Merricat’s teacher Laura reads out loud energizing stories for young yogis, written by Mariam Gates, and shows you how to follow along the movements designed to wake you up and relax your muscles.
Ms. Gates, a former educator, is the founder of Kid Power Yoga. She encourages young children to practice yoga mindfulness to access “their own inner source of strength, confidence, problem-solving and creativity.”
Pop, pop, pop is the sound popcorn kernels make when they become heated and start to expand. Popcorn is great snack food, especially when you are watching a movie or a sports game. In these two videos, Merricat’s teacher Jeff Bradley teaches you how to make popcorn and have fun eating it too!
This song and dance are sure to engage your children and help them have the best time eating popcorn.
Ever felt bored waiting for the elevator to come down to your floor? Well, don’t! Everything in life can be fun with enough music and dance moves. In this video, you can listen to Laurie Beckner’s “Waiting for the Elevator” and watch Merricat’s teachers dance along with it. Besides teaching children that they can enjoy even little moments in life, this song is also great for children just beginning to learn numbers.
ABC’s Bunny’s Garden is a haven in East Harlem, where children and their families can grow and access fresh, healthy food while building sustainability and good nutritional practices. You can see the different types of vegetables we grow every year in the virtual tour below.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, ABC’s Garden Coordinator Ebony Boone has been hosting virtual cooking classes to continue promoting healthy eating in the communities we serve. During these classes, friends of Bunny’s Garden share their favorite recipes that use at least one ingredient from the garden.
We at ABC were having so much fun learning how to cook new dishes, so we are bringing you one of our favorites!
In this video, Tannis shows us how to make callaloo and saltfish - a simple but delicious Jamaican dish that can be had either as a side or main dish. While Tannis used saltfish here, you can also make this dish vegetarian and still get the yummy, spicy flavors!
Ingredients: callaloo, garlic, onion, saltfish, vegetable oil, and hot pepper (optional)
Chop three slices of onion and one to two cloves of garlic. If you enjoy spice, chop a couple slices of hot pepper as well.
Chop callaloo into the size you want.
Heat your pan and put a little bit of vegetable oil. Start sauteing your onion, garlic, and hot pepper. Add in calalloo and season as desired with salt.
Add the saltfish.
You can learn more about Ebony’s ABC story in our Instagram story here. Stay tuned to watch more cooking videos that use healthy ingredients from Bunny’s Garden!
ABC volunteer Alexandra Siddall shows you how to make play dough, a great toy for creative play and a child’s motor development. Children exercise the muscles in their hands when they shape the dough. They also strengthen their imaginary skills by creating different shapes. Play dough is suitable for children who are at least two years of age.
Ingredients
Flour – 1 cup
Salt – ½ cup
Water – ½ cup
Food coloring (optional)
Materials
Mixing bowl
Spoon (or fork)
1 cup measuring cup
½ cup measuring cup
Step 1: Wash your hands!
Step 2: Get out all of the ingredients and materials.
Step 3: Measure 1 cup of flour and pour it into your mixing bowl.
Step 4: Measure ½ cup of salt, pour it into the bowl, and mix it into the flour using your spoon.
Step 5: Measure ½ cup of water, pour it into the mixture, and mix with your spoon.
Step 6: Take the dough out of the bowl and knead with your hands until it is less clumpy.
Step 7: If the dough is too dry, add a little more water. If it is too sticky, add a little more flour.
Step 8: If you want to add food coloring, start with one drop – be careful not to stain anything!
Step 9: Keep kneading with your hands until the dough has an even color and consistency. And there you have it, your play dough!
ABC’s wonderful Iona interns have created more virtual activities for children and youth at home. These six activities are suitable for varying age groups.
In this video, Kristan and Kendrick get you thinking with six clever and fun riddles. This video is geared toward pre-teens and teens.
Have a fun paper airplane competition with your family to see who can fold and fly the best airplane! You can make the contest more interesting by having a little prize for the winner. This will be a great activity for families with children of all ages.
The traveling water experiment is a great way to teach children about capillary action and transpiration, and it is good for children aged 3 and up. To do this, you just need two cups, water, and a paper towel. Food coloring is optional.
Since so many of our children enjoyed the first feelings game, we produced this second video. Children are encouraged to think about different emotions and reflect on times when they experienced them.
In this video, Caitlin, Jordyn, Sophie, Katie, and Erin recollect their favorite moments from each video they have created through a game of Charades.
For more virtual games like these, please go here.