Activities & Fun

Adult and teenager version – perfect for high school and upper middle school!

Virtual ZOO field trips, learn crafts, kids yoga, concerts, science Fridays, theatre performances, story time, martial arts, wellness and mental health, creating art with household objects, Art-Science-Nature Class, balloon sculpting, sing-alongs, and SO MUCH MORE!

Online Field Trips/Tours

🔴Explore the surface of Mars on the Curiosity Rover. https://accessmars.withgoogle.com/

🔴This iconic museum located in the heart of London allows virtual visitors to tour the Great Court and discover the ancient Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies. https://britishmuseum.withgoogle.com/

🔴The San Diego Zoo has a website just for kids with amazing videos, activities, and games. Enjoy the tour! https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/

🔴Tour Yellowstone National Park! https://www.nps.gov/…/lea…/photosmultimedia/virtualtours.htm

🔴Alaskan Wildlife cams http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=viewing.webcams

🔴This Canadian site FarmFood 360 offers 11 Virtual Tours of farms from minks, pigs, and cows, to apples and eggs. https://www.farmfood360.ca/

🔴Travel to Paris, France to see amazing works of art at The Louvre with this virtual field trip. https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne

🔴This Virtual Tour of the Great Wall of China is beautiful and makes history come to life. https://www.thechinaguide.com/destinati…/great-wall-of-china

🔴This interactive website, hosted by the U.S. Government Publishing Office, allows your child to see the ins and outs of the U.S. government by taking a series of learning adventures with none other than Benjamin Franklin. https://bensguide.gpo.gov/

🔴No need to travel to one of the Smithsonian’s zoos or museums — this website brings your child everything from live video of the National Zoo to the Smithsonian Learning Lab right to their screen https://www.si.edu/kids

🔴This educational website hosted by the Smithsonian Museum takes a deep dive into ocean life. https://ocean.si.edu/

How to get a MERGE Cube

Buy a beautiful, foam merge cube on Amazon for only $20 or find them for lower prices on various sites.

On a budget? Aren't sure you'll like it? Just want something to keep your kids busy for a few days?

Print your own mini merge cube and use the FREE apps!

Read-Alouds for Elementary School Kids

These authors are offering read-alouds of their books and books by their favorite authors.

The author will be doing read-alouds on Instagram Live of her book Mae Among the Stars.

Reading one of her books each day on Facebook!

The author will be reading a book a day on Instagram Live. It does not appear that he will be adding the videos to his website at this time.

She is hosting DRAW ME MORE: a Read-Along/ Draw-Along activity on her website. She’s already shared an 11 chapter, chapter book (reading level grades 2-4) called MASON & THE MEGA-NAUTS.

Author and illustrator of It Came in the Mail; Rot, the Cutest in the World; and upcoming Rot, the Bravest in the World. He has scheduled two read-aloud sessions on Facebook. March 18 (2 PM EST) and March 20 (5 PM EST).

Julia Cook, bestselling children’s author, will be doing Monday and Friday readings on Facebook Live at 9:00 AM CST!

He is the grandson of famed sea explorer Jacques Cousteau, and a third-generation ocean explorer and filmmaker. He is the author of the Fabien Cousteau Expeditions, a series of graphic adventure novels for kids, the latest of which is JOURNEY UNDER THE ARCTIC. He will be doing a live Shark Story Time reading on March 23rd at 3:00 PM and will have a live Q&A on March 24th at 10:00 AM.

The author reads various Pete the Cat books daily at 12 PM EDT

Enjoy a reading of Falatko’s book, Snappsy the Alligator (Did Not Ask to Be in This Book), by Stranger Things actor, David Harbour. This read-aloud comes with a teacher’s guide.

Oprah Winfrey reads Godin’s book, The Hula-Hoopin’ Queen, which is accompanied by a handy teacher’s guide.

The author has added a collection of videos of herself reading from her picture books on Instagram. You may also learn more about her books on her website.

Reads 3 chapters from “Miss Blake is a Flake” each day at 2:00 PM EDT, but you can also view archives!

Bruce has posted a series of writing tips videos on this page of his website and a read-aloud of my book, BIG BAD BABY, on YouTube, with more to come.

The author will be reading one book every day on Instagram Live. Can’t make it? He’ll also be posting the videos to his website.

Award-winning author and illustrator, Susan is reading books aloud on her YouTube channel. This one is the first chapter of her new book, THE STORY OF RUTH BADER GINSBURG.

