
Please find below our daily SolBe Family update letter containing helpful resources and exciting projects to explore while we all do our part to stay home during this pandemic. Subscribe here to receive daily updates.
April 8, 2020
SolBe Families,
Rain, Rain, GO AWAY! If you need a little calming ambiance in your home, the Boston Symphony Orchestra is offering a weekly playlist. This week, the selection is from the classical period— click here to enjoy! They also offer a live-stream concert, lovely for a listen if you are avoiding screens.
For Parents: I really enjoyed this five-minute video from the Washington Post containing 5 ways to deal with Coronavirus related stress and anxiety, "Coping with Covid."
Loving this Good News of the Week from Intelligent Change: "Thousands of Airbnb hosts have opened their doors to hospital staff and responders around the world to give them a safe place away from their family. The hosts are offering the homes at no charge and in full gratitude of the work the hospital staff and responders are doing for the rest of the world"
Project of the Day
Infants & Toddlers: DIY Baby Rain Sticks from The Imagination Tree
"It's so much quicker to make these without any toddler "help" (but much less learning and fun for them of course!) I found a really long, thin, THICK, cardboard tube and cut it into 3 pieces using a bread knife. I tapped all of the little nails along the tubes, just as before. This time there were no stoppers for the ends of the tubes so I used a few pieces of layered tape and it worked out fine. I thought we would have a go at a few new fillings so that we have a good range of sounds when we use the sticks. So this time I added pearl barley, red lentils and rice, (one into each stick for comparison.) Because of the sticky tape endings the contents stuck a little at each end when turned. This means that you can see what is inside which is fun. The finished sticks! Great for babies to hold in little hands and be able to turn, shake and roll all by themselves."
Older Toddlers & Preschoolers: "I'm Bored" Jar from Cup Of Jo
"When her kids lament that they have nothing to do, my friend Yen has a genius response. "We made an 'I'm Bored' jar," she says. "We came up with activity ideas together and wrote them on slips of paper. Now the jar sits on our bookcase, so they can pick it up whenever they like." Here are a few of the slips
Build a pillow pile and jump
Call Grandma or Grandpa
Draw an object you see
Find ten blue things around the house
Kick a ball in the hallway
Brilliant, right?"
More resources to follow in the coming days. Feedback and more ideas welcome, as always!
Be well and stay healthy!
The SolBe Team
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