Plus, the perfect family selfie, Sesame Street memes, orangutan craziness
|  | Sunday, August 16, 2020 | | | | |
 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY IZUSEK, GETTY IMAGES | | By Rachel Buchholz, KIDS AND FAMILY Editor in Chief
I loved going back to school: organizing my brand-new organizer, wearing new jeans that would finally make me cool, carrying my awesome new Donny-and-Marie lunch box. Mix all those with the exciting potential of new friends, and the upcoming school year made me feel like I—at 10 years old—was getting a fresh start on life.
I sincerely hope that right now, kids are just as excited about going back to school. But it’s got to be tough. Most have been learning from home since March or April and have had a severely limited summer, all with the promise that they’d likely return to school in the fall. For some it’s happening. For others, it’s just confusion: Schools open one day but close the next; other districts debate over how serious an outbreak should be in order to send children home again.
The insane whiplash of information leaves parents struggling to figure out how to prepare their children for a safe, effective learning experience that won’t completely derail their education. “We’re still learning what the long-term effects include—emotional, social, physical, and academic,” says Ebony Terrell Shockley, executive director of Teacher Education at the University of Maryland, in this Nat Geo article about strategies to ease kids into this unusual school year.
Part of it is just having conversations about what to expect, whether it’s gently telling in-school students to forget about recess this year, or stressing to virtual students about the importance of online respect (and earphones). Keep reaching out to your school’s counselors. Support—and stay in touch with—your child’s teacher by volunteering, perhaps with a Zoom demonstration of your own talents or by purchasing wipes for each kid’s desk. (Tell us how you’re preparing your child for back-to-school.)
And, of course, children should understand that they should never, ever trade masks with another child—no matter how cool that Donny-and-Marie covering probably is.
If you want to get this newsletter every week, sign up here. If you want your kids to get Nat Geo Kids magazine, subscribe here. For Nat Geo Little Kids, subscribe here. | | | |
 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY EVERETT COLLECTION INC., ALAMY | | Votes for women: Joe Biden’s recent announcement of his choice for his vice presidential running mate, Senator Kamala Harris of California, was just a week ahead of Tuesday’s 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave U.S. women the right to vote. Talking to kids about politics and elections can be tough, but these tips from Common Sense Media can help break it down by your child’s age range. Or go the education route and teach your future voter about the long fight to give women a voice at the ballot box, as well as some of the heroes who made it happen.
Tips from a Nat Geo photographer: Summer’s still officially around for another month or so, but your children’s heads will soon be more occupied with surviving the school year than summer fun. Memorialize these last few weeks of (relative) freedom in this unprecedented time with a family selfie. Nat Geo photographer Erika Larsen reveals some expert tips on lighting, framing, and, well, long arms. | | | |
 | PHOTOGRAPH BY MAYUR KAKADE, GETTY IMAGES
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 | PHOTOGRAPH BY ROTASOV AN, SHUTTERSTOCK
| | Stay in your lane: According to some stats, about 30 percent of trips in the Netherlands (above) are on bikes; in the U.S., it’s less than 1 percent (in urban areas). The pandemic might be changing some of that, as more families explore alternative transportation options for work and school while the country continues to slowly open back up. (Plus biking is, you know, good exercise.) This NPR report is a great guide to get families started: how to do it, what you need, and how to stay safe.
Brought to you by the letter L (for laughs): Perhaps you’ve seen the gifs inspired by Reese Witherspoon showcasing the pandemic in personal monthly meltdown photo grids. But we’re loving this spoof on the moment from Sesame Street, featuring a happy Elmo in January, confused Cookie Monster in June (perhaps stress-eating like the rest of us), and nothing but Oscar the Grouch since July. Sounds about right.
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| TRY THIS: BOREDOM BUSTERS FOR KIDS | |
 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY MANOJ SHAH, GETTY IMAGES | | | |
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