Getting ready for school is an exciting time. Did you know you can practice skills at home to get ready for the school year, and it is never too early to start?

Girls of Steel is a robotics program based at Carnegie Mellon University for children and young adults in grades K-12.

Being silly can help reduce stress, improve mental health, and is overall just fun! Gab Bonesso teaches us how to bring some silly into our everyday lives.
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Amanda and Michael from the Slippery Rock University Music Education Department teach us how to find and create rhythm in our everyday lives.
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In this Teachable Moment, BikePGH's Ted King-Smith teaches us how to stay safe and be seen while riding at night.
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Larry Berger and Morgan McCray of SLB Radio Productions share interviewing tips.
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Maybe you have seen cups of dirt dessert before. But did you know they represent the 4 layers of soil?
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Because learning begins at birth, it’s never too early to start sharing books with your baby.
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Stress balls can help promote mindfulness, increase focus, and ease stress. Ja'Nya and Jackson, students from WQED Film Academy teach us how to make one using the supplies that we have at home.
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Joe Stavish, the director of education at Tree Pittsburgh, explains how to estimate the age of a tree using the tools you already have at home!
More from WQED & Tree Pittsburgh
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Erin Spangler, a nutritionist with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, explains the proper ingredients for the perfect trail mix with the help of her friend Makayla.
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There are plenty of ways for you to discover the power of the wind. Teaching Artist, Dennis Garner shows us how to create a wind tunnel.
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Librarian Tiffany Harkleroad points out all of the hidden surprises in a mural and shows how kids can create their own scavenger hunt at home.
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Felicia Savage Friedman of Yoga Roots on Location teaches us a simple exercise to practice when we are feeling stressed or overwhelmed.
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Cultural food traditions are preserved by handing them down from one generation to the next. Rachel Sew shares a quick recipe of her family's tradition of making dumplings.
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Constellations are pictures we draw using stars in the night sky. Lindsay Surmacz, aka "The Starry Messenger," teaches us a few constellations using the art of circus performance.
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Children's Literacy expert Dr. Nosakhere Griffin-El finds power in books, especially in helping youngsters explore their dreams for the future.
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One cool component of jazz is "composing on the fly," says Howie Alexander, artistic director of the Afro-American Music Institute. You need to listen and practice every day.
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Make a beautiful painting - with just the materials you find at hand outside! Amber and Lydia from the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy show us how to draw using outdoor objects!
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Can you follow instructions to get to Fen and Ivy’s house for a tea?  Let’s Move Pittsburgh’s Sarah Cullo from Phipps Conservatory gives us some strenuous and fun activities that get us to our destination.
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There are many ways to recite the alphabet -- and in this Teachable Moment, Delaney Gara, shows us how to do it with our hands.
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Pittsburgh Festival Opera singer Emily Gallagher gives us a "melodious" lesson on the many ways you can use your voice!
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Stem Coding Lab Program Director Jason Hivner explains what the term "algorithm" means. He uses an "algorithm" to teach his partner to complete a simple task.
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Jim Scriven from the Pittsburgh CLO Academy explains how to use all your emotions in an acting game called, "These pretzels are making me thirsty."
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Gardener Boaz Frankel shows us common herbs found in our gardens and explains some more unusual uses.
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Attack Theatre dance company members Sarah Zielinski and Allison Popieski show us how to choreograph a dance that reflects our own personalities.
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Nora Peters, director of the Millvale Community Library turns catalogs into colorful, original pieces of art by creating collages.
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It’s all about choices: Joe Harmon, a civics teacher at Redbank Valley High School, teaches us how to prepare to vote by using the game “Cast Your Vote.” The more you learn, the better informed you are!
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Charlene Foggie-Barnett, community archivist at the Carnegie Museum of Art, shows us how to take exciting family portraits. Charlene takes her hints from Teenie Harris -- one of Pittsburgh's top photographers who chronicled the Black community for decades.
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Take common items around the house and transform your home into a sports arena. Mike Schall, a phys-ed teacher from the Bethel Park School District, shows us how to use items for sport, while staying fit and having fun!
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Science communicator Ralph Crewe takes us on a trip "up". In this Teachable Moment, "Up" is the night sky and Ralph teaches us how to always locate Polaris, the North Star.
Stars & Space Activity

Do you like stretching your mind? How about a neat way to learn shapes AND construct dozens of different puzzles? Try making a Tangram with help from Integrative Media Artist and TEKStart owner Shimira Williams.
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Cartoonist Joe Wos takes you through the process of drawing a rabbit, using only a few letters of the alphabet!

Cartoon Academy Videos and Resources

Lo Zemanek, an educator with Venture Outdoors, shows us how to build a survival shelter using materials scattered around outside like sticks and leaves. And even if there isn't enough to build one for a human being, you could still create one for a furry little stuffed animal!
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Are there are exotic critters in your backyard? Andrea Redinger is a biology teacher “extraordinaire” at Greensburg Salem High School. Mrs. Redinger, AKA Mrs. Frizzle, gives us a “hands-on” look at two exotic critters that can be found in her classroom, and encourages you to look for other wild life in your own backyard.
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Can a piece of paper hold up a stack of books? Melissa Unger, South Fayette Elementary School STEAM teacher, gives it a try. Basic concepts like building and distribution of weight are demonstrated in this fun lesson that can easily be done at home.
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Amanda Stein, a summer camp counselor at South Hills Interfaith Movement, builds an obstacle course in her driveway using chalk and some items she found around her house.
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Will Tolliver Jr., Early Learning Expert and PBS Kids Early Learning Champion, takes a walk outdoors to find and gather natural materials.
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Jasmine Hamilton, a middle school science teacher at Propel McKeesport demonstrates a cool scientific phenomenon using a bottle of water and a homemade freezer.
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Joe DiLucente and Susan McKeever, from the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit, select a letter of the alphabet and then find things around their homes that start with that letter.
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Joe Welch, North Hills Middle School American History and Social Studies teacher, shows how a neighborhood walk observing street name signs can lead to a history lesson.
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