Live every day at noon EDT on Instagram Live. Her stories stay up each day for 24 hours.

Activities and videos from the New York Times bestselling author of How I Became a Pirate and other amazing books.

Upcoming author Brittany Thurman reads aloud Medina’s book, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy.

A former classroom teacher, Messner has written more than three dozen books for kids. She’s put together a library of distance learning resources for students, families, teachers, and librarians.

Author, illustrator, and founder of FableVision. Find Peter’s weekday read-aloud events on Facebook at noon EDT, Monday through Friday.

Young kids will enjoy this great read-aloud of Where Are My Books? The author also provides a teacher’s guide, drawing demos and shares a crowd-sourced music video based on the book.

Follow the story of A Bad Case of Stripes as read by Lord of the Rings actor, Sean Astin. Then, work through the helpful teacher’s guide.

Learn the story of The House That Jane Built as read by The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina actress, Kiernan Shipka. You may access activity guides for teachers or for parents.

She is reading a chapter a day from her book Henry and the Chalk Dragon on Facebook live!

Virtual Author Activities for Middle School

Read-alouds and reading activities from favorite authors.

The author has put together reading activities around his Cogheart Adventures. He’s even created Q&A videos on YouTube.

Sarah is adding readings, mini-lessons, and prompts to her page! Follow along and get inspired to get reading and writing.

Find Daily live drawing sessions on Facebook! Tony DiTerlizzi is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator who has been creating books for twenty years. He created The Spiderwick Chronicles with Holly Black, which has sold millions of copies around the world. His highly anticipated sequel to Kenny and the Dragon, KENNY & THE BOOK OF BEASTS, releases this fall.

Listen to a read-aloud of Henderson’s The Magic in Changing Your Stars and then work through the writing challenge (with hints!) listed on author Kate Messner’s site: Who is Ailey Benjamin Lane named after?

This official PDF teaching guide is a great learning resource for your middle schooler to think about and discuss the beloved Diary of a Wimpy Kid series!

Watch Knowles read the first chapter of her middle grade novel, Where the Heart Is, while giving students a fun writing exercise. She’s also created guides for teachers and book groups on her website.

Author of the Lunch Lady graphic novel series, Krosoczka will be hosting a daily drawing webcast on YouTube at 2 PM EDT. You can also find videos on his website. Be sure to also check out his National Book Award Finalist, Hey Kiddo.

The author behind Enginerds has created some cool worksheets that will be updated every few days to keep kids entertained and engaged. These activities may be a good addition to your distance learning resources.

The author and illustrator has taken to YouTube to provide a glimpse into Chinese culture and a guide for drawing Chinese dragons.

Author of One for the Murphys, Fish in a Tree, and Shouting at the Rain, she has put together several videos for readers and teachers online.

He is reading a chapter a day from Book 1 of the Wingfeather Saga, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness.

You may have to change the season or specific circumstances, but this collection of writing prompts is a great way to help your student build literacy skills, while giving them a chance to express themselves.

What better series for middle schoolers than the famous Harry Potter books? You probably loved them, and now you have the chance to introduce your children into the Wizarding World. Use this handy discussion guide that covers the first four books to bring an academic approach to your own little wizards’ education.

Neal Shusterman is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty award-winning books for children, teens, and adults, including the Arc of a Scythe series. “With so many people working and learning from home due to the coronavirus (COVID-19), I wanted to give you all something special. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be doing some readings from my short story collections: MINDQUAKES and MINDSTORMS.” Available on Youtube.

The nonfiction science book author has created engaging video mini-lessons including a similes worksheet, researching skills, and more.

Mo Willems invites you into his studio every day for his lunch doodle! Grab some paper and pencils, pens, or crayons and join Mo to explore ways of writing and making together while he chats about his characters Pigeon, Piggie, and Elephant.

Virtual Author Activities for High School & Young Adults

Even more resources for tweens and teens.

The author of The Jumbies series has created videos of mini-lessons on comparative mythology and has added valuable distance learning resources, including downloadables for teachers and parents, to her website.

Due to public health concerns, these YA authors sadly had to cancel all in-person events for the release of BETWEEN BURNING WORLDS in March, and are connecting with readers through a virtual book tour.

Emily Dickenson

High school students may have discovered the timeless magic of Emily Dickinson. This teaching guide includes multimedia and discussion questions for The Essential Emily Dickinson collection.

