We can do this. WE CAN DO THIS!
This is what every mom is saying to herself right about now, right? Life has drastically changed over the past 2 weeks and schools are closed for the foreseeable future. That means we’ve got kids at home 24/7.
Homeschooling moms everywhere are pros at this but for us moms who have kids in traditional schools, this is a bit of a disrupter. But don’t get me wrong; I love my kids! And I love hanging out with my kids. But I am a working mom and make the most of my time when my kids aren’t at home. Some of you have school districts that have provided online school, some who haven’t. And some of you have kids that are in preschool and may not have those same resources available to you.
So I’ve compiled a list of my favorite online resources to continue your kid’s education, entertain the masses, and keep you sane while we all practice some much-needed social distancing!
THE ULTIMATE EDUCATION RESOURCE DIRECTORY
Homeschoolers everywhere have united and created the list to beat all educational lists! It’s an alphabetized list that gives you every available online resource that is used by homeschoolers across the US! I found some fast favorites and am excited to share that same resource with you! Check out the entire list HERE.
SHOP OUR FAVORITE PUZZLES
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PBS Homeschool Collection
From PBS: “PBS LearningMedia extends a warm welcome to our homeschool students, parents, and educators across the country! We encourage you to make this service your go-to destination for insightful, interactive content, lesson planning support, and professional development tools. This collection below offers a sampling of videos, interactive games, and lesson plans designed to support one-on-one learning and self-paced, student-driven inquiry. Select your favorite resources to begin building your own personalized digital collections.”
I’ve checked them out for myself and they have some really incredible resources available! Check them all out HERE.
Cooking & Nutrition With Kids
If you and your kids need a break to refuel and recoup, I suggest having fun in the kitchen and feeding your tummies and your souls! You can check out all of my recipes HERE or head over to the Food Network where America’s favorite chefs show how to make kid-friendly versions of their dishes as well as recipes for kids to make entirely on their own. Assign one of your older kids lunch duty and get everyone to pitch in!
And if you want to teach your kids about nutrition with fun games, printables, and recipes you can check out www.nourishinteractive.com.
Free E-Books For Kids
If you’ve got bookworms in your house, this is a great resource for books that they can read on their e-readers like Kindles or iPads. Make sure you download one of these Nook Reading apps to open these books on your other devices!
SHOP ALL FAMILY GAMES
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Access Your Local Library – Digitally
Did you know your local library has thousands of ebooks and audiobooks? You can borrow them, instantly, for free, using just the device in your hand.
- Sign in to multiple libraries, with one or more cards for each library.
- Download books and audiobooks for offline reading, or stream them to save space.
- If you prefer reading on your Kindle, Libby can send your library books to it. (U.S. libraries only.)
- All your loans and holds are consolidated on a single shelf.
- Keep track of your reading history in the Activity tab.
- Positions, bookmarks, and notes are kept in sync across your devices.
- Sample any book with a tap — nothing to download or delete.
- Try a zoomable graphic novel or a picture book with read-along audio.
And you can access it on both iOS and Android devices!
Blog Posts: Beading, Games + Tons MOre
Beading: This has hands down been one of my kid’s favorite crafts and a way to pass the time! I’ve got everything you need listed and linked with everything you need to create your own beaded pieces!
Family Games: Grab 1 or 10 of our favorite games to play as a family. Some of them are educational, some creative, and some guaranteed to make sure you have a blast!
Road Trip Essentials: Maybe your social distancing includes heading to the mountains or to a relative’s house. Travel is only made better with our travel must-haves!
Science, Coding, Art & Crafts, & National Geographic
National Geographic: I love this resource for my boys – it’s got quizzes, games, science experiments, videos, and more information about reptiles and dinosaurs than my kids would be able to take in during their lifetime!
Code.Org: This website is a non-profit dedicated to teaching grades k-12 computer science! It’s interactive, fun, and even has resources for pre-readers!
Funology.com: This website lives up to its name! It’s got magic tricks, crafts, science experiments, jokes & riddles, and a ton more. This will definitely keep your kids busy for the next 2 weeks!
World-Class Museums You Can Visit Online
While it’s hard to beat the experience of seeing a seminal piece of fine art or important historical artifact with your own two eyes, one could easily spend a lifetime traveling the world in search of all of them. But since all international flights have been grounded, for now, I’m grateful that we’re living in the digital age. It has made it possible—easy, even—to visit some of the world’s most famous museums from the comfort of your own home. Here are a dozen of them – and they’re all clickable!
1) The Louvre
2) Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
3) National Gallery of Art – they also have an awesome app for kids!
5) Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History – this is for any of your kids that love bugs, snakes, dinosaurs – anything creepy and crawly!
6) The MET
7) NASA – lots of virtual tours, STEM-based activities, and videos!
8) National Women’s History Museum – such a great resource and lots of educational resources
9) Google Art Project – Google partnered with more than 60 museums and galleries from around the world to archive and document priceless pieces of art and to provide virtual tours of museums using Google Street View technology.
10) Learn With Smithsonian – access live-streaming videos of animals, interactive games about agriculture, or check out a little geography from space!
SHOP MY FAVORITE BEADS
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KEEPING YOUR KIDS ACTIVE
I’ve got friends who swear by CosmicKids to help keep kids active, mindful, and entertained! Storytellers and trained Yogis take your kids through popular stories and activities with guided yoga practices!
For Your Kids In Preschool
Printable Lesson Plans, Activities, and Worksheets
49 Fun Activities To Do With Kids Ages 2-4
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Hopefully, you find these resources as helpful as I have! Let’s keep this list growing – put your suggestions and resources in the comments below!
Xx Tara
