We’ve got our milk, bread, toilet paper, and kids home. It’s only been a few days, and we are in it for the long haul: two weeks, four weeks, six. We just don’t know right now. What can we do from the sanctity of our homes without risking our health or the health of others? Here are a few suggestions.
Imagineering in a Box – Free online course where you will “go behind the scenes with Disney Imagineers and complete project-based exercises to design a theme park of your very own.” (In collaboration with Khan Academy.)
Good Night with Dolly Dolly Parton will read weekly bedtime stories beginning on April 2 at 7pm ET. The first book will be The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper. The rest of the ten weeks of books will be: There’s a Hole in the Log on the Bottom of the Lake by Loren Long, Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney, I Am a Rainbow by Dolly Parton, Pass It On by Sophy Henn, Stand Tall Molly Lou Mellon by Patty Lovell, Violet the Pilot by Steve Breen, Max & The Tag-Along Moon by Floyd Cooper, Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña, and Coat of Many Colors by Dolly Parton
Children’s Book Authors Read-Aloud
National Aquarium in Baltimore – Livestreams of The Blacktip Reef, Jellies Invasion, Pacific Coral Reef
New York Public Library – (for NYC residents with a library card) (CONTACT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY ABOUT THEIR E-BOOK PROGRAMS)
NASA makes their entire media library publicly accessible and COPYRIGHT FREE
33 National Park Tours You Can Take Virtually
15 Broadway Plays and Musicals You Can Watch on Stage from Home (best filmed and where to find them)
FREE Coloring Books from 113 Museums
Virtual Field Trips – including San Diego Zoo, Yellowstone National Park, Mars!!!, Animal Cameras, Virtual Farm Tour, US Space and Rocket Museum in Hunsville AL, Discovery Education, The Louvre, The Great Wall of China, Boston’s Children’s Museum
12 Museums Offering Virtual Tours – including British Museum (London), Guggenheim Museum (NY), National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC), Musee d’Orsay (Paris), National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Seoul), Pergamon Museum (Berlin), Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam), Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam), The J. Paul Getty Museum (L.A.), Uffizi Gallery (Florence), MASP (Sao Paulo), National Museum of Anthropology (Mexico City)
14 Beautiful, Dramatic Waterfalls in North Wales (this is primarily a travel article, but they’re still pretty to look at! And Wales!
Metropolitan Opera offering Nightly Met Opera Streams – see the link for details and limits.
Five Gardens You Can Virtually Visit – Waddesdon Manor (Waddesdon, England), Claude Monet’s Garden (Giverny, France), Chicago Botanic Garden (Chicago, IL), Hawai’i Tropical Botanical Garden (Papaikou, Hawai’i), Kew Gardens (Richmond, England).
Ivy League Courses Online for FREE
How to Be Happier in Your Daily Life (popular Yale University course – ONLINE FREE (Source: Business Insider)
Tour New York State Parks (virtual)
Twitter for Voice Actors Read. There are many voice actors reading books aloud to you and your children.
Tour The Winchester Mystery House (virtual tour)
Tour the Paris Catacombs (virtual tour)
I Love NY Landmark Coloring Pages
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
The Parents’ Guide to Google Classroom
What to Do with your Kids When Schools are Canceled
Harry the Dirty Dog read by Betty White
The Very Hungry Caterpillar read by author, Eric Carle
Outdoor Scavenger Hunts from Buttonwood Park Library
Easy Toilet Paper Roll Crafts (when you use up your stash of toilet paper!)
Outdoor and Indoor Scavenger Hunts from Leicester Library
Home Safari at the Cincinnati Zoo
50 Ways to Keep Kids Engaged at Home During the Coronavirus Shutdown
Miniature Bookshop DIY – cost $36.99
NASA Space Station STEM Activities
Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY (Safe at Home Program)
Griffins and Ginger Snaps 