Schools around the country are closed and people around the world are staying home. If you are a parent at home with children, you might be at a point where you think you have done every craft, baked every cake and read every book to your child.
Don’t worry! Family Specialists at Crisis Nursery have crafted a list of enjoyable and educational activities for children and parents to do together such as learning about different animals, brushing up on math skills and virtually touring different parts of the world like the Great Wall of China and Yellowstone National Park. Everything is hyperlinked and ready to click. Here's our list:
- Does your child love animals? The San Diego Zoo has a website just for kids. Your kids will be able to watch live videos of their favorite animals at the zoo, print coloring pages and learn about every animal of the alphabet, from an African dwarf crocodile to a zebra and more.
- Learn more about animals and play games here.
- Introduce your children about animals that roamed Earth in prehistoric times or present day, explore different states and countries, teach your children about single-use plastic or visit different planets at a site tailored for kids by National Geographic. Your child can take quizzes, play games and make crafts based on a variety of subjects.
- Visit America’s first national park from the comfort of your home. Take a virtual tour of Yellowstone National Park! The park has nine webcams providing current views around the North Entrance and Mammoth Hot Springs, Mount Washburn, the West Entrance and the Upper Geyser Basin. If you’re unfamiliar with the park, there is a map of the webcams showing where each is located. Yellowstone also offers a ‘Forever Video Library’ to provide educational, unique video lessons about the park and the park’s wildlife residents.
- If your child is the next Frida Kahlo or Pablo Picasso, take them to the Louvre in Paris, France…. Virtually! The museum has a handful of exhibits for online display. Ready for more? Explore over 5,000 years of art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s site created with kids for kids. It’s an endlessly detailed way to get children engaged in the world of art.
- Show your child one of great wonders of the world by going on a tour of the 2,300 year-old Great Wall of China.
- Teach your child about any country in the world. Dive into that country’s cultural, historical and statistical information. Compare the U.S. to another country. Learn about another country’s fashion, society, religion and family dynamic—and don’t forget to borrow a recipe to try out! There are 35,000 pages of information on this site. While the stay-at-home order is in place, you and your kids will have plenty of time to go on a world tour.
- Head to Washington, D.C. to the Smithsonian. Here, your kids can learn about the arts, science or both at the same time while playing games and completing activities. Learn more about the ocean at the museum’s website full of information on jellyfish, sea turtles, hurricanes, ecosystems and conservation.
- Not done traveling? Get out of this world and explore the surface of Mars captured by the Curiosity rover.
- Get in your time machine and learn about history! Teach your child about the past, from remarkable people to life-changing events.
- Complete a variety of chemistry, astronomy, physics and biology experiments. Make a compass, create indoor snow, dye celery, learn how to dissect a flower or dive into the science of fingerprints. There are over 80 activities and experiments on this site to keep your Marie Curie or Charles Darwin busy.
- Keep your child’s reading and math skills sharp with these activities for pre-K to grade 8.
- Is your child full of energy? Try a kid-friendly workout. Choose from strength, agility, flexibility and balance. The site even includes warm-up and cool-down exercises!
- Keep them active and teach them mindfulness with workouts and stress-relieving videos.
- Introduce your little one to yoga with fun, playful stretches with healthy benefits.
- Experiment with music or rock out with virtual instruments including the guitar, piano, drums, panflute and bongos.
- Hang out with Dr. Seuss or play games with PBS characters.
BONUSES:
Finished our list? Chambana moms put together a list of over 300 indoor and outdoor activities.
Get your child a TV cameo! WCIA typically allows children to present the 9 a.m. weather report on live TV. With social distancing guidelines issued at state and federal levels, WCIA has discontinued Kidscasters and their guests from coming to the station until further notice. But this hasn’t stopped them from allowing children to present their own forecasts on TV and for social media!
The news station is asking parents to submit a video of their child giving their own weather forecast—the more creative, the better! For a detailed list of rules and how to submit your video, visit the link here.
Family Specialists at Crisis Nursery have a wealth of resources on their Facebook group including tips or examples of self-care, meditation and mindfulness for parents and the community. Join the group “Crisis Nursery’s Family Group” and share educational websites, online resources and activities you are trying with your children at home. Take a deep breath. We are all in this together, and we will get through this.