Online Resources
Here are some websites that can provide some fun and enriching activities.
Disclaimer: These lists were provided by outside parties. They have not all been vetted so please use your judgement accordingly. Visit the sites to check for content before sharing them with children and others.
Most importantly: Please use Social Distancing and Wash Your Hands!
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
https://uscj.org/press/protecting-your-congregation-community-from-coronavirus
Here you will find links to many websites including a list of over 50 Synagogues who are live streaming services. Of course, we prefer you follow OUR live stream but there are other options as well.
Virtual Museum Tours:
https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours
101 Best Movies to watch on Netflix:
https://www.insider.com/101-best-movies-to-watch-on-netflix-right-now
Resources for Children
Covid-19 EDU
- NPR has a great comic on explaining COVID-19 to kids
- Talking to Children about Covid-19 by National Association of School Psychologists
- NYTimes Parenting How to Talk to Kids About Coronavirus
- How to wash hands properly
- Resources for kids who may have anxiety about COVID-19: https://gozen.com/coronavirus-anxiety/
- Education week shows school closures: https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/map-coronavirus-and-school-closures.html
- Johns Hopkins University has an interactive map that shows cases of coronavirus (better viewed on a computer than your phone; also better for older kids), comparing countries and states. https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
General Tips
- Keep a routine (get up & dressed maintaining normal schedule where possible)
- Outside time keeps everyone sane. Plan a brief activity + set amount of time to just “be outside” and see what creative play arises.
- Most kids in schools are used to routines. If you can set up a public routine for your weekdays, it helps them know what to expect. We made poster boards for each kid with their schedule, balancing free time, school time, outdoor time, and other day events.
Good for Multiple Ages
- Homeschooling Resources
- Headspace has meditations for kids
- Cooking – Knife for younger kids: for younger kids steam vegetables and let them chop them for snack, for older kids they can safely use to help prep their own meals (started ours with this at 1.5 yrs old)
- YT Learning Hub — https://www.youtube.com/learning. The goal is to give people – especially kids – easy access to the universe of educational videos on YouTube
- If your kids are younger, YouTube Kids (get the app at https://www.youtube.com/kids/) is the better way to watch YT, and also can be a gateway towards useful information.
- Audible audible based on their grade. I never advocate for my son to be on a screen, but his math abilities have skyrocketed. Also, if you get a membership, as a parent you can set challenges for them and give them “prizes” (like a costume component for their character) and see a report card with areas they are excelling in and areas of opportunity.
- Physics Girl for physics related YouTube content. Best aimed at kids 6+ but she does a lot of at-home experiments as well
- Hiking with a magnifying glass and the iNaturalist app to identify species; good to get out of the house, get exercise, and avoid playground germs!
- Hoop app – for local activities
- Library books, paperback or ebook. If you would like to avoid physical library books, you can still check out ebooks from the library. For example, the ebooks and audiobooks you can check out at the Mountain View library.
- Toucan Box (or other craft boxes; this one is for the UK) –
- KiwiCo has a lot of good age appropriate craft boxes.
- PBS Kids has a lot of educational activities and games on their website. (I spoke with some of them at Grace Hopper, and they put a lot of work into curating and designing these games.)
- Tynker – coding lessons and games for a variety of ages (subscription, but I think it’s worth it)
- Watch Legomasters and then BUILD BUILD BUILD! (Legos for all ages!)
- Mystery Science Free Lessons
- Typing club
- STMath – math games (free for 90 days for coronavirus)
Ages 0-2 Years Old
- Indoor Yoga on YouTube: Cosmic Kids Yoga
- Mr Tumble nursery rhymes
- Water play
- Bath!!
- Aqua doodle
- Soap bubbles in the garden (or nearby park) – making sure the container is taped to a table/bench leg so that it doesn’t get poured out every 2 minutes
- This website has toddler activities for each month of development: https://www.sensorylifestyle.com/toddler-activities/
- Set up a “tea” station for little ones to practice pouring. We either go outside or set up a big baking sheet at a kids table inside and give them pouring cups and a little water. Also works in the bathtub.
- Color mixing water station — same as above with drops of food coloring.
- “Wash the car” — give them a bucket, rag and either toy cars or a tricycle or something to wash.
Ages 2-4 Years Old
- Outdoor activities for backyard or the park (when you don’t want them touching the playground) https://nurturestore.co.uk/forest-school-activities-for-toddlers-and-preschool
- Paint with water – Melissa & Doug
- Sparkle Stories app ($15/month) has a ton of great stories for kids. My three year old sits quietly, transfixed by the Martin and Sylvia stories (usually 15-30 minutes in length).
- Busy toddler
- Crayons, watercolors, stickers, construction paper, preschool workbooks; this workbook has been a hit with my daughter from the ages of 3 to 4.
- Playdough – always and forever. Feed Me I’m Yours Playdough recipe (you can make it at home with your kid, lasts for a few months)
- Craft materials from IKEA are really good (particularly love the watercolour set)
- Replaceable sticker books: This one from M&D lasts forever
- Blue painter tape on the ground (for roads with cars, etc) and on the walls (tic-tac-toe and targets)
- Paint by Sticker
- Pillow forts, couch cushion forts, blanket fortresses
- Move around the kid furniture (like a small kids table) to set up a “special place” for a standard activity like legos, coloring, etc.
- Make a traffic jam with matchbox cars
- Use a piece of cardboard and a sharpie or tape to make a “parking lot” for matchbox cars.
