i fully support chicago teachers. i also don’t want our city’s kids going through this strike with no learning. CPS, chicago parks, & the YMCA will provide limited support. however - since education starts at home ANYWAYS *ahem* - here are a few structured activities you can do with your kids & places to send them to if you can’t stay home:
- put together a web of support. these are really great for families as well as individuals!
- this parent has a GREAT idea to introduce your kids to labor & education issues - here’s a list of the picket sites.
- @shua123 put together a great map called “Child Care Options in Case of a Strike“
- The Logan Square Neighborhood Association is hosting freedom camps featuring educational activities, creative time, & organizing training.
- FREE homeschool curriculae - can’t take off work indefinitely? start a temporary homeschooling co-op with your friends, family, church, and/or neighbors. people teach whatever subjects they’re most comfortable with on the days they take off work. nobody has to bear the burden of using up all their vacation & sick time and it cuts down the need for childcare. if you’ve got parents who aren’t comfortable with instruction or may not have strong educational backgrounds, they can lead creative arts, monitor USSR, or take the kids on educational field trips.
- for kids ages 0-5, grab a copy of ring the alarm & do some of nikolai’s suggested activities.
- this is great for older youth: group study sessions. students have their books already, they can work on what they’ve already covered in class, get ahead, plan for the rest of the semester, & research related topics.
- read together. and do report-outs on what you’ve read. this is also a great way to start working on presentation skills! or do written reports & practice writing skills.
- the university of california paleontology museum at berkeley has a great website! it’s designed for teachers, but there’s a bunch of stuff on there that you can do with your kids.
- research candidate platforms for the upcoming election & have the kids write to the candidates. we did this when i was in 6th grade. it was awesome to see who wrote letters back & discuss our thoughts on those who didn’t respond. that was 20 years ago & i still remember it. just sayin’.
- “sit in” on a free college course. download the free iTunes software to access courses from many of the world’s leading universities (yes, that means harvard, stanford, etc.) and iTunes U is also available for your iPhone & iPad
- let your kids plan & hold a debate on the issues they learned about in the election. or they can pick whatever issues are on their mind.
- check out the #hiphoped transcripts & find out what your kids really think of the music they hear on the radio & tv. expand that to broader discussions about society. bet you’ll be surprised at what they say!
- talk to your kids about sex. answer their questions; go through the symptoms of all the STIs/STDs; teach them about their bodies; talk to them about love. and no, “don’t be bringin’ no babies up in here” does NOT count.
- PBS has all kinds of great stuff for parents, kids, & teachers!
- ¡NERD ALERT! the nobel prize has a whole page of educational resources!
- get yourself a day pass & explore public art installations on the CTA (CPS students ride free during the strike).
- visit the smart museum in hyde park - it’s always free!
- take tours of the numerous colleges & universities in chicago (pdf document). it’s never too early to start exploring!
- take your child to work. you’ll want to have a good plan for this, so be sure to check out the link!
- chicago children’s museum is free to all CPS students from 9/10-9/14.
- discuss your family history. are your parents or other elders still around? give ‘em a call, put ‘em on speakerphone, and let them share! if you need some guidance, story corps has a great guide you can download (scroll down).
- explore the library. no seriously, have you been to the main library? it’s HUGE! you really could spend all day there. and librarians love helping people get acclimated.
- check out this website dedicated to free stuff in chicago.
- the museum of mexican art is also free every day!
- pretend you’re tourists! national geographic has a list of free things for visitors to do
- practice applying for jobs. see this list of sample applications. also practice creating résumés & cover letters. have mock interviews. teach your kids how to dress for the jobs they want!
- several other museums have their usual free admission days during the strike.
- practice for college admissions tests. bell curves has some free sample questions for the SAT.
- put together a brag sheet (word doc) to give to folks who will write recommendation letters. or modify it just to take inventory of all the awesome stuff your kids have done. do one for the whole family!
- let your kids be the teachers for a while. have them teach you what they remember most from their last year of school, summer camp, or life in general.
- chicago kids blog put together a list as well. note: most of these do seem to cost money.
- alternatives is offering afternoon programming for high school students this week. regular afterschool programming begins next week.
- community classroom has a whole section of lesson plans derived from award-winning documentaries on social justice issues. lesson plans are designed based on standards from high schools, community colleges, non-government organizations, and youth organizations.
- CPS ended up compiling its own list of resources for parents & students by grade. They’ve also made online classes available for high school students. Glad to see them catch on!
anyhoo, i wish i’d thought of this sooner. and hopefully, our teachers will get what they deserve soon. alas, i think this is a pretty good list regardless of whether there’s a strike, so feel free to make use of it anyway! :)
i am concerned about one thing, however: 84% of the 400,000 CPS students are on free/reduced meals. with only 144 sites open, CPS will not be able to feed everybody, even with the parks district & YMCA. if you are able to provide food/food money, know of a place where youth can eat, or come up with a community collaborative, please email me with details so i can add them: amanda(at)amandamichellejones(dot)com.
