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²ÝÝ®ÎÛÊÓƵµ¼º½ Stay At Home Club

²ÝÝ®ÎÛÊÓƵµ¼º½ Alumni & Friends Leadership Series

In a time of social distancing, it can feel challenging and isolating to come up with fresh ideas for teaching and entertaining children at home.

Playgrounds, libraries and museums may be closed – but ²ÝÝ®ÎÛÊÓƵµ¼º½'s got your back. The award-winning ²ÝÝ®ÎÛÊÓƵµ¼º½ Stay At Home Club is a Twitter Live series that features alumni and friends of the Institute leading interactive lessons for children and adults alike. No account necessary to watch the episodes.

We want to keep the learning experience thriving during COVID-19 – and our communities connected. Each lesson is designed to make staying home both fun and educational.

Brittany Cohen

Educators Brittany Cohen and Shawn Matts share their journey starting a YouTube channel for K-8 kids, as well as practical tips for engaging learners and creating your own educational video content.
Isabella Liu

Gamification is all about transforming the classroom environment and learning activities into a game that requires creativity and collaboration! In this episode, Isabella Liu shows teachers how to leverage Google Slides to create boardgames for students to practice their content knowledge.
Janet Joy Wilson

For decades cities have favoured cement over greenery, largely because it’s cheap and requires little maintenance. But there are many environmental benefits to turning your driveway or cement walkway into a greenway! Janet Joy Wilson, a volunteer at the David Suzuki Butterflyway Project, shows you how to transform concrete urban spaces like parking lots into a sustainable paradise, complete with native plants for pollinators and more!
Stephanie Conte

Musical theatre is not simply singing, dancing and acting. It is a beautiful symbiosis of art forms coming together to tell a story — and, it is a creative and liberating outlet for children to express their ideas and emotions.

In this episode, student Stephanie Conte demos a musical theatre performance for kids, and explains how this art form can instill confidence in children.
Athena Tassis

²ÝÝ®ÎÛÊÓƵµ¼º½ student Athena Tassis walks you through some new applications to help you introduce children to STEM in fun and engaging ways. With tools like MakeyMakey, Tinkercad and Ozobot, you'll have your students on the edge of their seats!
Elizabeth Buckner

Winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, is December 21 for those in the Northern Hemisphere. Throughout the centuries, people around the world have celebrated the solstice in different ways – often by bringing light and warmth into their homes. In this session, Professor Elizabeth Buckner will show you a few homemade crafts she has used to decorate her home at this time of year. Best of all, because her family sticks to zero-waste principles, you won’t need any special supplies! She uses every day household items like recycled newspapers, popcorn, flour and water to make fun and stylish decorations.
Osholene Oshobugie

Indigenous African educator Osholene Oshobugie will read from her new children’s book, "My Sleeping Dream: How I Learnt My Numbers", about African Indigenous peoples’ discovery of numbers as one of their many great contributions to humanity. Osholene, who is a PhD student at ²ÝÝ®ÎÛÊÓƵµ¼º½, will show you how to use numbers to speak to the identity of African/Black children through their African ancestry and culture.
Gauravi Lobo

²ÝÝ®ÎÛÊÓƵµ¼º½ students Gauravi Lobo and Laurel Bingman, hosts of the new podcast, Learning in a Time of Corona, take you through some of the remarkable insights they've gathered while speaking to teachers, parents and educators doing pandemic relief work in Mumbai and Houston, Texas – Gauravi and Laurel's respective hometowns.
Stacy Costa

Learn about the history of cryptography and cipher puzzles and some fun codebreaking challenges with PhD student Stacy Costa. Aimed at kids and teens, this episode also challenges adults to think about puzzles and cryptography in new and exciting ways.
Syrus Marcus Ware

"We take care of each other." You may have heard this a lot over the past few months — but, what does this mean and how does this play out in our communities? In this session, scholar, artist and activist Syrus Marcus Ware discusses disability justice, abolition and creative activisms through an exploration of how we can take care of each other into the future.
Gary Pieters

