Screen-Free Week is coming May 3-9, 2021 – an annual celebration of unplugging, reconnection, and joy! https://www.screenfree.org/resources-for-families-individuals/
Screen-Free book list: https://www.screenfree.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/21CC0326_sfwbooklist_5.pdf
==> More screen-free activities:
Tinkergarten‘s ‘My Friend the Tree’ activity “offers kids and families the opportunity to deepen their awareness of and connection to the amazing trees that they see every day.”
https://tinkergarten.com/activities/befriend-a-tree
==> Get the complete May calendar from Tinkergarten: https://d2gesac5hma2c2.cloudfront.net/uploads/attachment/file/1992/Tinkerarten_May21_Calendar.pdf
Thursday, April 22 6:30 PM: Learn about leafy vegetables popular with people of the Mediterranean region and how to grow them in NJ. Suggested varieties and how to prepare them, will also be covered. Presented by lifelong New Jersey farmer Dave Specca, who holds a BS in Horticulture and an MS in Plant Science from Rutgers University. For a personal invite, E-mail your name to mastergardeners@co.middlesex.nj.us with “RU Ready” as the subject.
https://events.rutgers.edu/njaes/event.php?id=21548
==> See all RU Ready to Garden Webcasts:
http://www.middlesexcountynj.gov/Government/Departments/BDE/Pages/RUReady2Garden.aspx
==> Check out our updated GREEN LAWN & GARDEN WEBFINDER for some great gardening resources! https://southplainfieldlibrary.wordpress.com/2021/04/12/webfinder-green-lawn-garden/
Have you expanded your home library during the pandemic? If you have, you might want to try making some of these DIY bookends to keep your books in place! https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/diy-bookends-tutorials-4691862
Make colorful flowers out of pencils, markers, and construction paper. Learn about paintings that feature flowers. Then make your own inspired floral creations! https://www.getty.edu/education/kids_families/programs/artful_bouquet/
==> More artsy activities: http://www.getty.edu/education/kids_families/do_at_home/
Tinkergarten has some great ideas & resources for celebrating Earth Day all month! https://d2gesac5hma2c2.cloudfront.net/uploads/attachment/file/1906/Tinkergarten_April21_Calendar.pdf
“All the research points to the seemingly endless benefits of unstructured play, but what does free play actually look like in practice?… Encouraging free play is more of a passive process than an active one. The more involved the parent becomes, the less free the play actually is. In order to really be free play, it needs to be child directed… Parents who want to encourage free play just need to provide unstructured time and a safe space for their children to explore.”
https://letgrow.org/unstructured-play/
“When you finish a crochet project and there’s still a partial skein or even a few dozen yards left, what do you do with the leftover yarn? Simple! Use one of these free small crochet project patterns that are perfect for extra yarn.”
https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/small-crochet-projects-for-leftover-yarn-979460
TRUCE offers some seasonal, screen-free ideas, using everyday items, to inspire your whole family – whatever their ages – to play together.
http://www.truceteachers.org/family-play-plans.html
==> More fun things to do with kids: http://www.southplainfield.lib.nj.us/useful/parent.htm#todo
==> Here are some of our spring-related reading lists for kids:
–Spring Has Sprung! http://bookdb.nextgoodbook.com/booklist/w/a766f9d4b53cef2071389c94bbbdd56a/l/243831
–It’s Raining, It’s Pouring http://bookdb.nextgoodbook.com/booklist/w/a766f9d4b53cef2071389c94bbbdd56a/l/243823
–Let’s Plant a Garden http://bookdb.nextgoodbook.com/booklist/w/a766f9d4b53cef2071389c94bbbdd56a/l/243826
All PostsThis publication from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) offers activity ideas to parents and caregivers whose families are sheltering in place, social distancing, and homeschooling due to school closures amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. Includes activities with or without screentime, calming activities, and activities that require limited supplies:
https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources/fact-sheet/simple_activities_for_children_and_adolescents_4.pdf
==> More fun things to do with kids: http://www.southplainfield.lib.nj.us/useful/parent.htm#todo
