Talk with your child about how it feels to miss friends, family, or teachers. Discuss some ways to make yourself feel better when you miss someone, like writing a letter or looking at pictures.

What makes a volcano erupt? How big is a whale? How long does it take to get to the moon? What is your child interested in? There are many child-focused resources for learning about the world online. Find one from a free reliable source like NASA or PBS and learn something new together.

Invite your child to come up with a question and send it out to friends or family. Questions could be silly or imaginative like, “What is the first thing you would do if you went into outer space?” or “Where would you go if you had wings?”

Create a kindness jar. Invite everyone in your household to write or draw a note when they see someone else demonstrating kindness. Throughout the day, or at mealtimes, take one of the notes out of the jar and read it aloud to celebrate the ways everyone is helping and being kind to one another.

Read Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell. Then, create a mural about things that make your community special.

Read Cassie’s Word Quilt by Faith Ringgold. Then, invite each member of your household to use art materials to draw what they are grateful for. Help children label their drawings. Invite family and friends that don’t live with you to send pictures as well. Put the pictures together to make a gratitude quilt and display it somewhere special.

Start the day with conversations that help children build their planning and self-regulation skills. Ask a question like, “What is something you are looking forward to today?” Then make a plan for the day together.

Big emotions are normal, especially when routines change or people are experiencing stress. Consider strategies to help children understand their emotions and calm their bodies. Children may use a feelings chart to label their emotions like excited, anxious, surprised, or confused. Then have a conversation about what children can do when they’re having big emotions, like taking three deep breaths.

Children’s bodies need to move! Consider activities that incorporate mindfulness with movement, such as children’s yoga. Learn a few poses together like cat/cow, bird, and butterfly.

Model empathy by spending some extra time talking with and listening to your child. You might hear them asking the same questions repeatedly as they process the changes in their world. Your patience, kindness, and child-friendly answers will help them to work through their emotions.

Children process emotions in many ways, including being extra quiet or loud, pushing boundaries, not listening or following directions, and needing to move their bodies, sometimes in less safe ways. Some extra time talking or snuggling with a book can help everyone feel calmer and more connected.

Play a mirror emotions game. Invite your child to look in a mirror and make an emotion with their face while you try to guess it. Then switch and invite them try to guess yours! Try some silly or tricky ones like disgusted, worried, or proud.