How to keep kids busy
It is a crazy time we are living now. Most of us find ourselves suddenly in the position of working from home while taking care of our kids and homeschooling them. Finding balance can seem daunting or even overwhelming. Here are some ideas for resources we have been using that can also help your family survive.
Watching videos is fun and easy
Scholastic
Scholastic has created “Scholastic Learn at Home:” a website to help parents and caregivers enrich their children’s time at home during quarantine.
The free resource will provide three hours per day of “exciting learning experiences” for the next 20 days with loads of virtual field trips, projects, author interviews, and the like. The engaging educational activities may be done in any order and are for kids from pre-K through grade 9.
https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html
All in One Homeschool
Free curriculum for online homeschooling, 180-day lesson plans for preschool activities to 12-th grade https://allinonehomeschool.com
Khan Academy
Khan Academy is your friend. over 4600 online videos teaching all subjects.
Free learning and discovery with a fun educational program for children ages two to seven. Or older kids could try the 3rd-grade math course on Khan Academy, below.
link: https://www.khanacademy.org/khan-for-educators/khan-kids-page
Duolingo
This is a good language learning app, Quizlet is my favorite flashcards resources.https://quizlet.com/subject/duolingo/
Cyberchase PBS Kids
Elementary math: Cyberchase is online; you can watch fun full episodes at the Cyberchase website https://pbskids.org/cyberchase/videos
Tynker
This is an educational programming platform aimed at teaching children how to make games and programs. Instead of typing the source code, you visually drag blocks of code and snap them together. The visual design and principles are based on the free Scratch, just like Hopscotch and Snap!ttps://www.tynker.com/parents
National Geographic Kids. https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
YouTube Channels
Crash Course Kids
Kids Learning Tube
Cooking
Including your kids in the kitchen gives them a chance to explore different flavors and foods. Besides they might like to take ownership of the recipes they have helped with. Cooking together is not only a great learning experience, but also teaches them match, teamwork, and to eat yummy food that everyone will have fun making too!
The kitchen is a classroom with “America’s Test Kitchen: Kids,” which is offering almost all of its online content for free right now. Among its many online offerings are salt art projects, onion chopping classes, and easy-to-follow recipes for everything from sesame noodles with snow peas and carrots to yummy vanilla ice cream.
Indoor Play
1. Make a cardboard fort
From all those packages you are receiving from Amazon, put those empty boxes out in the garage to good use! Create a house, castle, fort, or food stand.
2. Set up a treasure hunt
Treasure hunts are pretty easy and depending on how many items there are, it could last a while. Hide anywhere from 10 to 20 items around the house or outside to keep kids occupied for a few hours.
3. E-visit the Louvre
Transport you and your family to Paris, France by taking a digital tour of one of the most famous international museums, the Louvre.
4. Have an indoor picnic
Grab a sheet, whatever food you have, and enjoy a living room picnic (without the ants). You can even play that memory game at the same time: “I’m going to a picnic and I’m bringing…” Each person takes turns remembering (in order) what everyone is bringing and then adds one thing each turn.
5. Keep to a schedule
Schools may be closed but one of the ways to keep things running efficiently at home is to stick to a schedule.
6. Listen to an astronaut read from space
Storytime From Space is unlike any other kind of storytime; NASA astronauts read stories to kids while they float around in space.
7. Join a free virtual arts & crafts lesson
McHarper Manor is offering a free arts and crafts lesson on Facebook Live every day at 1 PM EST. You can check out their supply list for what you’ll need for the first few projects on their website.
8. Listen to a children’s book reading
Chris Van Dusen has written and illustrated children’s books throughout the years. Now, for quarantined families, he’s treating readers to recordings of each of his books on Instagram Live.
9. Discover BrainPop
BrainPop is an educational resource that provides lesson plans for all kinds of subjects—even health, arts and music, and engineering and technology.
10. Try some STEM activities
STEM activities are great for learning and educating kids about science and math.
Play chess
Teach your kids chess
Every kid could benefit from learning the strategies of chess.
Kids will love learning the ins and outs of this strategy game. And if they’re already pros? Challenge them to a chess Olympics!
Do exercise
Do Yoga
The YouTube account Cosmic Kids Yoga has all kinds of yoga-for-kids videos. It’s not just for kids, either; you can all do yoga together as a family!
Dance, mediate, and get moving
That might not seem like one individual idea but you can do all three with GoNoodle. GoNoodle encourages kids (and families!) to get moving, whether that’s dancing, meditating, or just jumping around!
Join a Facebook Live dance party with DJ Mel
DJ Mel in Austin, Texas, is hosting a weekly kid-friendly “Living Room Dance Party” on his Facebook page. Join the fun here! Thousands have been tuning in, so get ready for fun.
Set up outdoor gym class
obstacle course, anyone?
Ultimately, stick with what works for you and your family and be ready to drop things that don’t work. At the end of the day, our goal is to get through this time without reducing enthusiasm for learning or family relationships. Other concerns are secondary. If our kids emerge from this experience healthy, with memories full of adventure, keeping up, and strengthening their love of learning, then the rest is just details. Most importantly, try not to worry. Remember, we are all in this together, and everyone else is in the same situation.
We got this!
