Parent Resources

Educational Resources for Families

Videos and Resources from Little Star Teachers

Resources for talking to children about race/racism

General resources for all ages

  • Days with Grey - https://www.dayswithgrey.com  Great for multi-age activities and suggestions on how to involve siblings at different ages and stages. 

  • Simple play doh recipe - https://theimaginationtree.com/best-ever-no-cook-play-dough-recipe/ This no bake option does require cream of tartar but is easy to make and lasts well. Add some kitchen utensils for cutting, rolling, etc or some plastic toys to create magical lands or scenes. 

  • Make a Grapefruit bird feeder

    Materials List: a grapefruit (or orange), bird seed, a spoon, twine, a large nail

     To begin, cut your grapefruit and scrape out the innards until you get a nice white, pithy bowl. Next, use the large nail to punch three holes along the outside rind. Three holes will provide enough support and balance, while giving enough space for a bird to perch. You then want to cut three separate pieces of twine the same length and one by one push the ends of the twine through the holes, double knotting at the ends.  Combine the three strands of twine so that the feeder is balanced and tie a firm knot at the top. Leave to dry overnight, fill your feeder with bird seed and find a good place to hang it!

  • Make a Pinecone Bird feeder - To prepare, scoop equal parts lard and peanut butter (or just peanut butter) into a small bowl. Next, pour some bird seed into a different bowl. Before you begin this activity, you will want to cut the twine or string and put a slip knot loop over the top or bottom of the pinecone. To make your pinecone feeder, spread lard and peanut butter with a spoon or knife on the pinecone and then sprinkle with bird seed until completely covered. 

Resources for 0-3 

  • Put & Take’s (a Toddler favorite!) - Have you noticed the variety of containers or tubs in our classrooms with small holes cut out of the top? We call these Put and Take’s (i.e. put things in, take things out). Look around your house for plastic food containers from Costco or old tupperwares or Mason jars with lids and then find some items that could fit inside and be pushed through a small cut or hole at the top.

  • Books Read Aloud with Teacher Hayley

Resources for 3-6 

Websites: 

  • Teachers Pay Teachers - https://www.teacherspayteachers.com Great for printable coloring sheets, work sheets, and more. Tip: Use the navigation on the left side to search for free options only. 

On Netflix: We recommend Night on Earth, If I were an Animal, Monkey Planet, Weird wonders of the world

Apps: 

Sink or float experiment - a favorite in the EC classrooms and a good activity for those of us with a younger sibling who wants to be involved too! 

https://happyhooligans.ca/sink-or-float-experiment-preschoolers/ 

Parent Support Resources 

  • Janet Lansbury - https://www.janetlansbury.com  This is an excellent podcast on parenting in general, and she has been offering additional resources/webinars during COVID-19 and will continue to do so. Tip: Use the search function on her website for keywords of what help you need i.e. sibling rivalry, biting, frustration, hitting, etc. 

Other Resources

Montessori Foundation
montessori.org

Positive Discipline
positivediscipline.org

WA Early Learning and Development Guidelines
del.wa.gov (pdf)

The Building Blocks of a Good Pre-K
nytimes.com

Methow Valley School District
methow.org

Room One (Family support and social services for the Methow Valley)
roomone.org

WA DCYF Child Care Subsidy Program
dcyf.wa.gov

Heckman ECE Research
heckmanequation.org

Harvard Center on the Developing Child
developingchild.harvard.edu