Blog Post

7 activities to do with your children during quarantine

International Creative Women • Mar 16, 2020

Schools are closed in The Netherlands until April 6th. We all know this is a challenge, specially if the parents have to work at home. 


Children demand around-the-clock attention and parenting while answering emails, juggling conference calls, and creating your products is no joke.  You also have to deal with the ever-growing list of cancellations, news, emails from the schools and more....
We totally get it. 

It's a lot, but you can manage it;  Start by creating a schedule that matches your kids' activities and your workload and try to set up an office area where you are can focus. You need to plan your time very well to make the best of it.

We put together this list with 32 free online sites where your children can learn, explore, entertain and exercise during these days. 
We hope this post helps you and let us know how are you doing during these strange times. 
1. Virtual Museum Tours

You can visit the Egyptian Antiquities Collection at The Louvre. You also can take a 360-degree look at the museum, and click around the rare artifacts to get additional information on their histories.

The British Museum. The Museum’s collection online offers everyone unparalleled access to objects in the collection. This innovative database is one of the earliest and most extensive online museum search platforms in the world.

Smithsonian National Museum Of Natural History. Viewers are welcomed into its rotunda and are greeted with a comprehensive room-by-room, 360-degree walking tour of all its exceptional exhibits, including the Hall of Mammals, Insect Zoo, and Dinosaurs and Hall of Paleobiology.  

Google Arts & Culture  is an online platform through which the public can access high-resolution images of artworks housed in the initiative's partner museums. 

2. Online Art lessons


Drawing Now. Learn to draw simply by following the sketching steps in each video tutorial. Very detailed instructions. 

Art for Kids Hub.  Here you will find online lessons for drawing, painting and sculpting. 

ART BAR.  Art ideas for the whole family!  Bonus point: they have an art and play activity guide for the quarantine.

Tinker Lab. Art and science projects for babies and children age 2-12. check their activities calendars, those can help you to plan the following days.

Origami Fun.  You just need paper and good instructions. This site has many tutorials to create amazing pieces.

Step by Step Painting. You can find a wide variety of  step-by-step canvas painting instructions.
Foto door Sharon McCutcheon via Pexels
 
3. Exercise. 

It’s very important to exercise during all these days at home. Check the following websites to start moving your body.

Gonoodle. This is a large library of short videos ranging from about two to five minutes long.  Check the channel Zumba for kids, it's super fun.

Whatmomslove.  This site hast more than 80 indoor activities and games for children, so much fun!!

7-min workout for kids.  iOS app. The name says it all. The interface is fun and perfect for children. 
 
Wuf Shanti App. Kid-friendly yoga, meditation lessons from big, happy dog. Available on Android and iOS. 
Foto door Valeria Ushakova via Pexels
4. Explore... virtually

National Geographic Explorer. Explorer Classroom connects classrooms around the world with National Geographic Explorers, bringing science, exploration, and conservation to life through live video events. The videos can be seen live on youtube, or you can register to interact, normally is for classes but you can try. 

Google Expeditions App. This free app has 200+ HD image expeditions that you can view via any VR headset running the App. Explore a world of places and things on your own with your phone, tablet or VR device.

AirPano. Stunning 360° Photos and videos of many places in the world.
5. Online Music lessons

Kids guitar zone offers guitar classes for children from different ages through simple videos.

Zebra Keys. Over 50 free piano lessons for various levels of difficulty. Each piano lesson is accompanied by visual flash animations. Recommended for ages 13 and up.

Making Music Fun. This sites offers free lessons for different instruments such as guitar, piano and percussion
6. Get crafty.

The artful Parent.  There are many craft websites, but this is so pretty..  The site is clean, easy to navigate and has tons of creative ideas, perfectly classified. It has also a toddler art activities session.

Sweet Paul. Sweet Paul is actually an online magazine by craft and food stylist Paul Lowe Einlyng. This is not a site only for kids,  but it has 2 fantastic sections: Make and Kids.  Beautiful projects.

DIY Joy.  This site also has many craft ideas,  but not only for small children but for teenagers!!

Mr. Printable. This site is all about printable art and templates. Mr Printable offers loads of Monocle magazine-worthy craft ideas for kids that are just as appealing to adults. 

Make and Takes. The site is full of fun things families can learn, make, or enjoy. The Kids Crafts section houses a variety of ideas to keep children’s hands busy and minds creative. Bonus tip: It has a kitchen section!
Foto from Anna Shvets via Pexels 
7. Learn  online
 
Coding. Yes!! , Kids as young as 5 years of age can start coding and learning programming basics. Imagine your children building their own website and creating a video game. Code.org offers classes for a variety of ages and experience levels. Many languages available.

Khan Academy Kids App. This app offers free, fun educational program for children ages two to seven. Bonus.. The website is offering resources for kids at home during the coronavirus quarantine, including daily schedules for children age 4-18.

e-learning for kids. This site is fantastic, children can learn about Math, science, environmental skills, and more.. Please check the life skills!!! Courses available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French and Indian English. 

Though Co.  Chemistry Activities for Kids. This website features chemistry demonstrations, crafts, and projects that are suitable for kids. Some activities require adult supervision. 

Science News for Kids helps kids (middle school and above) stay up-to-date on scientific trends. Provides crisp, concise coverage of all fields of science daily. 


Extra tip:  Gardening!!  

Kidsgardening.org  Spring is coming and this site has many activities, resources and ideas to introduce your children to gardening or improve their skills.  You also can check these 35 helpful tips on how to garden with children.  


UPDATE  March 17th.  We got a fantastic tip..   this one is the cherry on top!

Bed time stories from space!!  Astronauts on various missions in space read children’s books while floating about. Its quite unique, the astronauts also show and tell a bit about the space station. All the stories are read in English, except for one:  Japanese engineer and JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata read Max Goes to the International Space Station in Japanese.

While we were watching the videos,  we though ...wow they do manage well the confinement and loneliness!! So let's make the best of this quarantine period and do things we normally don't. 

How are you managing the quarantine?

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