Why Recreate the Wheel?

The Race2K project collects various resources, documents, procedures, and materials from school districts across the state so that others can draw upon work already done.  We do our best to ensure that the resources posted, if appropriate, are in compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), NH Standards for the Education of Children with Disabilities and other applicable rules/regulations, however we do not specifically endorse or validate any of the resources contained in this repository.

Have a resource you’d like to share?  Email it to jcunha@picnh.org

Reopening Preschool: Strategies from Community Child Care and Preschool Programs

There are so many considerations for reopening district operated preschool programs in the fall it may seem overwhelming. Earlier this month, the Race2K project, funded by the NH Department of Education, Bureau of Student Support, asked  the Directors of two child care and preschool programs who remained open during the pandemic to share their experiences problem solving some of the same challenges specific to young children that school district staff will be facing when school is back in session.

Featuring:

  • Deb Hunter, Director of The Children’s Learning Center @ Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth Hitchcock
    Teri Ann Cox, Executive Director of The Children’s Center in Wolfeboro.

Resources for Providing Preschool for Children with Disabilities During Covid-19

Over the last several months Race2K has conducted a series of Early Childhood Chat Room discussions focused how school district operated preschool programs are addressing remote instruction and the transition back to in-person services. Contained in this section are ideas, resources and strategies gained during these discussions.
  • On August 25, Governor Sununu issued Executive Order #64 regarding students with disabilities and service delivery.
  • On July 14, 2020, Governor Sununu announced the NH DOE’s Guidance on reopening K-12 Schools in New Hampshire.
  • On July 2, 2020, The New Hampshire Department of Education’s Bureau of Student Support issued a Fiscal Year Memo and PowerPoint presentation as guidance on Compensatory Education. Compensatory Education is a term that is generally used to describe the equitable remedy for the denial of a student’s right to a FAPE (Free and Appropriate Public Education). If you have any questions please contact Rebecca Fredette at Rebecca.Fredette@doe.nh.gov.
  • On June 18th, The New Hampshire Department of Education (NHDOE), Bureau of Student Support issued FY’20 Memo #37 and Guidance for Providing Services and Support to Students During the Summer. This guidance was issued by the Department of Education in cooperation with DHHS, Bureau of Public Health, Bureau of Infectious Disease Control, and the Bureau of Special Medical Services.
  • On May 26th, with emergency executive order #48, the Governor issued Special Education Requirements to Support Remote Instruction. This order was issued to ensure the continuation of special education services for NH students. The order requires each school district to hold IEP team meetings to consider extended school year services and any compensatory education services for every child with an IEP that may be required due to circumstances arising from Covid-19, remote instruction, and support.
  • On May 21st, The NH Department of Education released a guidance memorandum for NH school districts regarding options they may consider when planning for the evaluation process to determine eligibility for special education services and related services during the state of emergency. The Department stipulates that nothing in the NH Standards has changed with respect to required evaluations, qualified examiners, or timelines.
  • GoNoodle – engages kids with movement and mindfulness videos created by child development experts. Available for free at school, home, and everywhere kids are
  • Boom Cards – self-graded exercises gamified for children that provide the data that teachers want.  Used by Speech Therapists.  Free and available in other languages.
  • Happy Numbers – While you teach small groups, Happy Numbers individualizes instruction for the rest of the class, and gives you actionable insights about student growth.  Free until June 30, 2020
  • Learning Without Tears – Free Digital and Print Resources plus Expert Advice to Support Students Learning at Home.
  • Starfall Education – a free public service to teach children to read. Includes language arts and mathematics for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and third grade
  • ABC Mouse – Free 30 day trial
  • Chatter Box – Using the easy-to-use Chatterbox Skill Builder, students can make skills that reinforce classroom learning — quizzes, interactive historical biographies or skills that can look up facts, such as word definitions.
  • Nat Geo for Kids
  • Cosmic Kid’s Yoga
  • The Laurie Berkner Band – The best music, videos, and books for kids – that grownups love, too!
  • Movelee – Using exercise, meditation and breathing techniques to help children with their social, emotional and physical development.
  • Games – Shared by SAU 83, a list of on-line games they share with families
  • Classroom DoJo – Free app for teachers and parents. Instantly share photos, videos, and announcements on Class Story, or privately message with any parent
  • SMART Notebook – SMART Learning Suite Online enables students to connect remotely to live lessons delivered by teachers and engage in real-time with lesson activities. Currently Free
  • SeeSaw –  Create a supportive remote learning environment for students when emergencies prevent them from coming to school. Currently Free
  • ScreenCastomatic – Record, edit and share video to connect with students, parents and faculty.
  • Class Tag – Simple parent-teacher communication that just works, for everyone. It’s also free forever.
  • Flipgrid – 100% free for all educators, learners, and families. Engage and empower every voice in your classroom or at home by recording and sharing short, awesome videos…together!
  • Balancing Online/Remote and In-Person Learning for Young Children – Jennifer Keys Adair, PhD, Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education and Director of the Agency and Young Children Research Collective; The University of Texas at Austin
  • Tips for Parents– Balancing Online/Remote and In-Person Learning for Young Children – Jennifer Keys Adair, PhD, Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education and Director of the Agency and Young Children Research Collective; The University of Texas at Austin
  • I Spy Speech Therapy Resources
  • SLP Solutions: Curriculum and Support for Speech-Language Professionals
  • Ultimate SLP– The ultimate library of speech therapy materials! With over 10,000 real life images, games, and activities to target every goal (Articulation, Language, Social Communication, and More)
  • Story Cube – Rory’s Story Cubes is a game to discover with family or friends. In turn, each player becomes the Narrator.
  • Tools To Grow OT – Tools to Grow, Inc. is a place to share ideas and inspire others with engaging print and go resources, activities, handouts, worksheets, and educational material.
  • Raising Dragons (facebook page)- EASY experiments and crafts to promote literacy and build STEAM skills
  • Raising Dragons (website)
  • Preschool Inspirations
  • Pink Oatmeal – Choose from several different resources in the freebie library for your physical activity and motor planning needs.
  • The OT Tool Box – find resources, tools, ideas, and activities geared toward the healthy development of kids. Based on function and occupation-centered activities, the ideas shared on this site promote the underlying skills needed for action and performance in kids.
  • The OT Plan – OT activity ideas search engine that helps you find pediatric occupational therapy activity ideas by skills to promote using common household materials.
  • Touch Autism – Touch Autism began building mobile device applications in 2010 for children with special needs after discovering how incredibly useful this type of technology can be
  • Learn, Play, Thrive – Resources to support therapists in how to use a deep understanding autism learning styles to shape their work  so that they can become more confident and effective in their interventions.  Provides support to therapists in parent coaching in the tele-therapy context.

These weekly schedules/activities were shared by SAU 83.  They are sent to families along with the materials necessary to support them in doing the activities with their children.

Preschool Resources