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A new blog post from Achieve the Core, a website to help educators implement Common Core State Standards, has strategies for conducting read alouds during virtual learning. One strategy includes a family “book tasting,” where students and their families collaboratively read or listen to excerpts from several books until they choose one to complete together. The blog post notes that several authors have made audio versions of their books available for free in recent months and provides links to free resources for identifying and selecting stories. 

These tip sheets from the Child Welfare Information Gateway are designed for service providers to share with parents and caregivers in the context of a particular concern or question. The tip sheets provide a starting point for a discussion between parent and provider that is grounded in protective factors. The information is easy to read and focuses on concrete steps that parents can take to strengthen their families.

As schools offer remote instruction or a hybrid of in-person and remote instruction, educators must find new ways to engage students and their families. This article from the Global Family Research Project shares lessons learned from online learning and outlines strategies that educators can use to engage families.

Keeping It Real in Family Partnership is a video storytelling project that aims to inspire conversations about how out-of-school time (OST) practitioners and families from diverse cultural backgrounds partner to support children. The stories highlight promising practices and explore the experiences of families and OST professionals. Each video story is supported by a series of guiding questions that families and OST professionals can reflect on as they develop stronger partnerships. The series also has a facilitators’ guide with resources to use with OST staff.

It is easy to forget about physical activity during times of stress, but staying active and keeping a routine can promote physical and mental well-being. This article from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation has some fun, family-friendly activities that adults and youth can try together.

Project-based learning (PBL) can take place in environments outside of school or afterschool programs. This article from Edutopia shows how educators are supporting project-based learning when students are at home. The article includes guidance for educators and strategies for supporting parents as they engage in PBL with their youth.

STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is an important and popular subject in afterschool. The archived webinar from Click2Science provides strategies on engaging families in your afterschool program’s STEM education efforts. In addition to providing a video of the webinar, Click2Science links to a staff development guide and other resources for STEM instruction and family engagement.

Educators are taking steps to include family members as essential partners in designing efforts to build relationships between families and strengthen their ability to support their children’s learning and healthy development. Family Engagement Playbook, a new resource from the Global Family Research Project, provides a collection of promising research-based approaches to strengthen individual competencies and organizational support for family engagement.

Families play an essential role in helping students navigate options for college and career after high school. This blog post from Edutopia describes how one district hosted a middle and high school information event that introduced families to their students’ post-graduation options. Students co-planned the event, and the district also worked closely with the community to provide resources and information.

Communicating with families of a variety of backgrounds, including those coming to the United States from another country, is an important skill for educators. This research story from the Harvard Graduate School of Education provides strategies for working across language and cultural differences between educators and newcomer families.