{"id":963158,"date":"2020-03-31T16:46:45","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T20:46:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/education\/learning-at-home-apartment-edition\/"},"modified":"2023-09-27T02:39:29","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T06:39:29","slug":"learning-at-home-apartment-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/education\/learning-at-home-apartment-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning At Home: Apartment Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Parents, we know you\u2019re working hard right now!&nbsp;For&nbsp;us apartment-dwellers, sheltering in place&nbsp;has been a challenge! I don\u2019t have a yard, I don\u2019t have more than one floor to work in or space myself from my partner who is also working from home, and I have immediate neighbors who may be&nbsp;more-than-bothered when I\u2019m blasting music and dancing with my virtual fitness coach. And for those of us with children living in an apartment,&nbsp;it might be even more of a challenge!&nbsp;Children need to run and play, observe, ask questions, and&nbsp;explore.&nbsp;With limited access to public spaces,&nbsp;how do we keep them&nbsp;busy, engaged, and entertained in our apartment home spaces?&nbsp;<br>Here are some activity suggestions to keep those kiddos busy, learning, and having fun!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Plant a&nbsp;Mini-Garden<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/education\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/20200330_140525-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-953064\" width=\"338\" height=\"451\"\/><figcaption>Planting the root end of a green onion<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Staying connected to nature is essential!&nbsp;I&nbsp;may not have a yard or even a patio really, but I do have an outdoor entry-way to my front door and I have some windows that get decent sun-time.&nbsp;Use this&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/parents\/crafts-and-experiments\/make-a-miniature-garden\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PBS KIDS resource<\/a>&nbsp;featuring Nature Cat to learn how you can plant your own garden at home and keep track of it. Bring the learning full circle with&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/florida.pbslearningmedia.org\/collection\/thnkgard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">this video collection<\/a>&nbsp;about plants, science, and gardening on PBS&nbsp;LearningMedia.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t have seeds? Try using&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/about.spud.com\/blog-regrowing-vegetables-from-scrap\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">food scraps<\/a>&nbsp;such as the root ends of green onions, a garlic bulb, or&nbsp;the end of a celery bunch&nbsp;and simply stick them in your soil, give them plenty of sun, and water them. They will&nbsp;reroot&nbsp;themselves and generate new edible plants.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t have soil? Put your food scraps in a cup or glass with water and they will regenerate; just be careful not to drown them!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>At-Home Scavenger Hunts<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Scavenger hunts can keep kids busy for hours!&nbsp;With this activity you\u2019re sharpening observation skills&nbsp;and helping develop counting and sorting.&nbsp;<br>Try some of these suggested prompts for your scavenger hunt:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Find things that start with the letter of your name&nbsp;<\/li><li>Find 5&nbsp;things in the kitchen, 4 things in the bathroom, 3 things in the living room,&nbsp;2 things from your room, and 1 thing&nbsp;from&nbsp;the closet&nbsp;<ul><li> Then sort objects by size or color&nbsp; <\/li><\/ul><\/li><li> If you have access to an outdoor space, try scavenging for objects in nature. (Just be sure to put things back&nbsp;and not disturb animals in their natural habitats!)&nbsp;Here\u2019s a&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/parents\/crafts-and-experiments\/nature-cat-scavenger-hunt\" target=\"_blank\">scavenger hunt sheet<\/a>&nbsp;featuring Nature Cat!&nbsp;<\/li><li>Find objects that are only a certain color or shape&nbsp; <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/education\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/IMG_20200330_160540-2-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-953072\" width=\"315\" height=\"315\"\/><figcaption>Greet your neighbors from afar<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"> <strong>Won\u2019t You Be My Neighbor?<\/strong>&nbsp; <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Living in an apartment building doesn\u2019t always mean you get to know your neighbors. Practice literacy skills,&nbsp;community kindness,&nbsp;<em>and<\/em>&nbsp;social distancing&nbsp;by writing encouraging messages, drawing pictures,&nbsp;making a card, or craft and&nbsp;leaving&nbsp;it&nbsp;on&nbsp;your&nbsp;neighbors\u2019&nbsp;doorstep.&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Prefer to keep your kiddos inside? Check out this&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/pbskids.org\/daniel\/games\/make-a-card\/\" target=\"_blank\">Daniel Tiger interactive<\/a>&nbsp;where your child can design and create cards online instead!&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Put on a Play<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Encourage creative play by empowering your kiddo to write and act in their own play. If you\u2019re working from home, encourage your young one to come up with their own story and practice it for a performance&nbsp;to be put on&nbsp;at a certain time; that way you can work&nbsp;(hopefully uninterrupted)&nbsp;in the meantime. Check out this PBS KIDS resource for putting on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/parents\/crafts-and-experiments\/put-on-a-shadow-play\">shadow play.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Bring Back the&nbsp;Classic Blanket and Pillow Fort<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/education\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/20200330_135813-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-953067\" width=\"417\" height=\"556\"\/><figcaption>A cozy corner nook for reading, drawing, and imagining!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Kids learn through play!&nbsp;Let&nbsp;your kids use the couch cushions, chairs, sheets, blankets, and pillows to build&nbsp;and engineer&nbsp;their own fort.&nbsp;For an added challenge, have them draw their fort design before&nbsp;building. They&nbsp;can still work on homework and other activities in their&nbsp;fort, so they feel like they have a space to themselves for a while.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For an added bonus, check out&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/parents\/crafts-and-experiments\/camp-out-with-newspaper-forts\" target=\"_blank\">this resource<\/a>&nbsp;on how to build a fort using tape and newspaper!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Share what you and your kids have been doing with us on our&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WFSUeducation\/?eid=ARA9amaqhr3cPZaX_2ZC1Ngzh2hg5NojHeavRwdAhsyF_oobdz0hkGVPNk2rPCyAnzx4TsrQZrtKZ1pZ\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook page<\/a>&nbsp;or tag us on Instagram (@wfsueducation).&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While we are all doing more at home, some things might be more challenging in an apartment setting. Our team put together ideas for apartment dwellers living with children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":963163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,75,76,81],"tags":[79,80],"class_list":["post-963158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ed-scoop","category-kids-resources","category-learning","category-pastime","tag-activities-for-kids","tag-apartment-activities"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-21 21:16:08","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/963158"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=963158"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/963158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":963162,"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/963158\/revisions\/963162"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/963163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=963158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=963158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=963158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}