Social Distancing has meant a lot of school closures, which means a lot of parents and caregivers are finding themselves with an increased presence of children. Ew! Are we supposed to keep them in our house?
I’ve seen an outpouring of organizations and artists putting out everything from free eBooks to a Twitter workshop on comics writing. I thought it might be cool if some person who likes doing things and making lists could do a thing where she makes a list of all these neat-o things. So, here it is, along with some of my personal favorite podcasts. I’ve provided “clean” links where possible. I will update this list as I am able, so bookmark and check back!
UPDATED: 17 MARCH 2020
Educational Resources
Schoolhouse Rocks on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1yty6F-2neYfwE8xc1A72Q
Liz Teachers Classical Myth on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Liz-Teaches-Classical-Myth-100779418230779/?hc_location=ufi
Gail Simone teaches #ComicsSchool on Twitter https://twitter.com/GailSimone/status/1238556192072318976
Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/mo-willems/
Education companies offering free subscriptions https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/135609/list-of-education-companies-offering-free-subscriptions/
Have Fun Teaching — Online learning “relief packs” for Pre-K through 4th grade https://www.havefunteaching.com/resources/relief-packs/
ABC-ya — Pre-K learning https://www.abcya.com/grades/prek
Virtual Tours/Livecams/Streaming
Broadway Livestreams https://www.playbill.com/article/15-broadway-plays-and-musicals-you-can-watch-on-stage-from-home
Met Opera Livestreams https://www.playbill.com/article/metropolitan-opera-after-shutting-its-doors-will-offer-free-streams-from-live-in-hd-catalog
Seattle Symphony Livestreams https://seattlesymphony.org/watch-listen/beyondthestage/live-broadcasts
Yo-Yo Ma on Facebook — Songs of Comfort https://www.facebook.com/pg/YoYoMa/videos/
Monterey Bay Aquarium Livecams https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/live-cams
Cincinnati Zoo At Home Safari and Fiona the Hippo http://cincinnatizoo.org/news-releases/cincinnati-zoo-is-bringing-the-zoo-to-you/
National Geographic Coronavirus Family Survival Guide https://www.nationalgeographic.com/family/in-the-news/coronavirus/coronavirus-family-survival-guide/
NASA’s Media Library — Over 140,000 images, videos, and sounds, searchable and copyright free https://images.nasa.gov/
Podcasts (E = potential explicit language)
Escape Pod — Short story podcast (Sci-Fi) (E) https://escapepod.org/
PodCastle — Short story podcast (Fantasy) (E) https://podcastle.org/
PseudoPod — Short story podcast (Horror) (E) https://pseudopod.org/
Cast of Wonders — Young Adult Speculative Fiction short story podcast https://www.castofwonders.org/
(Note: Stories are also printed in full for all EA Podcasts, after each episode if you’d like to pre-screen for suitability.)
Ologies with Alie Ward — Science podcast asking smart people dumb questions (E, but bleeped episodes are available) https://www.alieward.com/ologies
Flash Forward — Science podcast exploring the possible and not-so-possible future https://www.flashforwardpod.com/
Apocrypals — Comedic Biblical literacy podcast with two non-believers who aren’t jerks about it. https://apocrypals.libsyn.com/
Free eBooks and Online Books
(Until 19 March) Unlucky by Zom Barber — Fantasy. A very unlucky boy is swept up in a quest with a murderous unicorn. https://www.amazon.com/Unlucky-Zom-Barber-ebook/dp/B0773HQZMF/ref=sr_1_1
Storyline Online — The SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s award-winning children’s literacy website https://www.storylineonline.net/
Penguin Random House Open License — Videos and read-aloud of Penguin/RH books https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/penguin-random-house-temporary-open-license/
Physical Activity
Headspace — meditation, mindfulness, and movement exercises https://twitter.com/Headspace/status/1239588833013813248?s=20
Alo Yoga — Yoga activities for all ages https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJEi1foUiGObzzQM3QA2H5A
Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube — Yoga, mindfulness, and relaxation for kids https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5uIZ2KOZZeQDQo_Gsi_qbQ
Will update as needed.
Leave a Reply