School principal Gary Pieters discusses the racial reckoning in society and the role of allyship for dismantling anti-Black racism through the lens of anti-oppression leadership. Gary explores what it means to be an ally and how non-Black educators and leaders can support systematic change while being mindful of the voices and experiences of Black educators and academics.
Angela Nardozi

In this session, lecturer Angela Nardozi shares "The Water Walker", a picture book written and illustrated by Joanne Robertson about Anishinaabe grandmother (Nokomis) Josephine Mandamin and her work to raise awareness about water—the giver of life. Learn about Nokomis' walks around the Great Lakes and discover how you, your family and your classroom can carry on the work she began.
Latifa Soliman

In this episode, MEd student Latifa Soliman explores the history of Islamic art as she walks you through how to draw your own traditional Islamic floral design.
Marcus Singleton

What's the difference between hip hop and rap music? Whether you think you know or don't know, check out this in-depth conversation with educator and recording artist Marcus Singleton. In this episode, Marcus walks you through the culture, history and evolution of the genres so that you can bring hip hop music into your education practice.
Elizabeth Charles

As plans are underway to return to school, some students are bracing themselves to head back to spaces where they are subjected to the pandemic of systemic racism. In this s ession, social justice educator, writer, and mother Elizabeth Charles shares her insights into the ever-present and often unconscious every day acts of racism that many students endure. Learn strategies on how to become a critical friend in our collective efforts to eradicate systemic racism within our wider school communities.
Janelle Brady

Janelle Brady shares recipe tips from her Caribbean cuisine and reads her poem titled: ‘In my Mother’s Kitchen: Spirituality and Decolonization’ from the Decolonizing the Spirit in Education and Beyond anthology edited by Njoki Wane, Miglena Todorova and Kimberly Todd. Bring your appetite for learning and unlearning decolonization—and good food!
John Lettieri

How can we inspire and encourage students in music? In this episode, John Lettieri, a retired music educator, performing artist and composer, shows you how to guide students in their learning experience with music. Educators and students will challenge and deepen their relationship to music creation, performance, listening and learning.
Rich Baxter

In this episode, teacher Rich Baxter and student entrepreneur Henry Greenberg discuss what it takes to innovate in a classroom in a large urban school district. They share experiences with online student project-based learning, and ideas for overcoming some learning design challenges during the pandemic.
Isabella Liu

Science is about making sense of the world around us. In this episode, Isabella Liu, an ²ÝÝ®ÎÛÊÓƵµ¼º½ alum and educator, discusses how augmented reality can be a valuable tool for understanding reality itself. You'll learn how to engage students virtually using immersive technologies like MergeCube, AugmentifyIt, and HoloLabs.
Sheliza Jamal

Recent events across the world have highlighted the discrimination that can result from unconscious biases: attitudes or stereotypes that influence our understanding, actions and decisions in an unconscious manner. In this session, Sheliza Jamal, an equity and inclusion facilitator and certified educator, shares how to become aware of bias. Learn how unconscious biases can be harmful, and how we can interrupt and unlearn them.
Chrystal Smith

In this session, educator Chrystal Smith takes participants through some of the rules of forming masculine and feminine adjectives in French. You'll learn rhymes and songs for improving your writing and speaking. All levels welcome!
Nouman Ashraf

Nouman Ashraf's teaching focus at the Rotman School of Management is premised on connecting self-awareness with tools for overcoming barriers to inclusion that are often implicit within personal, inter-personal and organizational contexts. One of the key outcomes for adoption of an inclusive framework is actively soliciting feedback from learners as they navigate issues of voice, identity, agency and structural impediments to full participation. This highly interactive session explores how students can be enabled through a guided mastery approach into being contributors.
Athena Tassis

Tune in to watch the importance of preparing and sharing traditional dishes from scratch! In this session, Master of Teaching student Athena Tassis will be preparing the Greek traditional pie spanakopita with her grandmother. Allowing students to express themselves and showcase their knowledge in her classroom is very important to Athena, as it is one of the many ways to foster inclusivity and respect for diversity.
Isaac and Karen Edge

