Alright, we are all in this together, but very much separately. I have appreciated all of the support from friends that have shared their daily lesson plans, their recipes, their links to activities. Having the kiddos at home and trying to work and home school is VERY trying for everyone and I am appreciative of how supportive everyone is being to each other. I thought I would collect some of the things that I have found to share with you here! This is not the cleanest post I have ever made, I just wanted to get this out for people to use!
Book Readings
Storyline Online has a youtube channel with a huge assortment of books being read! Check it out here! You can also check out their website here.
Miss Sofie’s Story Time – Kids Books Read Aloud – a great youtube channel with a lot of kid’s book content!
Audible is offering free kids books during this time. There are some great book selections…even some that an adult may enjoy. Anne of Green Gables is on there, which I was excited about! You can check that out here.
Josh Gad is reading stories each day on his twitter! These are little 10 minute or less stories that you can add to your daily routine with your kiddos. You can check out all the videos here.
Natalie Portman and Amy Adams have teamed up with savethestories to raise money to support providing food and education resources to children that depend on school for these things. You can head to Natalie Portman’s Instagram page to see her readings.
Music Programs
Michael’s Music Machine is posting live concerts for the kiddos.
Instagram 8:30am and 1:15pm CST
Facebook 9:30am and 2pm CST
I want to find more of these, if anyone finds any, please send them to me and I’ll post them here!
Live Theater
Full production of Matilda Live – Watch it here.
Full Production of Beauty and the Beast – Watch it Here!
Art Class
If your kids are missing art class, Art for Kids Hub on YouTube is an amazing channel. The dad and a child draw together and it is a step-by-step guide for your child too. My kids used to sit and do this before school in the mornings, but now, it’s a great way to incorporate an art class during the day for them!
Keep Them Moving Activities
Cosmic Kids Yoga is an awesome activity available on YouTube. Each session is themed to something the kids will recognize, like Frozen or Finding Nemo or a multitude of other things. The story is told through the yoga moves. It’s a great way to keep the kids active and engaged! Their entire YouTube channel can be found here.
GoNoodle | Get Moving has a YouTube Channel filled with fun movement activities for you kids. My kids really enjoy these and I think yours will too! You can check out their website for other fun activities as well!
Hip Hop Warm Up Videos are being posted by Mr. Wes from the Trilogy School of Performing Arts
Baby Shark Ab Warm Up
Cupid Shuffle Plank Workout
How to: Tripod Headstand; Forward Worm; Backward Worm:
Educational Resources
ABCYA has a huge assortment of education games for kids Pre-K through grades 6+. There are a variety of games for many of your child’s school subjects.
National Geographic Kids has videos, games, animal information, and so much more to help you plan things to discuss and do with your kids.
Wonderopolis is a another great resource with a ton of learning material! There are videos and they use tags, so if there is a topic you want to see more on, click the tag to see everything on the site!
Crash Course Kids is a YouTube Channel dedicated to quick videos to teach kids about a huge range of science-related topics.
Fun Things to Watch over Time
The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago is closed for COVID-19, but there are still animals to care for. With no visitors, the penguins get a chance to walk around the building. There are quite a few cute, short videos for the kiddos to enjoy watching. I hope Shedd continues to do this as our kids are loving them! You can find the Shedd’s entire Twitter feed here.
Here is a live stream to the Decorah Bald Eagles nest. The website has chat discussions and information to have great conversations with your kids!
A link to the North Nest Feed is here.
The Mississippi River Flyway camera has some great live feeds too! The website with chat resources can be found here.
The Chicago Field Museum is finding fun ways to interact with people! The kids can check out the short video clips throughout the day! Check it out here!
She Just Loves Books 