Kid-Friendly Resources To Use While Stuck Inside + Thoughts From Me
Hey, WNYers (and beyond!). I wanted to take a moment to touch base with my readers about this great time of uncertainty with the Coronavirus. Every day as the situation evolves, it gets scarier and more confusing.
Most of us have had to adjust to a new, temporary way of living right now as we fight this war against the virus. Please take all the extra precautions the experts are telling us to help stop the spread, especially to the more vulnerable population such as the elderly or sick.
While challenging, social distancing is crucial right now.
Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, a lot of school districts have closed for many weeks. Besides, many companies are now requiring employees to work at home. This leaves parents having to juggle work for their job while caring for and teaching their child(ren). Parents especially have a lot on their plates.
As we all wait for this to work itself out, coming up with a game plan for the short term will not only help you but your children too. There are so many kid-friendly resources available to your children while stuck inside and I would like to share a few of our favorites with you.
Plans of action will look different for each family, and there is no right or wrong way. It is important to know we are all in this together and it is going to be hard.
For us, we have been using a daily learning schedule that I created and shared over on my sister site, RuffledMom.com. For the first week of homeschooling, it worked out amazingly well!
However, Wednesday I did have a crying session despite everything going so smoothly for us.
The fact is, this is an emotionally, physically and mentally challenging time. I am hoping this daily learning schedule continues to work for us but I just don’t know what the future holds and of course that is scary.
If you would like to check out the schedule I am following, head over here to take a look. But remember you have to do what is best for your family and it might not work for you. Of course, I am hoping it does because all I want to do is help!
Luckily, we live in a digital age where we have so many resources available to us. And many companies have stepped up to offer free kid-friendly resources to help parents and teachers to use while being stuck inside.
Here are some kid-friendly online resources to use while at home with your children:
- Scholastic – this has been one of our favorite resources! It is a 15-day FREE online education program with lessons and videos for students PreK through grade 9.
- Archive.org – Internet archive that is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.
- Mystery Science – short mini-lessons for grades Kindergarten through 5th, which are completely digital with lessons, videos, and activities.
- BrainPOP – offers content for all kids grades K-12 in various subjects such as science, social studies, English, math, engineering and technology, health, and arts and music.
- Audible – being offered free while schools are closed! All kids can instantly stream an incredible collection of stories, including titles across six different languages! Stories can be streamed on your desktop, laptop, phone or tablet.
- Fiveable.me – perfect for AP high-school students; this site offers free weekly live streams, trivia battles, study guides, and test prep.
- Rosetta Stone – being offered to students for 3 months FREE! This is normally for a fee, so a great time to learn a second language.
- TED-ED Daily Newsletter – sign up to receive free engaging lesson plans daily, organized by age group.
- Brains On! – Great podcast for kids curious about things in the world around them.
- Fun Brain – Filled with free educational games, videos, and books for children PreK through 8.
- Khan Academy – This site has a ton of subject areas including math, science and engineering, computing, finance, and so much more. Educational materials are for PreK through high school.
- Code.org – If you have a child interested in coding and video games, this is a great resource. Modules range from pre-reader to high school level.
- Kidz Bop Dance Along Videos – a fun way to get in some exercise!
- Ranger Rick – offering a free digital subscription of their magazine during school closures
- Explore.org – Watch animals from all over the world via live webcams.
- AccessMars – get a 360-degree virtual tour of Mars using Google technology
- Overdrive – download the “Libby” app, use your county library card and you will be able to borrow audiobooks for free!
In the end, we know that not everyone is meant to be a teacher and do lessons, and that’s perfectly fine! We can only do the best we can with what we have to work with. Hopefully, this post helps you find at least one or two kid-friendly online resources to use while at home.
I am not sure how many deals and things to do I will have to offer over the coming months, but I will try my best to keep posting on the latest free samples and giveaways!
If you know of another great resource for parents, please share it in the comments below. We are all in this and will get through this together! I wish you all the best and stay safe, healthy, and occupied!
XOXO
Christina
