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Arts Education at Home

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ARTS EDUCATION AT HOME

Arts Resources for Parents

PCCY’s Picasso Project is working to assure that students have access to arts-based learning while schools are closed due to

COVID-19. Especially during this time, the arts are critical for helping children connect with each other, express themselves and process stress, and stay engaged in creative learning.

This toolkit, made possible through the generous support of Wells Fargo Foundation, is designed to help parents and educators facilitate arts learning from home for children and teens. A curated selection of free arts education resources is listed below by artistic discipline: general art/virtual field trips, visual arts, music, dance/movement, and theater/poetry. 

This toolkit is updated regularly, and please follow Picasso Project on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, hashtag #ArtsEdAtHome, for the latest resources. Please reach out if you have any questions or additional resources to share: picassoproject@childrenfirstpa.org. 

Read To Me

READ TO ME is a read aloud book video series presented by PCCY’s Picasso Project. The goal of READ TO ME is to provide children with a curated selection of books for all ages read by caring, experienced adults. We are building a free YouTube “library” of read aloud books to share with children in Philadelphia and across the internet. Videos can be found on our YouTube Page.  We are seeking volunteers to create short (~5 minute) videos of themselves reading a favorite children’s book. Books for all ages, in all languages, are welcome. If you would like to participate, send an email to Tim Gibbon at timg@childrenfirstpa.org.

Time Capsule Fun

We are living through history right now. Take some time to fill in the pages of this time capsule for your children’s future self to look back in. Check out this really fun activity as a PowerPoint or download as a PDF.

General Arts / Virtual Field Trips

Visual Arts 

 Music 

 Dance/Movement 

  • Dance activities for kids: Teach your child about different types of music and how to interpret the music through dance 
  • MUVEmethod Dance Videos: This Youtube channel has tons of videos with songs and suggestions for general ways to structure dancing at the various parts of the songs 
  • Dance Party Games: These dance-based games can be played even with just a few participants 
  • Debbie Allen Dance Academy: Find some great dancing videos and pictures on the Instagram account of the Debbie Allen Dance Academy. There’s also a link on the page to sign up for virtual dance classes 
  • Zumba for Kids: These two links take you to Youtube videos that show Zumba dance routines for kids 
  • DJ Mel’s Facebook-live Living Room Dance Party: DJ Mel does a kid friendly dance party once a week through Facebook-live 
  • Cosmic Kids Yoga: This Youtube account has tons of videos of yoga routines for kids 

 Theater, Spoken Word, Poetry 

  • Poems From Home: An Instagram poetry course for everyone by educators who are at home 
  • Free Streaming Theater: This article tells you where you can find filmed Broadway plays streaming online 
  • Pop-Up Theater Classes: Civic Theater is providing free pop-up theater classes streaming live on their Facebook page Monday through Friday at 2pm 
  • Drama Games for Kids: An extensive list of drama games and activities for kids 
  • 6 Kids’ Acting Games: If the list above is a bit overwhelming, start with these six popular acting activities to sharpen your child’s acting skills 
  • Theater/drama activities for a More General Audience: These two links have fun activities for kids who aren’t necessarily aiming to get the lead role in their school play, but instead just want to have fun and put on a play at home 

 Other Resources 

Funding for this valuable resource was made possible thanks to the generous support of Wells Fargo Foundation.

If you are also able to support this critical work, your contribution would be greatly appreciated.

 

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