Boredom Busters
With the governor of MA closing schools and many adults at home as well, keeping children busy and learning and not-bored will be a challenge in the upcoming weeks. Keeping adults busy and not-bored will be a challenge too! Here’s an updating list of activities, lessons, and resources available for free online.
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We’ve been uploading videos to our YouTube channel of local music legends, yoga, cooking videos, story time…
- Take a walk. Explore your neighborhood or local trail systems. The Quequechan River Trail in Fall River, Fort Barton in Tiverton, and the bike path along Horseneck Beach are all wide open areas. The CDC recommends against visiting local playgrounds as Covid-19 can survive on play surfaces and children come in close contact (and share germs) while playing with each other.
- Have recess! Playworks has a number of playbooks for games and ideas…and has a livestreamed recess three times a day!
- Do some yoga or practice mindfulness. Taking a break to breathe, move, and practice mindfulness is never a bad thing. Below are some popular, well-recommended Youtube channels for free yoga:
- CosmicKids Yoga has brief, 11-15 minute long yoga videos for children ages 3 and up. They also have a mindfulness channel.
- Communications Coordinator Meg loves Yoga With Adriene. This channel has videos of various lengths and purposes, but all with the mantra “Find What Feels Good” and all with modifications for various abilities, including chair yoga for seniors and even wheelchair yoga for those with limited mobility.
- This five minute mindfulness meditation is a brief way to refocus and settle your mind and body.
- Check your local gym’s website. Our partners at the Fall River YMCA are offering online classes and activities for members. Your gym or studio might be doing the same! Follow your favorite fitness providers on their social media channels to be in the loop.
- Google “At home circuit workout no equipment.” There are, literally, millions of ways to move your body in your back yard or living room that require no equipment (or contact with other people!)
- Looking for a way to explain COVID-19 and social isolation to a little one? Check out this social story in English or Spanish.
- Khan Academy has a slew of videos to teach everything from algebra to organic chemistry to grammar. When your child asks you how to use the quadratic equation, Khan Academy can come to the rescue!
- Duolingo is a free language-learning app for all ages. Whether you want to brush up on your high school Spanish or teach your child Welsh, you can download the app for your phone, laptop, or tablet and learn as you go. Lessons are brief and provide “awards” as you complete levels.
- Scholastic Books has started a free Learn-from-Home program for families with students in kindergarten through middle school. There are four quality lessons a day, structured around a theme.
- Science experiments are messy…but fun! Check out this list of 63 at-home science experiments for children. Kids love discovering and learning new things. Let them be scientists: propose a hypothesis, run an experiment, and teach you about their results!
- Go outside! Let the kids explore the back yard, rake the leaves, plant those bulbs you bought last year, climb trees, count different species of birds and plants, play pretend. If you don’t have your own yard, check out the Trustees of the Reservation. There are a ton of free local trails to explore!
- Attend story time! Lots of artists and writers are doing live broadcasts on social media. Check out the list below.
- James Dean, author of the Pete the Cat books will do a virtual story time at noon on 3/17
- Mo Willems, Artist-in-Residence-at-Home for the Kennedy Center will do a weekly doodle, drawing, or story each day at noon on the Kennedy Center’s website.
- At Home STEAM Activities. Test, create and learn with these activities for kids 3+
- Puzzles! With a variety of fun (and challenging) math puzzles, adults and kids will enjoy https://solveme.edc.org/
- Color Cree First Nations “Octopus purses” and learn about a new culture. (Printer needed) https://drive.google.com/file/d/17zf9GnygE1gPlOcm4SR2pSzAa-Hd1iJ3/view
- Virtual “visit” a museum. Google teamed up with museums all over the globe to offer virtual tours of famous exhibits. Check out the work of Freida Kahlo and Vincent van Gogh and Titian without leaving the house. If you have plenty of art supplies hanging around, kids (and adults!) can mimic the works of their favorite artists.
- Take a Home Safari with the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Every day at 3pm, the Cincinnati Zoo will go live on their Facebook page to highlight a zoo animal and do an at-home activity. They’ll be logging those videos on their YouTube channel after they’re done so you can watch at any time.
- Visit a local zoo. Buttomwood Park Zoo has a fantastic YouTube channel with videos of their animals and zookeeper talks.
- Go under the sea. If you’re a more aquatic family, check out the Shark Story Hour at the Atlantic White Shark Conservatory’s Facebook page. They’ll be sharing shark-related books and facts every day at 10am. This might be just what the Baby Shark lover in your house needs!
- See a Broadway show. While the lights have dimmed on Broadway (and tickets are just too pricey anyway…looking at you, Hamilton!), you can watch a number of famous casts strut about the stage for free (or an inexpensive rental). Playbill has a solid list of shows available to stream.
- More of an opera fan? The Met Opera will stream a show each evening and for the next 20ish hours.
For a whole slew of ideas for kids, siblings, and teens, check out this pdf.
Remember- social distancing is the best way to protect those in our community who are most at risk. If you must go out, follow the directions from the CDC: Wash your hands, clean surfaces with disinfectant that is at least 60% alcohol, and stay at least 6 feet away from others.
If you are looking for ways to support your community, consider donating to the UWGFR Disaster Fund.
All donations will remain in Greater Fall River and will support the relief efforts of our partner agencies.