Dear SSIS Parents,
Although the city is beginning to open up, we know that many students are still separated from their friends and are missing important socialization time.
Here are some ideas of how you can set up online playdates with their friends, as well as some suggested activities. In addition to some great tips from the website Parents.com, you’ll also find a few resources shared by our faculty.
Your child will have to use a parent account for an online playdate and a personal (non-school) device. Please review the SSIS Responsible Use agreement to know how and when school-owned devices may be used.
Before logging in with your parent account, you may find this guide for parents helpful in understanding privacy settings in common messaging and social media apps.
And, as always, we strongly recommend keeping your devices in a public space and that you monitor what your child is doing online.
Have a wonderful, and safe, online playdate!
Sincerely,
Daniel J. Keller, PhD
Elementary School Principal
EC Activities |
|
| Name | Description |
| Building Challenges | Ask each child to create something in play-doh. If they need a bit of a challenge, ask them to make an animal, a vegetable or some kind of transportation! If you don’t have play-doh, don’t worry, you can make it at home (another fun activity!). |
| Sing-A-Long | Kids love to sing! Find their favorite Disney soundtrack and let them sing and laugh together. And if that doesn’t work, the classic play Baby Shark always gets kids dancing! |
| Imaginary Play | How about telling a story together? Have your child and their friend make up stories using stuffed animals or other toys. |
| Book Share | Have your child grab a favorite book to share with their friend. They can tell the story in their own way. |
| Yoga or Exercise | Get moving, or get mindful, with a friend. There are plenty of exercises they can do together which will help them connect and be physically active. Or perhaps they prefer doing some yoga poses together? |
| Show and Tell | Let your child show their friend one of their favorite things and tell them all about it. Where did it come from? What do they like about it? What’s a funny story about it? |
Grade K-2 Activities |
|
| Name | Description |
| Play Legos Together | Grab some Legos and let each child become their own Lego Master. Tons of Lego builds and fun games are available online or just encourage them to let their imaginations run wild in a free-build. |
| Zoom Filters | Have Zoom? Use the silly filters for laughs and giggles. They’re always a hit with children. |
| Drawing Together | Put out your child’s art supplies and they can take turns with their friend suggesting what to draw, or they can simply enjoy each others’ company while drawing. |
| Yoga or Exercise | Get moving, or get mindful, with a friend. There are plenty of exercises they can do together which will help them connect and be physically active. Or perhaps they prefer doing some yoga poses together? |
| Scavenger Hunts | A scavenger hunt is an exciting and active way to have some friendly competition with friends online. |
| Musical Dots | Musical Dots is a fun and interactive way to teach kids about music. Join the characters “The Dots” in song on their website. Click on “playtime” to see suggested activities for each song! |
| Show and Tell | Let your child show their friend one of their favorite things and tell them all about it. Where did it come from? What do they like about it? What’s a funny story about it? |
Grade 3-5 Activities |
|
| Name | Description |
| Board Games | See what games your child and their friend have in common and play on-screen. Monopoly works well! |
| Watch Netflix Together | Set up a Netflix viewing party and your child and their friend can watch the movie “together.” |
| Yoga or Exercise | Get moving, or get mindful, with a friend. There are plenty of exercises they can do together which will help them connect and be physically active. Or perhaps they prefer doing some yoga poses together? |
| Scavenger Hunts | A scavenger hunt is an exciting and active way to have some friendly competition with friends online. |
| Play Legos Together | For children in this age range, there are still a ton of activities they can do with legos that will inspire them. Have them challenge a friend in some of these fun games! |
