With three daughtersOlivia, 15, Emma, 14, and Ava, 10and a career in elementary-level education, Howard School first-grade teacher Angie Torres Milleris well positioned to offer tips for home schooling to house-bound families.

Recognizing that parenting is one thing and teaching another (not to mention the near-impossible task of simultaneously working), Torres Miller said I started worrying that parents wouldnt be able to keep their kids busy. So, she started the Facebook page, Learn, Play and Grow, a space for sharing posts and videos that parents can use to help keep their kids occupied with meaningful activities.

Focusing on easy-to-make projects like using a toy dinosaur to project a large shadow that children can then outline on a big sheet of paper, or Jell-O trays with items embedded that toddlers can dig-out, Torres Miller hopes the activities can buy harried parents a short respite, Something for kids to do even for 15 minutes.

I dont want kids to take the brunt of the stress parents are feeling, she said. Thus far, 1,035 people have joined her Facebook page and Torres Millers enthusiasm is palpable when she says, It feels so good! Every day I post five activities.

Serving a wide range of kids of different ages and different needs, Torres Miller has also been providing activities for students on the autism spectrum, trying, she says, to pull-in as much as I can. All this, while continuing to teach her first-grade class at Howard School for two-hours each morning via Zoom, then taking over story time afterwards, as staff share the load of teaching specialized subjects.

I hear friends of mine say, Im ready for the kids to go back to school, Torres Miller related. She sounds an empathetic note when she adds, I feel so bad, (a lot of parents) dont know where to start. She hopes her Facebook activities provide some support for her growing online community: Im trying to helpthey seem so stuck.

To see Torres Millers Facebook educational posts, search for the group Learn, Play and Grow on Facebook.

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Howard School teacher offers online education activities | News - Coastal View News