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This isn’t a mommy blog. I’ve never taught homeschool. But, right now, I’m muddling through figuring out how to teach and entertain while working, and I know I’m not the only one. As we hunker down to try to prevent the coronavirus from spreading, many companies—and fellow parents—have shared free resources to help kids from going stir crazy (and maybe, just maybe, learn a thing or two in the process). Here are some worth checking out:
1. Free Teaching Schedules for Kids from Preschool through 12th Grade
Khan Academy‘s created templates for every grade level, letting you go at your own pace as you go through its activities. They’re also offering tools for parents and teachers to assign and monitor a child’s progress, as well as daily live streams on Facebook and YouTube to answer parents’ questions and help us all adjust to teaching from home. Check it out here.
2. Free Digital Library Books through Epic!
If you’ve exhausted the books (and ebooks) through your local library, check out Epic! The company’s offering all educators and librarians the opportunity to give students access to its 35,000 books, learning videos and quizzes for kids 12 and under. As a parent, you’ll have to request access to their Remote Student Access plan from your kid’s teacher or local librarian, which you can learn more about here.
3. Check Out a Museum from Home
After the Boca Museum of Art closed to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the museum announced it’s offering a digital series called Keep Kids Smart with Art for free. The series is designed to inspire kids’ creativity while they’re indoors all day. Check out their website for more on that, and download art-based lesson plans here.
On that note, many other museums are offering virtual tours, so you can see their exhibits without leaving your couch.
4. Check Out Josh Gad’s Nighttime Story Series
Frozen fans know Josh Gad best as the voice of Olaf the Snowman, and now, the actor’s using his vocal talents to host a 10-minute storytime for kids each night on Twitter, reading various books and using different voices for each character. He described it as 10 minutes of free babysitting for parents, but you might enjoy watching along too.
5. Organize a Social Distancing Scavenger Hunt for Your Neighborhood
This grassroots effort to keep kids entertained started out as a way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, but it could work any day of the year. Basically, everyone agrees to put a design—in this case, a shamrock, but a star, heart or even torn-out piece of construction paper could work—in one of their windows or doors for a day. Throughout the day, parents take their kids on a walk, having them search for as many stars/hearts/whatever they can find.
6. Try Out One of Dad Lab’s Experiments
If you aren’t subscribing to The Dad Lab on YouTube, you should be. The channel regularly features fun experiments and activities you can create with your kids, from building a Lego maze to making a siphon to show how water can travel upward. Most involve everyday household objects, so you can easily recreate them at home.