SNOW–the free fun activity maker
Some more ideas from Little Bins for Little Hands (Super inspirational website) for send home or outdoor winter programming fun (and learning):
Bring on the snow ball fights–make a Snowball Launcher
No Snow–You can still make Snowflake Paintings or Snow Slime
Winter Programs and Engagement Ideas – Slides
Hosting Outdoor Story Time in All Kinds of Weather
Polly Mahoney from the Cook Memorial Library in Tamworth, NH reports having great success in transferring their story time to an outdoor format. For helpful hints and some of their favorite outdoor story times:
December Programming & STEM
From Becky Tapley, STEM Math Education Specialist (pronouns: she/her/hers) at the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance:
As we step into the month of December tomorrow, I wanted to send some resources your way to help you reflect on the activities you may engage your youth with this season.
The first article has excellent thoughts about ways to build awareness, representation, and sensitivity into your December planning:
Some highlights are these 4 tips:
-Don’t Assume, Stereotype, or Tokenize
-Build Diversity into Your Lesson Plans
-Think Outside the Usual Holiday Cliches
-Consider Forms of Inclusion Outside of Religion and Culture
One topic that is brought up in that article is to include some STEM projects. “Holiday STEM projects offer more great ideas since they often focus on things like winter weather that can be examined outside of a cultural or religious context.”
Check out Howtosmile.org and search for topics your youth are interested in.
One example: How Animals Stay Warm: https://www.howtosmile.org/resource/smile-000-000-002-092
From snowflakes, to penguins, to winter data collection: http://mathwire.com/seasonal/winter05.html
Winter Math and Science Snow connections: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/blog-posts/lindsey-petlak/winter-math-and-science-can-be-snow-much-fun/
I hope these give you some ideas on how to make your December activities and celebrations inclusive and engaging!
Tips & Tricks for READsquared
Our Country is at an Impasse
Our country is at an impasse. The divisions and polarization won’t go away simply because we had an election on November 3. We need to take intentional steps to overcome this impasse.
On this week’s Facebook live, Rich Harwood discussed:
- Why we need to know where we are to find a new way forward
- How communities reach the point of impasse, and how to avoid those pitfalls
- The importance of local communities in effecting lasting change
Share this Facebook Live to help others think about where we are and how we can move forward. You can watch the recording, download the podcast episode and read the transcript here.
Tune in on Tuesday (Nov. 24) at 4 p.m. EST for the next episode in the Election 2020 Series: How We Move Forward from Here. Rich will be talking about where we’re going and how to shift your focus to create a more inclusive, equitable, just and hopeful society.
Follow The Harwood Institute’s Facebook page and you’ll automatically get a notification when we are broadcasting live. You can also add it to your calendar.
We hope you’ll join us for this important conversation!
Best,
The Harwood Team
New 11/30:
In order to get our communities and our country on a better path, we need to shift our focus. On this week’s Facebook Live, Rich Harwood discussed how one community in Winchester, KY is taking steps to build a new future – and how you can take these four steps, too:
- We – YOU – need to start locally. Start where we can turn outward towards one another, see and hear one another, and prove that we can get things done together.
- Talk is not enough. We need to take shared action. No single organization, leader, or community resident can go it alone on their own. We need each other.
- We must take action that invests in a new civic culture. New strategies and initiatives are not enough. We need to focus on building capacities for a stronger civic culture.
- You must use your civic energy judiciously. Your civic energy is finite. Start by taking action in your sphere of influence-and remember that no action is too small.
Share this Facebook Live to help others think about how we can shift our focus. You can also download the podcast episode and read the transcript here. Don’t forget to catch up on last week’s episode.
Tune in next Tuesday (Dec. 1) at 4 p.m. EST for the next episode in the Election 2020 Series: How We Move Forward from Here. Rich will be talking about four mantras you can use to take action.
Follow The Harwood Institute’s Facebook page and you’ll automatically get a notification when we are broadcasting live. You can also add it to your calendar. We hope you’ll join us for this important conversation!
New 12/4
On this week’s episode, Rich shared 4 key mantras that you can use to take action. He said, “they’re the personal trainer that’s building your civic muscles.” The 4 Key Mantras are
- Turn Outward
- Get in Motion
- Start Small to Go Big
- Create a New Trajectory for Hope
Click here to download the Key Mantras PDF and watch the Facebook Live to learn more about how you can use these mantras today. You can also download the podcast episode and read the transcript here. Tune in next Tuesday (Dec 8) at 4 pm EST for the final episode of the series, Why We’re Here: Civic Faith. Rich will talk about The Harwood Institute’s philosophy of civic faith and how it underpins our work in communities.
New 12/11
On this week’s episode, Rich discussed Civic Faith – a philosophy at the root of the Institute’s work and holds that placing people, community and shared responsibility at the center of our shared lives will create a more hopeful society. He covered topics including:
- The five core elements of Civic Faith
- Civic Faith as a touchstone for your work in your community
The fundamental task before us is to reimagine and recreate our communities and our lives.
Click here to watch the Facebook Live video, download the podcast episode, and read the transcript.
Soup Bowl Reading Challenge
January is Soup Month. Why not make it a challenge? Read a book that starts with each letter of the alphabet. You may wish to extend this challenge much longer than during the month of January.
Cozy Up and Read – Winter Reading Program
This Cozy Up and Read quilt themed program can be done:
*by paper using the board and cutting out the pieces and giving to the patron when earned.
*patron earns quilt piece badges via READsquared or other online reading platforms.
Ideas to earn quilt pieces:
- Reading a book. You may wish to make this a challenge such as a book by a local author…
- Complete a take & make
- Attend a virtual program
Ideas for gifts or raffles:
- Local business gift certificates
- Cozy Items: blankets, hot chocolate & mugs, scarves, mittens
- Home spa items
- Comfort food basket
- Self-help books
Embrace Hygge: noun (especially in reference to the Danish lifestyle) the feeling of coziness and contentment evoked by simple comforts, as being wrapped in a blanket, having good conversations, enjoying food, etc.:Holidays are full of hygge for me and my family.
20 Ways to Practice Hygge at Home During the Coronavirus Outbreak
FREE Digital classes for seniors–presented by seniors
PSS is pleased to announce its partnership with GetSetup, a nationwide peer-to peer, online learning platform providing digital classes on a wide range of topics – for seniors, presented by seniors.
PSS’s goal is to dramatically increase the digital capacity of older adults, by improving their skills with their core devices and apps, so we’re focusing on tech-skills classes first, with others to come.
All classes are FREE when you access: https://www.getsetup.io/partner/pss We encourage new users to take their New Member Orientation class (found on our landing page) to help you navigate the web site, select and participate in a class and get Customer Support. We look forward to assisting you in growing your digital skills!