Well, hello, beautiful peeps! How are you doing? Since my last blog post, man, how things have changed and shifted in the world. Many of us are unexpectedly at home with our kids since school districts across the nation are closed, businesses are moving to a work-from-home situation, and restaurants are closing down to prevent the spread of what we’ve all come to know as the Coronavirus.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably finding yourself working from home with little ones crowding your workspace. What is even happening?! Our kids are stuck at home, spring break is over, yet summer isn’t here. Times are weird.
And yet, the show must go on! We still have work do to. Littles are getting restless, and we have a long, unprecedented road ahead of us. My kids are begging to go to Target and our favorite restaurants, and right now the answer is a hard no.
So what are we doing, mamas? We’re doing what mamas do best and MARCHING ON. There are tons that we can do at home to keep our kids entertained! Our school district is starting an at-home e-learning experience next week, and Charlotte’s wonderful 1st grade teacher has been such a huge help with fun resources we can use at home as well. Are your school districts doing something similar? We have access to our school’s online learning apps from Clever, and Charlotte has been reading a ton.
We’ve also been taking full advantage of the many free resources people have been so generous to give in this challenging (but temporary) time of “social distancing.” It’s still hard to even wrap my mind around what’s going on, but here we are!
Here’s a round up of all the best free resources I have found so far to keep your littles entertained and to keep yourself a little more sane. Let me know if you have anything to add!
BEST FREE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
Things We’ve Tried
- Scholastic Learn-at-Home For grades PreK through 12, Scholastic has put together these wonderful helpful learning packs for FREE because of the school closures. There will be 20 days’ worth of virtual books to read, paired with a video and activity for the day. Charlotte has loved going through these virtual lessons!
- Sarah Jane Sarah is the incredible artist who illustrated one of our favorite books, Lola Dutch. She will be offering free video art lessons and sending free printable activities for children. We’ve used these every day this week!
- Prodigy Game This is such a cool tool for our little MATH wizards! It’s setup like a game and to move on to the next “level” you have to complete math problems.
- The Kennedy Center with Mo Willems Do a daily lunch doodle with children’s book author and illustrator Mo Willems. Every day at 1 p.m. ET for the next few weeks, Mo will host a doodle session from his studio. Set a reminder via Facebook invite here, then stream it live at The Kennedy Center.
Best Lesson Plans & Subject Based Learning
- Scholastic Learn-at-Home For grades PreK through 12, Scholastic has put together these wonderful helpful learning packs for FREE because of the school closures. There will be 20 days’ worth of virtual books to read, paired with a video and activity for the day. Charlotte has loved going through these virtual lessons!
- Khan Academy If your kids are older, try one of these these sample daily educational breakdowns from Khan Academy. They offer suggestions from PreK all the way up to 12th grade. Find a comprehensive Google Doc here. This doc is GOLD.
- Other Goose Founded by Erin Loechner, Other Goose is a resource for homeschooling moms with daily lesson ideas. Other Goose is free for the next three weeks.
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Prodigy Game This is such a cool tool for our little MATH wizards! It’s setup like a game and to move on to the next “level” you have to complete math problems.
- Squiggle Park Reading Fun READING app recommended by tons of school districts and teachers.
- Mystery Doug Here comes the SCIENCE lessons! Mystery Science pulled their most popular science lessons and are offering them for anyone to use for free. No account or login is needed. Tons of mini lessons and full lessons, for kinder through 5th.
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National Geographic Kids Tons of fun SCIENCE activities, lessons, and videos here and more!
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Typing Club Remember learning how to type in school? Some of us learned with a real typewriter, now our kids have access to video tutorials like this one! A great WRITING lesson for these little learners.
- Diary of a Not So Wimpy Teacher Here you’ll find her awesome WRITING lessons straight from two weeks of teaching opinion writing in her classroom.
- History for Kids One of my favorites subjects in school was SOCIAL STUDIES. History is the coolest, and this website is filled with so many amazing articles, worksheets and even a quiz on each section. You’ll find cool games, videos, and worksheets about tons of historical events.
- Ed Helper Daily Learning Workbooks to download and print out are here! I checked them out and they are amazing! Tons of WRITING and MATH worksheets are included.
- Maker Stations This PDF contains 15 Maker Station, targeted to design thinking challenges for elementary students, emphasizing skills in ENGINEERING, ART, MATH, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, and MUSIC. 15 Maker Station options are provided for 3 weeks of daily home activities. Download a QR Code reader app, and you’re good to go!