Fans of the author of The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns? Here’s a link to some discussion questions surrounding his works. Green has also co-created Crash Course, a website that provides high-quality educational videos for high school and college-level classes. Students, parents, and teachers alike could be entertained for hours without ever leaving the site!

Looking for writing prompts? This author has put together a list of prompts to get students thinking outside of the box.

To go along with his collection of youth novels, Hobbs has created resources and activities for teachers and librarians.

Check out the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read Learning Guide for Silver Sparrow by this NEA creative writing fellow.

Want to learn more about writing an etheree (a ten-line poem in which writers add an additional syllable with each line)? Scanlon has a video lesson all about them!

Ready to work on some poetry? It can be tough to know where to start, but Sidman has created a poem starters for teachers and students, and even has categories for Younger Writers or Older Writers.

Students or kids reading Thomas’ The Hate U Give? You’ll find some good distance learning resources for discussion questions and projects on this website.

NEW MOVIE LINKS – Birds of Prey, Sonic, Charlie's Angels & More!

(When hosting a Netflix party, everyone has to have their own Netflix account)

It you want to laugh out loud, then watch this little girl share 16 ways to cure quarantine boredom!

"Go" to the Movie Theatre as a family!

COVID-19 Time Capsule PRINTABLE Worksheets

Games and Activities

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    1. Pull out any not-yet-used holiday gifts

    2. Play “jump the river”

    3. Make a timeline

    4. Read a good book

    5. Join Audible and listen to books together

    6. Research your Family Tree

    7. Have an indoor campout

    8. Start some indoor seed plantings

    9. Indoor Scavenger Hunt

    10. Build an outside fort

    11. Build a blanket fort or tent

    12. Hand-Clapping games like Miss Mary Mack, Double Double, and Tic-Tac-Toe

    13. Mad Libs

    14. Go on a Bearhunt

    15. Huckle Buckle Beanstalk

    16. Hide something sweet and create a Treasure Map for the kids to follow

    17. Learn Morse Code

    18. Invent your own code

    19. Build a house of cards

    20. Memorize the state capitals

    21. Learn some yoga poses

    22. Meditate with help from Headspace for Kids (free trial)

    23. Play balloon volleyball

    24. Look at old photos and share their memories

    25. Write old-fashioned letters and postcards

    26. Make gratitude lists

    27. Play charades

    28. Invent a card game

    29. Learn a few magic tricks

    30. Using stuff from around your house, set up a bowling lane

    31. Mark out a hopscotch field with masking/duct tape

    32. Speak only in Pig Latin

    33. Thumb wrestle

    34. Play MASH

    35. Play Hangman

    36. Plan a family vacation

    37. Learn about nautical flags and how to communicate with them

    38. Learn the parts of a sailboat

    39. Play dress up

    40. Teach your kids how to play black jack (it helps with math skills after all)

    41. Play the silent game

    42. Have a staring contest

    43. Learn some yo-yo tricks

    44. Build the biggest LEGO/block tower in history

    45. Make shadow puppets

    46. Have a tea party

    47. Have a doll or stuffed animal wedding

    48. Play Simon Says

    49. Talk with an accent

    50. Make a stuffed animal zoo

    51. Learn a little American Sign Language for kids

    52. Invent a new sport

    53. Polish the silver (raise your hand if you have your grandmother’s silverware or cute bud vases!)

    54. Do a puzzle

    55. Invent your own nation

    56. Memorize all the Presidents

    57. Memorize all the states and capitals

    58. Match up your socks, roll them up, and have a sock fight

    59. Play dominoes (extra credit for making your own)

    60. Teach your kids how to play Solitaire

    61. Make your own Bingo game

    62. Bust out the flashlights and go on a “ghost” hunt

    63. Learn how to tie cool knots

    64. Go on the Duolingo app and learn a new language for free

    65. Make your own crossword puzzles

    66. Make your own Sudoku

    67. Practice drilling holes in scrap wood

    68. Hammer nails into scrap wood

    69. Read to the pets or Grandparents (via Facetime/Skype)

    70. Play with their older toys

    71. Learn coding for Free through MIT

    72. Go on a Sunday Drive any day of the week

    73. Make a dollhouse with shoe boxes

    74. Empty furniture from the middle of a room and do somersaults across it (notice we did not say cartwheels!)

    75. Teach your old dog (or new puppy) new tricks

    76. Play the game Clue using real props, costumes, and rooms in your house

    77. Have a backyard camp fire (if your city or town allows it)

    78. Play Alligator

    79. DIY manis and pedis


Clean/Fix

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    1. Put on your "Bob the Builder" caps

