There have been so many people panicking these days, some with good reason- job loss, stay at home orders, and schools closing. It’s been tough. But there has also been an incredible out pour of charity and free resources available for the duration of our difficulties. Here is a list of my favorites.
Mo Willems Lunch Doodles– Mo Willems is hosting a 25 minute-ish drawing lesson from his studio Monday-Friday! Dare I compare this to Mr. Rogers? He starts off telling the kids things like unexpected things are happening everywhere, for him too. I love how he is really talking to the kids and taking them seriously. He also shows the kids around his studio, which is awesome. We love the Piggy and Gerald books, and this is a personal favorite at our house.
Minecraft Educational Games– Minecraft has released 10 of its favorite educational games for free to help families whose kids are home. This just came across my radar, and I am super excited to do this with our kids! We love Minecraft!
DJ D-Nice Virtual Dance Party– He’s hosting a family friendly nightly dance party, live on instagram. He calls it, “Homeschool at Club Quarantine.”😂 That is so fun! He has created a playlist available on spotify! We have dance parties quite a bit over here, I am excited to turn our home into a little kid friendly club.
Celebrities Reading Kids’ Books– Operation Storytime was started by voice of Olaf, Josh Gad, and some other celebrity friends.
Audible-Audible just launched a free kids’ book program, to help families while we are all social distancing. There are hundreds of titles in their library. This will offer a welcome break from all the screen time!
Scholastic Learn From Home-Scholastic has created daily learning and reading activities that are grade specific. With all the libraries closed, this is a wonderful way to bring in more stories to your home, free!
Stuck at Home Science– The Califronia Science Center is hosting videos of fun science projects, with ideas for how you can conduct fun experiments using everyday household items!
Tinkergarten– Tinkergarten has a lot of great ideas for engaging kids in play outside. They are hosting live, virtual classes every Tuesday for about 20 minutes, along with some fun ideas to continue the outdoor play throughout the week. They also have a page on their website full of outdoor play ideas, sorted by age.
Virtual Museum Tours– There are many museums that have created virtual tours. If you are going stir crazy, this is a great way to feel like you are going out and exploring- or to pique your curiosity and plan a future trip!
Virtual National Parks Tours-By the same token, you can go see some natural wonders, right from the comfort of the internet. Google Earth launched a pretty cool tool.
There are more free resources being launched right now, and it is inspiring to see the creative way businesses are trying to help everyone while we are all stir crazy and social distancing. Let’s take advantage of exploring the world from our homes.
What are your favorite resources that you’ve been using while stuck at home?