Fun Activities & DIYs
- Sarah Jane Sarah is the incredible artist who illustrated one of our favorite books, Lola Dutch. She will be offering free video art lessons and sending free printable activities for children. We’ve used these every day this week!
- Busy Toddler Susie’s account is one of my absolute favorites to follow. She has shared TONS of ideas for at-home-play using simple material. She’s also offering 25% off her Playing Preschool e-book with code HOME25.
- Bookmark this list of low-cost (and no-cost) indoor activities to keep little kids entertained. I also have these fun activities on the blog and will be doing these again soon!
- Storyline is offering videos of celebrities reading favorite children’s books. This is adorable! They’re also sharing on Instagram; lots of new faces!
- Story Time From Space Listen to astronauts tell stories from space. How cool is that?!
- Sesame Street Watch the Healthy Habits video series from Sesame Street — then print the free activity book that goes along with it. The printable book covers healthy foods, easy games and exercises, and practicing good hygiene. (Wash those hands! 👏)
- The Kennedy Center with Mo Willems Do a daily lunch doodle with children’s book author and illustrator Mo Willems. Every day at 1 p.m. ET for the next few weeks, Mo will host a doodle session from his studio. Set a reminder via Facebook invite here, then stream it live at The Kennedy Center.
- Highlights Kids Activities, jokes, games, and more! Just like the magazine we all used to love as a kid. Also, check out their kid-tailored crafts and recipes.
- Wendy MacNaughton Drawing Class Stream a kids’ drawing class from illustrator Wendy MacNaughton. It’ll be held every day this week at 10 a.m. PT on Instagram Live.
- GoNoodle Burn off extra energy with kids’ dance routines from GoNoodle. Like this one from Trolls! They’ve also got a great Indoor Recess movement series.
- Cosmic Kids Yoga Try a yoga session from Cosmic Kids Yoga! They even have ones themed for Frozen and Minecraft.
- Kid-Friendly Recipes Make a fun snack that your kids can help with like these:
Free Printables
- The Measured Mom Ana has us covered with so many free activities and printables for preschoolers and early readers! She shared this blog post with tons of fun activities to do with your preschooler when school is cancelled. She also has this amazing post with 120 Print & Play Math games.
- Crayola If you’re looking for extra pages for your littles to color, Crayola has free coloring pages to print out, even Disney coloring pages! Find the free printable Disney coloring pages from Crayola here.
- Arin Solange at Home My friend Arin just shared these amazing printables about emotions! Such great printouts for our toddlers.
- Paisley & Sparrow Jen from Paisley & Sparrow just shared these coloring pages, and they are the cutest! Because you can never have too many free printables right now.
123Homeschool4Me Make use of thousands of free K-12 worksheets and printables. Find the full archive at 123Homeschool4Me.
Shows & Virtual Tours
- Best Educational Netflix Shows Sometimes tv shows can’t be beat. I found two roundups! One roundup here on Olive & Tate and another list of kid-friendly educational shows here. Add them to your Netflix queue! Technically not free if you don’t have Netflix right now, but see if a family member will share their login info if you don’t have access. ;)
- Broadway Shows on PBS Not exactly free, but worth mentioning! Sign up to make a $5 monthly donation to your local PBS, and you’ll have access to see a taping of a broadway show! Some favorites like Sound of Music and 42nd Street are included.
- Virtual Museum & Theater Field Trips Take a virtual field trip to a museum or theater. Tour everything from Boston’s Children’s Museum to The Louvre in France. Due to closures, New York’s Metropolitan Opera House will also stream a program every night through 3/31. Find the schedule here, then watch here.
- Virtual Zoo & Aquarium Tours Keep watch on a zoo or aquarium. The Smithsonian’s National Zoo has webcams on their pandas, lions, and elephants. And the Georgia Aquarium lets you watch their beluga whales, penguins, and piranhas.
Parenting Resources
- Simplicity Parenting A great book on Audible if you’re looking for one (paperback also available on Amazon). Full of great ideas to do with kids.
- Live Science has a great Q&A article with quick answers for parents to share when kids ask questions about Coronavirus.
- PBS also has a great article about talking to kids about Coronavirus, with links to a few great Daniel Tiger episodes.
- Common Sense Media (one of my favorite sites for vetting kids shows and movies) has a list of the 25 Best Podcasts for Kids. Great for kids to sit still, close their eyes, and listen to during a quiet time.
And last but not least, here is a HUGE list saved in a Google Doc with all the educational companies offering free subscriptions due to schools closing.
Stay safe, healthy, and wash your hands! It might be Jumanji up in here for a little bit, but we can do this!