    2. Encourage and help your kids re-do their rooms

    3. Make a new play space by cleaning part of your attic or basement

    4. Sort the toys

    5. Find, sort and wrap all your loose change

    6. Print your photos and write on the backs of them for posterity

    7. Clean out your junk drawer(s) together and find family treasures

    8. Alphabetize your spices

    9. Tighten knobs/handles

    10. Look for squeaky doors and spritz with WD-40

    11. Wash the windows (your kids will love using the spray bottle)

    12. Alphabetize your books

    13. Match your socks, and then have a sock fight

    14. Hang your favorite picture

    15. Dust your baseboards (your littlest ones might like this best)

    16. Make your own eyeglass cleaner

    17. Make your own household cleaner

    18. Clean out your closet and collect too-small clothes to donate

    19. Find household stuff you no longer need and give it away on your local Freecycle

    20. Make a paradise for your pets! Clean out your fish tank / hamster cage / bird cage etc.

    21. Find all of the available house paint and decide either to throw it away or plan your next project that uses it - freshen up a wall or some trim!

    22. Get yourself some free "new" clothes: Sew rips / patch your jeans / sew on missing buttons

    23. Clean out, vacuum, and disinfect your car

    24. Corral and sort the 10,000 charger cords in your house

    25. Create an Easy and Great-Looking Workspace With Lots of Storage Underneath

    26. Change your smoke detector batteries

    27. Install smoke detectors

    28. Organize/purge kids art together

Attack glow-sticks to your kids for a hilarious dance in the dark!

Plan

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  1. Plan your next birthday party (theme, place, cake, decorations)

  2. Plan an any-occasion or no-occasion party

  3. Plan for summer camp (things to remember, and look up on the top of this KidsOutAndAbout.com page under our "Classes and Camps" menu)

  4. Plan a staycation (look for our 101 Family Day Trips article under "Resources" on your local menu above)

  5. Plan a bucket list from our Top 20 Places to Take Local Kids article as voted by local parents - find it under Favorites on our menu above

  6. Plan a dream vacation

  7. Plan a realistic vacation (where, when, how, what to pack, links to venues in the region)

  8. Plan a month of educational theme days (themes like nature, sports, music, robots, Hamilton, or whatever)

  9. Plan your day-by-day pandemic menu

  10. Plan something to make each day

  11. Plan your family's fire escape plan and have a fire drill

  12. Plan a garden

  13. Plan for higher education: High school kids can research colleges and scholarships, and brainstorm college essays


Cook

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Science Experiments at Home

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  1. Experiments from San Francisco's Exploratorium: "Science Snacks" in...

    1. Astronomy

    2. Biology

    3. Chemistry

    4. Earth Science

    5. Engineering

    6. Environmental

    7. Perception

    8. Physics

  2. Experiments from Spangler Science (a leprechaun trap, oobleck monsters, flying toilet paper, homemade root beer...)

  3. Experiments from Science Cafe (homemade ice cream, lava lamps, naked eggs, a shrunken head...)

  4. Kitchen Science Resources from the Franklin Institute:

    1. Emulsions

    2. Grapes in the microwave

    3. Ice cream

    4. pH indicator

    5. Yeast

    6. Gooey gluten ball

Arts & Crafts

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Perform

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    1. Read a Newbery winning book, then make a 90-Second Newbery Film Festival tiny movie submission on your phone

    2. Silent Disco Party

    3. Dance Party

    4. Puppet Shows

    5. Turn a big box into a television set and put on shows (this can also double as a puppet stage)

    6. Have a Joke-a-thon

    7. Re-enact your favorite story or movie as a play

    8. Memorize a poem or two and put on a show

    9. Magic Shows

    10. Fortune Telling

    11. Read a story out loud and create your own illustrations

    12. Record your kids reading/telling their favorite story and replay it after dinner

    13. Put those music lessons to good use and have a concert (bonus points for Facetiming the grandparents while you do it)

    14. Write a rap song and perform it

    15. Perform your favorite fairy tale in dance

    16. Fill glasses with water and make music

    17. Record a family podcast on your phone to send relatives

    18. Record a pots and pans orchestra performance

Outside your Perimeter: Driveway, Yard, and Garden

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**Make sure you click on our RESOURCES link in our menu at the top of the page for plenty of ways to have fun outside and parks/trails where you can enjoy nature with your kids while staying away from others.


