HOME IS NOT ALWAYS WHERE THE HEART IS.

I’m very fortunate that I live in a house where my daughter can come home and be schooled during this time of uncertainty in the world. And it’s such a gift that we get to enjoy our garden together as spring approaches. I never thought I’d be writing about my garden.

There are avocado trees in the backyard. I grow figs and grapes and have stone fruit trees. I grow mint, cilantro, carrots and potatoes. I’m so grateful that my Dad taught me to garden, plant and compost. I was taught, as a child, sustainability and how to live off the land.

And because of what is my normal upbringing, during these times, it has made me feel safe. And because I feel safe, my daughter feels safe.

There are many who are fortunate and have the financial possibility to have help like nannies, sitters etc.. to help support them with child care and keep calm. It’s so lovely to see these trending posts on how easy parenting and homeschooling seems on social media platforms. Especially coming from calmer parents with resources. It gives us hope and we could all use that right now. But, nobody is talking about the single parents who have no extra income and support. We need to bring these parents and children hope.

I bring this to your attention because there are many children who do not feel safe. School’s closing can create child care stress for the parents. And for the children. Limited or no food creates a lot of fear. And not all homes are safe.

Many parents are angry at their children because they may have to purchase books or spend extra time and money. Teachers are struggling to support these children and there are a lot of students in New York City who do not have laptops or even the internet

In this time, I encourage you as a parent and community, to reach out to the schools and teachers so that you can offer your support. Non-perishable foods, books, old laptops will go a long way right now. Ask the schools to email parents on how to deal with this new-normal. Resources that are free in order to help parents deal with stress and manage the new arrangements in a healthy and safe way.

For my fellow parents, If you don’t feel safe, you will pass this onto your kids. This kind of stress lowers your immune system and thiers. You don’t have to have an avocado tree in the backyard to create a safe and loving environment for your children, but you do need to think about the long term effects of our current situation.

Let’s rise up for our communities.

For Kids:

Online resources: Like Tynker.com , Outschool.com, discoveryeducation.com

YouTube Channels: like Science Channel, National Geographic Kids and Free School and so many more.

Also, Scholastic has created a free learn-from-home site with 20+ days of learning and activities. Link below

https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html

Another Favorite of mine is this following website. You get to pretend to travel the world..Go on a virtual tour of these 12 famous museums. Link below

https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours

There is another great online resource that’s awesome and free. It offers curriculums from k-12. As well as everything from activities for preschoolers to 12th grade is here! Link below

https://allinonehomeschool.com/

For Parents:

Podcast are free to finally explore

Dance party at home, get your movement in.

Facetime/ Skype friends

Ebooks/ Audio books. Check in with library local public library’s website. You can rent these ebooks for free and audiobooks. Just as Easy as signing up.

Youtube is a great free resource. There are a many workouts, mediations dyi’s , cooking and the list goes on

-If all else fails you can TikTok with your kids. Now is the perfect time to learn something new!

And HERE is an article with more ideas to help support parents and caregivers during this time.

Finally, please see connectivity offerings from cell phone providers. My hope is that these resources will ease some worry.

AT&T pledged to do the following for its customers:

• Keep our public Wi-Fi hotspots open for any American who needs them.
• Not terminate the service of any wireless, home phone or broadband residential or small business customer because of their inability to pay their bill due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
• Waive any late payment fees that any wireless, home phone or broadband residential or small business customer may incur because of economic hardship related to the coronavirus pandemic.

If you are unable to pay your bill, AT&T askes that customers call 800–288–2020.

Verizon Wireless pledged to do the following for its customers:

• The company will not terminate service to any residential or small business customers because of their inability to pay their bills due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus.
• Verizon offers its customers a variety of wireless and home broadband plans, as well as a suite of global IP-network services. Verizon does not have data caps on its Fios home, 5G Home and DSL home broadband services, or on its wireline business broadband services. Most of the company’s wireless customers are on unlimited wireless plans. Customers who are not are encouraged to connect to Wi-Fi hotspots whenever available. Wi-Fi connections do not count against a customer’s data usage.

T-Mobile pledged to do the following for its customers:

• Offering free international calling for all T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile customers to level 3 impacted countries.
• All current T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile customers who have plans with data will have unlimited smartphone data for the next 60 days (excluding roaming).
• Providing T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile customers an additional 20GB of mobile hotspot / tethering service for the next 60 days — coming soon.
• Working with our Lifeline partners to provide customers extra free data up to 5GB of data per month over the next two months.
• Increasing the data allowance for free to schools and students using our EmpowerED digital learning programs to ensure each participant has access to at least 20GB of data per month for the next 60 days.

Sprint pledged to do the following for its customers:

• Not terminating service if they are unable to pay their Sprint bill because of the coronavirus, and
• Waiving late fees incurred because of economic circumstances related to the pandemic.
• Customers with metered data plans will receive unlimited data per month for 60 days (a minimum of two bill cycles) at no extra cost.
• We will provide customers with an additional 20GB of mobile hotspot data per month for 60 days (a minimum of two bill cycles) at no extra cost.
• Customers with mobile hotspot-capable handsets who don’t have mobile hotspot today will now get 20GB as well per month for 60 days (a minimum of two bill cycles) at no extra cost. For any questions, please contact your cellphone provider.