Ava Foote, 8, during one of her daily Jordan Kent Healthy Kids Challenge workouts. Her mom, Megan Foote, credits her daughter’s third-grade teacher, Jaime Cranmer, “for reaching out immediately to get the kids involved in supplemental learning.” Photo provided by Megan Foote
Like many other Oregon kids, Megan Foote’s 10-year-old son, Landon, and 8-year-old daughter, Ava, have turned more and more to virtual/online activities as a result of COVID-19 school and library closures, cancellation or postponement of spring sports and other activities.
Happily, the Footes are finding that “online” and “activity” aren’t a contradiction in terms.
Ava has been participating in dance classes via online platforms, along with daily Jordan Kent Healthy Kids Challenge workouts (@jordankentsports on Instagram, #healthykidschallenge), “which she really enjoys,” Foote said.
Landon, a fifth grader, is “really enjoying” the free guitar lessons for three months offered by Fender.com. He also does daily baseball challenge activities posted by his Babe Ruth coach and recently presented a baseball research paper on his team’s Facebook page.
“A shoutout to Creswell Babe Ruth Baseball AAA team coach Chris Pelham for engaging his team with daily physical and mental challenge activities – and even a craft project that allowed us to make a special glove for catching ‘grounders’” – activities that are keeping Landon “enthused and motivated about the baseball season,” Foote said.
Another “big shout-out” goes to Ava’s third-grade teacher Jaime Cranmer, “for reaching out immediately to get the kids involved in supplemental learnin.”
Online meetings for class and social engagement and also doing fun activities together, such as a household scavenger hunt and an online drawing class.”
Foote said her kids’ teachers and Creswell Clubhouse “are also utilizing online meetings so the class/groups can stay in touch and do fun activities online together.”
Both Landon and Ava “have also enjoyed online tours of museums and zoos, worksheets, playing board games, working on art projects, cooking and practicing for sports” and were recently invited to join a friend’s “Virtual Science Fair,” with video entries submitted and judged on Facebook.
All these online-based activities “keep my kids healthy and active, connected with their classes, Clubhouse, the library, their dance class and sports team – keeping them interested and engaged in learning in different ways, outside of the norm of the classroom,” Foote said.
“We’ve also played a lot of board games and put together a couple of 1,000-piece puzzles as a family,” she said.