Alum Karen Edge and her nine-year-old son, Isaac, will talk about their experience as a mixed-race family living in London, UK. In this conversation, they share how they understand and manage racism that comes their way, and what others can do when they see it happening.
Marcia Bumbury

In this session, Marcia Bumbury, a kindergarten teacher, gives you a virtual look at a curated math kit that supports both literacy and math from home! We will have fun with math games using various math tools including picture books. You will leave this session inspired to lead your youngest mathematicians to create, demonstrate and understand models of mathematical thinking.
Drorit Weiss

Combining her unique passion for math, rap and Egyptian dance, Drorit Weiss, a celebrated math and physics teacher and professional dancer, breaks down some fundamental Arabic rhythms in this interactive session. Bring any percussion instrument to participate: drums, tambourines, pots and pans, or even just your hands!
Justine Bruyère

Learn how you can use the arts at home to support children's literacy learning. In this episode, educator Justine Bruyère gives examples of child-led drama, art, music and dance-based learning, and demonstrates some ways parents and educators can make the arts both engaging and educational.
Gurpreet Sahmbi

Using every day items, Gurpreet Sahmbi will explore ways of challenging children at the intermediate level to develop problem solving skills through games. Discover ways of modifying deceptively simple activities to keep students engaged and challenged with common objects you have in your home. You might just find that your home is full of math games!
Michael Salvatori

Explorer le monde sous la mer que l'artiste impressionniste Henri Matisse a crée dan son chef d'oeuvre, les bêtes de la mer. Dr. Michael Salvatori présentera l'artiste impressionniste et son oeuvre d'art et vous proposera une activité d'art qui vous permettra de créer votre propre scène sous-marine.
Carol Stephenson

Learn about the mathematical and critical thinking opportunities that arise when things start to grow! Carol Stephenson shares some quick and easy ways to see nature at work inside our homes.
Stacy Costa

Puzzle designer and doctoral student Stacy Costa shows us the power of puzzles on the brain. Learn why puzzles are more than just a game or form of pure entertainment and why we should deliberately challenge ourselves to engage with them.
Jeffrey Ansloos

Many people imagine writing to be something serene and peaceful, and yet, in reality writing seldom matches those descriptions. In this episode, Professor Jeffrey Ansloos shares some of his learning about writing — and the behavioural, artistic, social and emotional habits that have helped him grow as a writer.
Shelley Murphy

Did you know that mindfulness can help kids (and adults!) develop habits of mind that are central to managing stress, responding to challenging emotions and strengthening resilience. Learn about and participate in fun, child-friendly mindfulness-based practices in this upcoming episode hosted by Professor Shelley Murphy.
Charles Pascal

Parents and school kids of all ages, join Professor Charles Pascal, former deputy minister of education in Ontario, for a session on the powerful habit of reflection. Charles will explain the benefits of keeping a journal that focuses on the important lessons we can learn from our daily experiences.
Mary Reid

Need ideas for teaching math at home? Professor Mary Reid, a math education expert, shows you three engaging activities that will have your children begging for more! Plus, discover the importance of dynamic practice and offering children the element of choice while fostering mental math skills.
Matt Stodolak

In this episode, Matt Stodolak, an ²ÝÝ®ÎÛÊÓƵµ¼º½ alum, educator, neuroscientist and musician, demonstrates the immense power that music has on the developing brain. Learn how the music from your favourite movies and television shows make you feel different emotions or bring you back to a different time.
Michael Salvatori

Dr. Michael Salvatori, an ²ÝÝ®ÎÛÊÓƵµ¼º½ alum, educator and linguist, wants us to celebrate your city and neighbourhood. In this session, he will share picture books that feature famous skylines – and then show you how to do an art project that shows off the favourite parts of your neighbourhood or city.
Kate Barrett

How do we find community during a time of isolation? Kate Barrett from the Natural Curiosity walks you through a simple activity that can help the children in your lives access a different kind of connection – one with the natural world. Learn how simple outdoor activities like "hug a tree" can help children discover a sense of connection and relief during these challenging times.