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