Volume 4 | March 19 2020

Dear BASEC Community,

Setting up a productive and engaging learning environment at home is a challenge--particularly when there are other things that require our attention! We know that most parents don't have the time and energy to sift through the mountains of online material to find hidden gems. We're hopeful that the resources you received from Belmont Public Schools today, as well as the activities we developed below, can be trusted resources to direct your child's learning. And stay tuned for our new "BASEC @ Home" virtual learning site early next week, where we'll help you deliver a structured and rich routine to fill your child's day!

Take care and be well.


Kind regards,

Andrew Mountford
BASEC Founder & Executive Director
Bridging Art and Literacy @ Home
As we shift to “homeschooling” and creative ways to support our children’s learning during this time, we can find innovative ways to merge content that makes learning enriching and fun. Literacy and the arts, both performative and visual, are extremely complementary and relatively easy to implement. For example, great (and sometimes silly!) storytelling can be promoted through drama games and art activities, as shared by our BASEC @ Burbank Visual Arts Specialist, Felisia, and BASEC @ Burbank Performing Arts Specialist, Elyse .
Creativity ACTivate! with Elyse: "Act Out Loud"
Belmont Kids Online Magazine
Interested in helping to create a virtual magazine? Students who want to share stories, articles, drawings and more can submit their ideas HERE!
Lessons from Our Teachers!

STEM Projects from Kaitlyn: Recycled Material Solar System

Early Readers' Literacy Practice with Katie: Compound Words
Activity Spotlight: "Teach and Learn with the Times"
 New York Times: The Learning Network
 The Learning Network of the New York Times provides content and resources for teachers and students to use to engage in critical thought around multimedia and the world. Daily, weekly, and monthly activities are posted for students to learn from independently or with the option to engage with the NYTimes directly.
( Recommended ages 13+ years )
Important Local Resources
Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program COVID-19 Response Fund Public health organization serving over 11,000 homeless individuals and seeking important financial support to continue to help provide safe care and wellness for homeless children and families during this pandemic.

Belmont Covid-19 Resources Various contact information for hotlines and community groups addressing the COVID-19 crisis.

Belmont Connects A community list of online and virtual resources for and throughout Belmont.

Belmont Massachusetts Helps Out GoogleForm by Community Support and Resources in Response to COVID-19 in an effort to connect interested volunteers with those in need.

Belmont Food Pantry The Belmont Food Pantry will be open to ALL Belmont residents to distribute food on Saturday, March 21st starting at 8:30 a.m. with special limitations. Food donations can also be dropped off at the Belmont Food Pantry on Saturday from 10:00-11:00 am.

MEAL DRIVE-THRU HOURS: BPS meal pick-up window for Wednesday, 3/25 will be 7:30AM to 10:30AM. BPS would like to emphasize that this is a drive-thru service and advise families to stay in cars. They’ll load goods into trunk/backseat. This is for BPS students who access free and reduced lunch.

BELMONT HOUSING AUTHORITY: Providing a free “grab and go” breakfast and lunch, daily from 10:00 am -11:00 am. The BHA is located at 59 Pearson St, Belmont, MA. These are free meals for all community members 18 and younger.


Sharing Is Caring!
Many of the above resources were shared by various teachers and parents. We at BASEC love our community and believe in the notion that we learn from each other.
If you have any great resources, articles or ideas, please share with annie.gladfelter@belmontbasec.org

Additionally, if you know of anyone who does not attend BASEC but would like to be added to our email list, please have them reach out to us. We are happy to share our resources!