. (Mader, 3/21/20)
Business Insider: 10 tips for working from home with your kids there, from a freelancer who’s been homeschooling her kids for 3 years – She’s also a homeschooling mother who teaches 5th and 6th grade to her two oldest daughters. Her younger two children attend public school. (Roder, 3/21/20)
Romper: Opinion: Child Cares — and Parents of Young Children — Need a Bailout – As the National Association for the Education of Young Children recently stated, data from their survey of providers “indicates that many child care centers and homes are not going to be able to survive a closure; up to a third in some states indicate they won’t survive a closure of any period. (Bakalar, 3/23/20)
Talking to Kids and Family Mental Health
LAist: How To Talk To Your Little Kids About Coronavirus – As coronavirus spreads, even very young children will likely hear or see something about the disease. When they do, they’ll probably have questions. (Dale, 3/9/20)
The Washington Post: Play it safe: What kids should know about the coronavirus outbreak – Why are schools closing, what is “social distancing” and why all the hand-washing? (Bittel, 3/16/20)
Chicago Tribune: Suburban parents, facing coronavirus questions from housebound and fearful kids, seek a ‘new sense of normalcy’ – For parents who find themselves feeling increasingly anxious and frustrated by the impact of the coronavirus on their daily lives, mental health experts offer the gentle reminder that your children are watching. (Cullotta, 3/17/20)
The New York Times: How to Talk to Kids About Coronavirus – Keeping your own anxiety in check is key. (Grose, 3/17/20)
U.S. News & World Report: Talking With Your Kids About Coronavirus – Don’t downplay COVID-19 – or overshare. Be straight and helpful in discussing what your family can do. (Burgert, 3/17/20)
The New York Times: How to Talk to Your Child About the Coronavirus – A psychologist offers tips tailored to age. (Levine, 3/18/20)
New York Times Parenting: Parents Need Stress Relief, Too – Because I can’t run during every one of my waking hours, I asked two psychiatrists what parents can do to keep the coronavirus-anxiety at bay. (Grose, 3/18/20)
Child Trends: Resources for Supporting Children’s Emotional Well-being during the COVID-19 Pandemic – The following guidance, recommendations, and resources are provided by child trauma experts at Child Trends and the Child Trauma Training Center at the University of Massachusetts. The Center is housed at the University of Massachusetts with Child Trends as the lead evaluating agency, with funding from SAMHSA and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and additional support from HRSA. (Bartlett & Griffin & Thomson, 3/19/20)
The Washington Post: Parents, you are the filter through which your kids see this crisis. How you talk about it matters. – Our children are home. Their routines have been upended, their extracurricular activities canceled. They are not playing with their friends. (Bhanoo, 3/20/20)
The Los Angeles Times: ‘This will be their 9/11′: How to help kids cope with coronavirus stay-at-home orders – With stay-at-home orders enacted in California and schools likely closed for the rest of the academic year, children can be especially vulnerable as the security of their routines is upended and they worry about the health of loved ones. (Kohli & Esquivel, 3/20/20)
USA Today: Coronavirus crisis: What your children need most for a strong, resilient future is you – Be lovingly present with your children during this hard time. It will help you find joy in shared moments and protect their development for a lifetime. (Olrick, 3/23/20)
