This post may contain affiliate links, please read my Disclosure policy.
The question is what to do with kids when school is closed. They can be home due to school closures and quarantine, vacations or days off. The thing is that you as a parent have to work with them when they’re around, instead of being in school with their teachers.
And, thanks to all those teachers for doing the remote school thing, even when your own lives have been turned upside down.
As of this writing we are still in quarantined, social distanced, away from people due to that “virus”.
I never had my kids for this long at home since they were little. They’ve been very good thru this tough times – thanks kids.
Aside from doing virtual school with their teachers, we have been doing off-screen projects and educational on-screen projects.
They have been playing Roblox and Minecraft’s like every other kid. But, they also need off-screen activities to make it thru this time.
We’ve organized activities according to our strengths. The parent who is handy helps with crafts. The other parent who is more techy helps with the educational on-screen activities.
Here are 20 things to do with the kids when school is closed or canceled (all low stress activities)
10 Off-screen activities to do with kid outside and inside the house
1.Build a flower bench. Went to Home Depot, got some wood and cut it. Then put a bench together. Got the kids involved, measured, drilled and ta-da. A flower bench was born.
2. Cook. Prepare simple breakfast and lunches, bake some cakes and brownies.
3.Walk in nature. During a hike you need to stay away from people and protect your face (during social distance). Wash your hands really good when back inside.
4.Play Board games.
5.Paint on canvas.
5. Use coloring books.
6.Set aside dedicated reading time.
7.Play a music instrument.
8.Plant flowers and vegetables.
9.Ride a bike or scooter.
10. Put on a Karaoke party
10 Educational on-screen activities to do with kids when school is canceled
1.Learning digital drawing. Used Google SkecthUp. This free drawing software from Google allows users to create and modify 3D models. Great for playing with colors. Great tool for adult color therapy too.
The drawings can be used to create stickers with Parchment paper.
Dream Catcher and Butterfly are two of the kids’ creation on SkecthUp.
2.Listen to audio books. Loyalbooks.com has a large collection of children books on audio. Many are free form the Public Domain Library.
3.Learn with Kahn Academy. Online learning from K-12.
4.Create with Wixie. Kids can create original digital projects and share them.
5.Learn Canva and Pickmonkey. These are popular commercial graphic software. Learn how to do graphic designs and editing.
6.Prodigy. For k-8, a video game style math learning.
7. My Money.gov. Use this website to find games, fun activities, websites, video games, and tips about money for kids and youth. Personal finance and financial literacy information for kids and youth.
8.Beast Academy. Interactive math learning experience for K-12. The digital practice includes games, problems, and puzzles.
9.Virtual museums. The British museum and the Guggenheim museum have epic art collections online and museum’s virtual tours. I’m so hooked on these.
10.PBS Kids. Lots of educational games for boys and girls.
Leave a Reply