Right now resources are more kid-centered but I’ll be updating with adult-relevant resources too. Please send suggested additions via the contact form on the blog : )
Books for kids (Recommended) – please consider ordering from a local bookseller
- Julia Rothman books: Nature Anatomy, Farm Anatomy, Food Anatomy – beautiful books for kids 6+
- How to Draw Cute Stuff (awesome drawing book)
- Asia Citro: books about science and art (with great projects to do outside with kids)
- The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs (looks great. I have not read it)
- Other books we love that kids can look at for a long time (updated!)
Outdoor Activities (kids)
- morning jog (several parents have remarked they have taken kids out for a morning jog and this has helped with excess energy for everyone)
- bird-watching: keeping a birdwatching journal, bird observation log + activities
- How to press flowers Red Ted Art
- Nature scavenger hunt printable checklist
Life Skills for Kids
I’m going to start a new page with recs for life skills that we can be helping our kids learn. Someone suggested she has been teaching her teenagers check-writing, caulking, folding fitted sheets. I love this. I’ve been working with Maggie on carrot peeling. Sam washed the baseboards yesterday. So this page is in process : )
Unplugged Indoor Activities
- Art therapy (rec from my friend): “my friend recommended we set out a huge piece of paper or canvas for an ongoing art project. She’s an art therapist and giving me tips to deal with my anxiety about this. she said to make it open ended but leave the materials out so everyone can come to it when they feel like it.”
- 30-day Lego challenge (printable calendar)
- Oliver Jeffers beautiful free craft and activity sheets to download and print
- Start a journal to document this experience
- The Workspace for Children – a lot of good ideas for indoor and outdoor projects (with a focus on quiet time and independent play), including ideas for younger children
- a fun list of ideas from Princess Awesome
- Audible is offering free streaming for hundreds of children’s books for as long as we’re home
Online learning (kids)
- Khan Academy for kids ages 4-18, nonprofit with the mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone. Here’s a list of helpful daily schedule recs.
- Outschool small group video chat classes (really interesting topics!) for kids 3-18
- a list of education companies offering free subscriptions during school closings
- Typing club – learn touch typing (free)
- Smithsonian Science How archive
- Smithsonian Stem in 30
Online movement (kids)
- GoNoodle (heard the kids zumba is fun for parents too)
- Cosmic Kids Yoga
Meditation
- Calm app – Lesson in Mindfulness (kids)
- Headspace app – meditations for different ages (kids) + 45 minute sleep prep sessions. Headspace is free for the first two weeks. I found this to be a great way to ease into a meditation practice (having failed in the past to figure out how to do it). You can start with 5 minute, or 2 mins for kids, and build from there. They currently have free meditations anyone can try any time (in the link above).
- Tapping meditations for stress release
Online activities (all ages)
- Lunch doodles with Mo Willems
- Oliver Jeffers reading his books He reads one book a day on InstagramLive (2PM EST). Previously read books are in the link.
- Cooking lessons for kids. Together we Cook YouTube videos with kid-friendly recipes made by kids (where kids learn to make their own breakfast!)
- Cincinnati Zoo 3PM EST – daily home safari, videos via Facebook, at-home activities
- Virtual museum tours
- Josh Gad (Olaf from Frozen) reads children’s books
- Virtually tour 31 US National Parks
- Instagrammer Wendmac is doing a 10AM EST drawing class every day
- MeriCherry Art Studio – lots of great ideas for art projects at home
Adult Exercise online
- Peleton app — free right now (biking, strength training + HITT)
- Streaming workouts (mostly yoga)
- Online dance classes
Parenting tools
- Age-appropriate chore list
- Reward ticket printable
- Common Sense media has a really comprehensive Resources for Families page that covers understanding news coverage and talking with kids, how to stay calm yourself and for kids, homeschooling resources/apps, suggestions for what to watch, read and play
Online (for adults)
- Putting whatever I find funny on a page here
- Good News Network if you need to feel better about the world
Courses for Adults
- 450 Ivy League courses you can take for free online