School is canceled, which means you’re now not only a parent, secretary and CEO of your household, but you’re also the teacher, principal, lunch lady and coach!
Oh, and you might be trying to do your office job at home now too. No big deal.
I’m right there with you, and if your kids are anything like mine, they need to be entertained 24/7. With everything else you’re tasked with right now, I want to help make this part a little easier! And I don’t want you to have to spend money to do it.
If you’re looking for ways to keep your kids entertained while quarantined, here are some of my favorite free ideas:
Kids Under 5
1. Make this simple DIY ball ramp game.
2. Play free games featuring Elmo, Daniel Tiger and more at pbskids.org.
3. ABCmouse.com offers a 30-day free trial of their interactive lessons and games.
4. Try out Post-It Match—a DIY name recognition activity.
5. Watch astronauts read children’s books from space.
6. Through the quarantine, Other Goose is offering their charter school-approved curriculum for free.
7. Disney+ is a favorite in our house, and they offer a seven-day free trial. (Be sure to set a reminder on your calendar to cancel on day seven!)
Kindergarten to Middle School
8. Create new animals, build a habitat for them and so much more with Switch Zoo Animal Games.
9. A whole website of Dr. Seuss games? Adorable.
10. Find DIY experiments, craft projects, stories and more here. They even have videos that explain the coronavirus pandemic to your kids.
11. Create your own spelling tests or choose from dozens at Spelling Training.
12. Help your kids plant their first garden! This site has everything you need.
Middle School, High School and Beyond
13. Learn a new language!
14. Use code-breaking and geography skills in these awesome Carmen Sandiego worksheets.
15. Check out free cooking and science experiments every day.
16. Try a free trial of online courses for teens and adults.
17. AP students can prep for their courses using live trivia and study guides.
18. Brush up on your writing skills with this writing course free trial.
19. Don’t forget, you can watch every episode of The Rachel Cruze Show for free!
All Ages
20. Watch live video feeds of giraffes, baboons, polar bears and more from the San Diego Zoo.
21. This app adds music, sound effects and character voices to children’s books to create a totally new story time experience!
22. Print out these at-home activity packs for math and reading at every grade level, and check out hundreds of thousands MORE worksheets here.
23. Watch these livestreams of real wildlife from Alaska.
24. Play educational games personalized to your child’s learning level at DreamBox.
25. Teach your kids responsibility and the value of money with our fun activities in our SmartKids Launchpad.