KiwiCo | KiwiCo Blog

March 15, 2020March 15, 2020

At-home resources for kids and parents during Covid-19

To our KiwiCo community:

As parents, we share the same concerns about the uncertainty surrounding coronavirus, and the impact it will have on our families. Here at KiwiCo, we asked our team to work from home. Many of us have children who will be home with us for the foreseeable future due to school closures.

We know a lot of you are also trying to find a new normal, including keeping your kids busy at home. So today, we’re launching a resource hub for parents to help support learning at home, with loads of stay-at-home educational activities for every age, tips from teachers on effective remote learning, and kid-friendly content that connects science with their daily lives. To start with, we’re bringing you an explanation of the science of handwashing, to help kids understand why it’s so important. We’re going to be adding new content and resources to the hub regularly. We’ll also be switching up our newsletter to bring you helpful resources more frequently, and you can follow us on Instagram for daily updates.

Please take care of yourself, and reach out if we can help. We’re here to support you and your family during this time. We’re in this together.

Founder & Mom of 3

March 24, 2020March 24, 2020

10 Creative Ways to Upcycle Your KiwiCo Crate

Cardboard is an awesome building material that is recyclable and biodegradable. It’s durable and protective, but it’s also easy to bend and cut. As kids (and cats) know, sometimes a cardboard box is as fun as the thing that came in it! Here are some creative ways you can reuse your crates.

1. Dance Party Speakers & DJ Booth

Creative Ways to Upcycle Cardboard: Speakers

March 24, 2020March 24, 2020

10 Children’s Books that Inspire Resilience

Many kids (and parents) are learning in a whole new way, and all this change can understandably be a struggle. Teaching resilience will help your kids overcome the challenges they’re facing today and build confidence to take on obstacles in the future. Here are some of our favorite books that can help kick start a conversation about resiliency with your kids!

March 23, 2020March 24, 2020

6 Podcasts for a Screen Time Break for Kids (and Parents)

If your child is learning at home, chances are their classroom time has been replaced with more screen time (check out our list of fun learning websites). And while screen time is inevitable and totally okay, there’s another resource for completely screen-free learning – podcasts! Our recommendations are for kid and adult ears alike, so feel free to play them out loud. And if you don’t see your favorite kid-friendly podcast on the list, shout it out in the comments!

March 19, 2020March 24, 2020

Fun Activities To Do With Friends And Family Members Over Video Chat

Staying home and keeping a safe distance from others means you can’t see your friends and some of your family members in person right now. But that doesn’t mean you can’t connect with them! Video calls are a great way to stay in touch with loved ones and see each others’ smiles from any distance. Here are some fun ideas to try together the next time you chat.

March 19, 2020

Behind the Design: Eggsperiments

KiwiCo product designer, Marisa, took on the challenge of cracking shells in the name of science. She quickly learned that designing a product based around eggs leads to a lot of uneggpected outcomes!

March 18, 2020March 18, 2020

How Viruses Spread & Why You Should Stay Home: Explainer for Kids

Staying away from regular activities and friends is plenty stressful even for grownups, and it’s an even bigger challenge for kids to make sense of it all. By sharing the science of how viruses are transmitted, we can help kids to see staying at home as a powerful way to help keep friends and family safe, rather than as something scary or frustrating.

———————————————

If you’re stuck at home right now, you’re not alone! Millions of people in the US and all over the world are canceling classes, parties, and visits to help stop the spread of a new virus. This virus causes a disease called COVID-19. For some people, this disease isn’t much worse than a cold, but it can make others very sick, and there’s no vaccine to prevent it or medicine to treat it yet. That means the best way to keep people safe is to stop them from getting the virus in the first place. Fortunately, there’s something we can all do to help: stay home!

March 18, 2020March 18, 2020

Mindfulness Activities for Kids and Parents

Mindfulness is the ability to be fully present in the moment, and with all that’s going on, it is especially important to find ways to slow down. Science has shown that mindfulness can have a bunch of benefits for kids and grownups.

Reduces stress and anxiety
Increases attention and focus
Promotes positivity, kindness and empathy
Strengthens self-control
Develops problem-solving and decision-making skills

March 18, 2020March 18, 2020

Free Learning Websites for Kids at Home

Like many families around the world, parents on the KiwiCo team have had to leap into the world of homeschooling with barely a day’s notice to prepare. We’ve all been trading links and tips back and forth to help support learning in our own kids’ school communities, so we wanted to bring some of our favorites to you!

March 17, 2020March 17, 2020

Must-Have Craft Supplies for DIYs at Home

As families hunker down at home, we know that keeping kids learning is a top priority. In addition to stocking up on food, having a toolbox of craft supplies is helpful to keep your kids creatively engaged. The team at KiwiCo made a list of must-have materials to cover a wide range of DIYs, experiments, and activities.

March 16, 2020March 18, 2020

10 Toilet Paper Roll Crafts & Activities for Kids

If you’re stocked up on toilet paper, don’t toss the empty rolls in the trash! You can transform these cardboard tubes into educational games, awesome art projects, and tools for at-home learning!

Teaching Tubes

This cute craft doubles as a learning activity! Younger kids can use it to practice the alphabet while older kids can use it to practice multiplication tables.
Learn More: Teaching Tubes