Links to Online Fun and Learning

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  1. 12 Famous Museums You Can Visit From Your Couch

  2. 5 rainy day toddler activities from American Baby. It works for snowy days too!

  3. Winter Gardening Activities for Kids from the Green Mountain Gardener.

  4. Help your child create an original book from a story/artwork: This service is from Tikatok.com but there are others that do this as well.

  5. Documentaries available from streaming services. So you'll feel less guilty about screen time. Updated for 2020.

  6. Online Craft classes from Creativebug.com

  7. Online coding for kids at Tynker.Com

  8. Tons of online art/craft classes for kids and teens at DIY.Org (free 14 day trial)

  9. The Kid Should See This: Smart Videos For Curious Minds of All Ages

  10. National Geographic: Kids Videos

  11. The Brain Scoop: Videos exploring all kinds of science topics with Emilie Graslie, the Chief Curiosity Correspondent of The Field Museum in Chicago

  12. Watch animal live cams at Explore.Org, including the famous Decorah Eagles

  13. Sign up for a MASTERCLASS or two with your whole family

  14. Find free educational explanations about just about any academic subject at Khan Academy

  15. Pokemon Go app: Monster Collecting at Home

  16. Nancy Drew mystery games from HER Interactive: Fun for the whole family, especially age 12 and up (younger kids may need help with the puzzles)

  17. Actors read stories on Storyline Online

  18. A list of educational companies offering free memberships due to school closings put together by the Amazing Educational Resources Facebook group

  19. Virtually tour college campuses on YouVisit.com

  20. Scholastic has launched online Learn at Home lessons

  21. Check out animal cams from a variety of zoos, including the San Diego Zoo, the National Zoo, the Houston Zoo, and more

  22. Many national parks also offer live webcams

  23. Grown and Flown suggests 100 soft skills to teach teens

  24. Amazon is offering free streaming of family shows

  25. Google offers fun arts and cultural lessons

  26. We Are Teachers has a big list of children's authors reading their books

Online Card/Board Games

Checkers, Crazy 8's, Cards Against Humanity, Go Fish, and more HERE

Charades

using a word generator + video conferencing tool HERE or HERE or a free app HERE

Pictionary

using a whiteboard tool like on ZOOM and a generator HERE

Bingo

by making your own bingo cards, printing them, or crossing off numbers virtually + video conferencing + a number generator HERE

Trivia

with apps like https://triviamaker.com/

Great Word Generator Tool for Pictionary, Charades, Questions, and more!

Through April 10, 2020, Jackbox Games is offering Drawful 2 free if you download it with the Steam code here. The game is similar to Pictionary, except you and your friends will be challenged with ridiculous drawing prompts such as "cotton candy hair" or a "creepy tiger."

A tutorial for streaming Drawful 2 over ZOOM is below.

Jackbox Games | The BEST Virtual Game Night


Due to COVID-19 isolation, DRAWFUL 2 is FREE until April 10th. It's a game that's sort of like Pictionary with silly drawings and terrible naming skills.

Use the HOW TO guide above to download everything 100% FREE and host a virtual game night with your friends and family.

If you LOVE Jackbox as much as we do – QUIPLASH 2 if nothing else is by far worth it – Party Packs are on SALE right now. Families: there's a kid-friendly setting on the games for little ones to join the fun! Standalone games are offered as low as $4.99.

Check the Family-Friendly rating of a game HERE

CLICK HERE FOR ALL JACKBOX GAMES

CLICK HERE FOR DRAWFUL 2

Want fun games other than DRAWFUL 2?

USE THESE DISCOUNT CODES FOR 20% OFF:

  • STEAMBLOG

  • REMOTEPLAY

Bored and want to learn something new?

  • MIT has a global health abd epidemiology course too

  • Check out EdX.org, also, for free online courses offered by universities all over the world. I can personally recommend the Iceland U. course on medieval Icelandic sagas, the Stanford U. course on poverty in America, the Harvard U. course on architecture, and the Oxford U. course on “poverty to prosperity.”

Computer Science (37)

Data Science (18)

For a more in-depth overview of Data Science courses read this series:

Programming (8)


Humanities (80)

Social Sciences (74)


Health & Medicine (32)


Engineering (15)


Education & Teaching (21)

Mathematics (14)

Personal Development (7)


Business (72)


Art & Design (20)


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