We See You Caregivers! And we are here to help!

Dear Caregivers,

We see you.

It’s been a stressful year. We have all been thrown into distance learning, many of us with little to no knowledge of how to make it work. We have kids ranging from highly agreeable and self-sufficient, to kids who need our constant attention and who push back no matter how hard we try. Now that summer is in full swing we’re faced with the challenge of trying to keep these kids active, both physically and mentally, because we need to work against summer learning loss and we want our children occupied by activities that spark curiosity and creativity.

Hang in there, the Springfield Museums Family Engagement Program is here to help!

We have resources to share whether you can visit our campus of five beautiful, kid-friendly museums in person or you need our help shipped by mail. We can facilitate time for you and your family to create some fun and lasting memories together. We can also facilitate learning.

Emotional connection, fun, and information all support learning and help kids retain knowledge. When they access that information later, tied to the time they spent with you this summer, it will help cement new facts and concepts permanently. No matter how difficult this year has been, it’s still true that you are their first and best teachers!

This summer we are introducing new Museum at Home activity kits. Your family can enjoy these as completely freestanding activities at home, with or without, before or after a visit to our campus. Our first kit, Summer Spectacular Activity Kit, is chock full of hands-on activities related to this summer’s special exhibits and our permanent collections. Kids in grades PreK-5 can look forward to science experiments and demos, art-making, thematic scavenger hunts to do at home or in your neighborhood, ideas for outdoor play, and other fun surprises, including a free signed book from the Cat in the Hat Learning Library!

We designed these kits knowing that you want a mix of actively engaging with your kids, and time to let them explore independently. You and your kids can use the kits at your own pace.

Kits are now available in our online museum store for pickup or delivery. If you have multiple kids in your household you can add extra consumable materials to make sure there’s plenty for everyone. Our second kit, Hooray for Heroes Activity Kit, will have a superhero theme and will be a perfect match to our Hooray for Superheroes virtual event, which launches August 15.  Order both at the same time and get a 10% discount.

Caregivers, we believe in you and in your kids. You’ve got this. If there are any other ways we can support you please let us know.

Jenny Powers is the Family Engagement Coordinator for the Springfield Museums.