Message from March 20, 2020

^{Our first week of eLearning was a huge success! Thank you for your patience as we navigate uncharted territory! Our teachers have done an amazing job of supporting student learning. Over the last week, I have watched them work around the clock to learn how to connect and provide for students remotely: exploring new resources, sharing their learning with each other, and reaching out to families to ensure everyone is supported. Thank you to our PTO for their generous support of our families who are struggling financially as a result of the current situation. I feel extremely blessed to be a part of this loving community.} 

 

^{Know that we understand families have varying levels of resources, time and energy to spend on remote learning. After spring break, we will resume our eLearning activities and we will continue to be flexible with what works for you. Thank you for all that you are doing to support the learning at home in any capacity. Over the next week, teachers will take a moment to regroup and rest as we plan for the next steps in this journey. I encourage you all to also take the opportunity to reconnect as a family and use social media to connect with friends. This situation can cause a great deal of stress and anxiety for all involved. We want to make sure that stress is not trickling down to the children we love. Children thrive on routine, and many of our students may be struggling with these changes. It is very typical to see an increase in tantrums and difficult behaviors. Please know that the child is telling us something with that behavior and may need some extra love and attention during this time. What better way to ease their worry than to take this moment to enjoy quality time as a family! Our decisions and reactions will shape their memory of these events, so let’s make it as positive as possible!}

 

^{We wish you all a safe and happy spring break week filled with board games, reading, making forts, dancing, and enjoying being at home!} 

 

Sarah Mendez
Hatch School Principal 
1000 N Ridgeland Ave
Oak Park, IL 60302
(708) 524-3095

 

_{Resources from our OP97 librarians for Spring Break that are fun, calming and entertaining!  Enjoy the “break!”}  

 

_{Meditation/Mindfulness}

_{Headspace:  Offering free subscriptions during Covid-19}

_{Cosmic Kids Yoga:  Story yoga for kids to follow along with}

_{Calm: for adults and kids to help with sleep and anxiety}

_{Menu of Mindful practices from Milwaukee Public Schools}

 

_{Fun Entertainment/Movement}

_{Go Noodle: Good Energy at Home:  Sign up for emails with songs and activities for doing at home}

_{Lunch Doodles with Mo:  Mo Willems, author, chats and draws with kids}

_{Dance Party!:  DJ Hesta Prynn is putting out family friendly playlists on Spotify and giving DJ lessons on her Instagram.}

_{Ballet Lessons:  Tiler Peck, principal dancer at NYC Ballet is giving live Instagram ballet lessons daily}

_{Cooking lessons:  America’s Test Kitchen is putting out tutorials for kids and families on cooking.}

_{Tinkergarden:  Outside activities to do with your kids.  You can search by age, topic, etc.}  

_{Authors from all over the country are reading, chatting and drawing with kids}

_{Science Activities: 40 websites with videos, experiments and more.}

_{Duolingo:  Learn a new language for free!}

_{Author Aaron Reynolds is launching a fun, interactive “stay at home show!” with prizes and other activities beginning Monday!}

_{This is an amazing and entertaining video about how germs spread!  I recommend it to everyone!}

 

_{Zoo/Museum/Park Tours}

_{Cincinnati Zoo’s YouTube Channel is full of animal videos.  See if you can find Fiona, the famous baby hippo who survived being born prematurely (1st and 2nd graders might know about her from a book we read!)}

_{Fiona the Hippo Cam}

_{Brookfield Zoo: “Bring the Zoo to You” daily videos and chats on their FB page}

_{National Parks are offering virtual tours.  Check out this article to see the list.}

_{Museums around the world are offering virtual tours.  Check out this article to see the list.}

_{Penguin Cam from the KC Zoo}

_{Bears feeding Cam from Brooks Falls in Alaska}

_{Sloth Cam from Hattiesburg Zoo}

_{Giant Panda Cam from China}

_{List of many virtual field trips to take with your family}

 

_{Parent guides and articles} 

_{Article from a health group: Resources and advice for talking to kids at the bottom}

_{Article from Healthline about being mindful of your mental health}