- Set up a “tea” station for little ones to practice pouring. We either go outside or set up a big baking sheet at a kids table inside and give them pouring cups and a little water. Also works in the bathtub.
- Color mixing water station — same as above with drops of food coloring.
- Replaceable sticker books: This one from M&D forever
- Empty cardboard boxes, painters tape and kid scissors.
- Magnatiles (for any age, really).
Ages 5-7 Years Old
- Awesome Science Experiments for Kids
- Rivet, a reading practice app for kids, all free, available on Android, iOS, Kindle Fire devices and the web. Built by an Area 120 team at Google.
- KiwiCo – Create/Innovate subscription boxes ($20 a month), ages 0-14.
- Duolingo – my 7 year old loves this app!
- Kodable – fun programming app
- Todomath – my 1st grader loves this app, you can set the appropriate level and there is some gamification to keep the child entertained
- Bead kits, Melissa and Doug has some for younger kids, my 4 year old son loves to make necklaces
- Coloring Books
- Small lego kits (~80 pieces). They often go on sale after the holidays and good to buy and store for when you need a reward for being well behaved
- Puzzles!
- Slime, slime, and more slime
- If you have camping gear + a yard, spend an afternoon setting up a campsite, teaching them to set up the tent, hang a bear bag, where to cook, + Leave No Trace principles
- Tell them to hide something and create a treasure map for you to find it. Block off 30 min. so you can go on the treasure hunt. Entertained my kid for an hour.
- Scavenger hunts (free printouts)
- Facetime a bestie 20 mins a day! Agree with parents on good timing.
Ages 7-9 Years Old
- Scratch – Free MIT site to make stories, games and animations
- IXL – online math program, can customize by age
- Prodigy – free online math game.
- Facetime a bestie 20 mins a day! Agree with parents on good timing.
- Air-dry clay projects
- Art of Problem Solving (math) has paper workbooks and an online curriculum tied to common core standards– great for enrichment or a standalone curriculum (for grades 2-5, it’s called Beast Academy)
Ages 9-12 Years Old
- Grasshopper
- Code.org
- Khan Academy
- IXL – online math program, can customize by age
- Prodigy – curriculum aligned math platform (free with optional subscription)
- Work on a project with a bestie over Facetime (i.e. plan a lemonade stand when the situation is over, plan a field trip, learn about a topic and present to your families online).
- Rubix cube
Example elementary school schedule using some of the great suggestions above in this doc w/ watch and star chart for rewards.
| Time | Child 1 (8 yrs) | Child 2 (6 yrs) |
| 8:30am | Reading – non-fiction chapter book OR pick a reading challenge | Reading
non-fiction chapter book OR pick a reading challenge |
| 9:15am | Writing – non-fiction | Writing – non-fiction |
| 9:45am | Outside Recess | Outside Recess |
| 10:05am | Math (Prodigy) | Math (notebook or todomath) |
| 10:50am | Science (Physics Girl) | Science (Physics Girl) |
| 11:30am | Create Your Own Lunch | Create Your Own Lunch |
| 12:30pm | Coding – kodable or tynker | Coding – kodable or tynker |
| 1:15pm | Free Choice Subject
(cooking, math, art, music, craft, YouTube Learning App etc) |
Free Choice Subject (cooking, math, art, craft, YouTube Learning App etc) |
| 2:30pm | Bike ride, Kids Meditation w/ Headspace App, Yoga or Go Noodle | Bike ride, Kids Meditation w/ Headspace App, Yoga or Go Noodle |
| 3:15pm | Punctuation workbook | Writing – silly story |
| 3:45pm until dinner | TV Time! | TV Time! |
Updated: March 18, 2020
Here is another round of great websites to help pass the time until this virus (plague) “Passes-Over”!
Disclaimer: Please check out the website link before sharing them with children. And…continue to wash your hands and practice social distancing.
Round 2!
500 Free Online Courses From Ivy League Schools That Will Make You Smarter (and Less Stir Crazy)
https://flip.it/K.OueL
Peloton is offering its home workout app free for 90 days – here’s how to get it
https://flip.it/IfCSLE
Announcing Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems! (free video series) ✏?
Join the Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence at Home as Mo Willems invites YOU into his studio every weekday at 1 p.m. Eastern Time to draw, doodle and explore new ways of writing—starting today! #MoLunchDoodles – kennedy-center.org/education/mo-willems
30 virtual tours at zoos, a farm, national parks and Mars:
Cleveland Inner City Ballet has online ballet lessons for kids:
List of Education Companies Offering Free Subscriptions Due to School Closings
Download Free Coloring Books from 113 Museums
Can’t Travel? 55 Things People Aged 55+ Can Do When They’re Practicing Social Distancing
Here’s 33 National Park Tours You Can Take Virtually From The Comfort Of Your Home
creativebug.com is a site that provides à la carte online classes (most for a fee) on crafting and other creative activities for kids and adults.
https://pjlibrary.org/familyactivities — Jewish activities for any future listings of things to do
A Tweet from Jake Tapper: On-line two person Battleship game
http://en.battleship-game.org/
The Digital Concert Hall now free for everyone | Berliner Philharmoniker
https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/titelgeschichten/20192020/digital-concert-hall/
15 Broadway Plays and Musicals You Can Watch On Stage From Home
http://www.playbill.com/article/15-broadway-plays-and-musicals-you-can-watch-on-stage-from-home
That should keep you busy for a while. Remember, pace yourself. This could last a while.
If you have a favorite site, or a recommendation of a podcast, movies or audiobooks, please send them to jberger@thejewishcenter.org