Resources for Parents

Parenting Information / Supporting Children’s Learning

The below resources offer tips and ideas for self-care and supporting children’s learning and understanding during this time.

• Sesame Street in Communities:Sesame Workshop offers information, videos, coloring sheets, and activities in English and Spanish on a wide range of health, literacy, STEM, and other topics. Consider checking out their resources on Health Emergencies, Offering Comfort, Traumatic Experiences, and Helping Kids Grieve, which may all be particularly relevant for helping little ones cope during this time. Sesame Workshop also developed a Caring for Each Other initiative that is filled with content you can use to spark playful learning, offer children comfort, and focus a bit on yourself, too.
• Ready4K is an evidence-based family engagement curriculum delivered via text messages. Each week, you’ll receive short text messages with fun facts and easy tips on how to promote your child’s development by building on existing family routines – like pointing out letters on the shampoo bottle during bath time and naming their sounds. To sign up text "NYC” to 70138. While there is absolutely no cost for enrolling, data & message rates may apply for receiving ~3 messages per week. You can cancel text messages at any time by texting STOP to 70138.
• Small Moments, Big Impact App for New Mothers:Small Moments, Big impact (SMBI) is a free smartphone app that was created by health care providers, public media producers, and mothers. It is designed to be used during your baby’s first six months, and focuses on your relationship with your baby and feelings of love, stress, fatigue, frustration, and hope — all of which are part of being a parent. The app includes stories from other mothers, videos of them interacting with their babies, opportunities for self-reflection, and more.
• Sparkler is an app that offers play-based learning activities you can do with your child. Download the app for free from the App Store or Google Play. When you open the Sparkler app for the first time, create a new account. Next time, sign in using the method you picked. Use code 2-1-2-1 to register, which will give you access to Sparkler for free for 90 days. Pick “Family” from the drop-down menu. Visit “Play” for ideas for off-screen play that grow your child’s heart, mind, body, and words.
• INCLUDEnyc is delivering workshops and you can view their live stream on Early Intervention Website.
• Talking is Teaching is a public awareness and action campaign that helps parents and caregivers recognize their power to boost their child’s early brain and vocabulary development through simple, everyday actions - like describing things while walking outside, or singing songs together during bath time. Their indoor activity kit suggests ideas using the things you might already have indoors. o - Spanish site may not have all of the new content but is worth checking out!
• Literacy Partners: La Fuerza de Creer, on Univision, is a telenovela with positive parenting messages. Consider watching and then talking with your family about ways of seizing time together through reading and activities at home.
• Kid Builders Resources:Easy-to-do activities can help your child grow in six critical areas: body, health, mind, relationships, safety and words. Download the app or view the resources in PDFs in English or Spanish.
• Zero to Three has several resources specifically designed for families during the COVID-19 pandemic, with self-care strategies, ideas for making the most of video chats, activity suggestions for babies and toddlers, language for talking about COVID- 19 with young children, and so much more.
• Vroom offers tips, tools, and 1000+ activities to help you add learning to mealtime, bathtime, bedtime, or anytime. Visit Vroom.org to access the tips or download the app from the App Store or Google Play.
• Click Schooling com brings you daily recommendations by email for entertaining websites that help your kids learn.