During school closures, it’s important to keep kids engaged, healthy, and active at home. Here are mostly free suggestions and links to keep your kids engaged. Of course, all this time with your kids is a great opportunity for you to talk about your expectations for them regarding drug and alcohol use. Use the Talk About It tip-sheets to get the conversation going.
Visit New Places
- The Cincinnati Zoo will go live each day at 3pm
- San Diego Zoo Cams OR Animal Cams around the world
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Virtual Museum Tours offers tours from museums around the world
Take a Class
- Learn a Language: Download the Duolingo app for free. It’s great for all ages.
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Learn to Draw: There are so many online resources for this, you can check out what works for your students based on their age.
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Learn to Cook:
BBC has a nice selection of cooking videos
for people with a variety of skill levels. Don’t know how to cut an onion? There’s a class for that. But there are also classes on advanced techniques.
- Free Activities for Learning Fun from Little Passports
Stay Active
- Group HIIT Circuits for Kids: No-Equipment HIIT Workout OR No Equipment HIIT 30s/20s Intervals
- Squish the Fish | A Cosmic Kids Yoga Adventure!
- Frozen | A Cosmic Kids Yoga Adventure!
- Yoga For Kids with Alissa Kepas
- Yoga For Teens | Yoga With Adriene
- Yoga to Calm Your Nerves | 10 Minute Teens Yoga Class with Yoga Ed. | Ages 13-18
- Yoga For Beginners | 30 Minute Teens Yoga Class with Yoga Ed. | Ages 13-18
Manage Stress
- Meditation for Teenagers Stress & Anxiety – Guided Meditation for Teens
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Guided Meditation for Children | Your Secret Treehouse | Relaxation for Kids
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Breathing Exercises for Teens
- Sesame Street Deep Breathing with Elmo
- Fun activities that encourage deep breathing:
- Try blowing crepe paper.
- Blow bubbles.
- Inflate a balloon.
- Blow feathers in the air or off of a table.
- Blow ping pong balls on the floor.
- Blow small pieces of tissue paper.
- Blow through a straw to spread out paint on paper.
Try Low-to-No-Tech-Needed Activities
- Put on a play or a talent show
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Have a picnic on the living room floor
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Play with a frisbee or ball in the yard
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Do a puzzle
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Look through old family albums together
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Bake cookies
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Take family photos
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Play board games
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Clean out your room and make bags for donating (spring clean!)
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Put on an indoor scavenger hunt
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Write letters or make your own postcards
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Call a friend or a family member
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If a family member plays an instrument, have them teach it to you
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Build a fort. Eat dinner in it.
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Have a dance party where everyone takes turns picking the music
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Learn a new card game
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Have a contest to see who can make something useful from what’s in the junk drawer
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Stare into space and let your mind wander (doing nothing is actually good for you)
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Write your own stand-up comedy act
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Or listen to family-friendly stand-up for inspiration. Billy Kelly’s kid-friendly comedy album is on iTunes or Amazon.