Posted by JF&CS

With children home from school and our participants home from their day programs, it can be hard to find meaningful activities to keep them engaged. Here are some suggestions from our Director of Social and Behavioral Supports, Angela Waring.

Social Story – Coronavirus

  • Keshet Chicago has a social story explaining the virus in an easy to understand way.

Creative/Art

  • Jarrett Lerner, a local artist and author, has lots of fun activities on his web page like “finish this comic” and drawing prompts suitable for all ages.
  • Google has lots of fun coloring pages to print or complete on an iPad.

Active/Movement

  • GoNoodle has a wide range of interactive videos from burning energy, practicing mindfulness, stretching, dancing, etc. Tip: click on “Indoor Recess Mega Mixes for mashups of their most popular videos and select one with the length of time you want.
  • YouTube is an excellent resource as well. You can search for things like beginner yoga, zumba, dance videos for kids, or workout videos for kids and find a ton of great options. You can also find our own dance and movement videos on our YouTube channel.
  • Mini at-home workouts can use basic visuals to plan a workout at any level to burn some energy, such as ten jumping jacks, one minute of jump rope, ten lunges, bicep curls using household items, etc.

History/Geography

  • Here is a list of virtual tours of several famous museums.
  • National Geographic Kids is full of activities on geography and animals.
  • History for Kids has a wide variety of topics including videos, worksheets, and quizzes.

Stories/Reading/Writing

  • Storyline Online has some of your favorite stories read to you by movie stars.
  • Into the Book lets you go “into the book” to play games that practice reading strategies.
  • Fun Brain has activities to practice math and reading skills while playing games.
  • Squiggle Park provides reading and comprehension activities for all grade levels.
  • Typing Club has free beginner typing lessons to learn how to touch type.
  • Our Youtube channel has a variety of read aloud videos from our staff and volunteers.

General Web-based Academics:

  • Scholastic Learn-at-Home is well done and very comprehensive. There are a variety of lessons in all subjects, such as virtual field trips, games, videos, activities, work sheets, etc.
  • Brain Pop is similar to the Scholastic Learn-at-home with fun options on a wide-range of topics.

Science/Math

  • Switcheroo Zoo lets you watch, listen, and play games to learn all about animals.
  • Highlights Kids has activities to read, play games, and conduct cool science experiments.
  • ABC YA lets you practice math and reading skills all while playing fun games.