Looking for still more ways to keep your kids entertained educationally while schools are closed? Here are a few new ideas.
For young learners, several of Morgantown’s elementary schools have created videos of teachers and principals reading books out loud. This whole effort gets us right in the feels, and your kids will enjoy seeing familiar faces. You can find some made by the staff at Mylan Park Elementary School here.
If your kid is an animal lover, check out the many wildlife cams available online. It’s like the zoo, only climate-controlled and from your couch. We love the EagleCam live-streaming from Shepherdstown, the wild entertainment of the Africams, or the Panda Cam brought to you by the San Diego Zoo. The Cincinnati Zoo holds a daily Facebook Live Home Safari event every weekday at 3 p.m.—past Home Safaris are on the website.
Some organizations make world exploration online especially interesting. Some of our favorites are Atlas Obscura’s 20,000 surprising places, a virtual tour of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and any of the many world-class museums that offer virtual tours. Or for a whole different worldview, travel from wallet to handbag to cash register through George Washington’s eyes.
If it’s science you’re looking for, the Cacapon Institute in Great Cacapon, West Virginia, has a watershed e-school for students at all levels. Kids can learn about the dynamics of water on land and what keeps rivers healthy—lessons you can reinforce during a walk along the Mon River or Deckers Creek. The SETI Institute has a list of at-home science projects from world-class science institutions like NASA. Atlas Obscura lists citizen science projects, anything from transcribing labels from old herbaria to submitting bird sightings and the dates flowers around you blossom. Or you and the kids can choose a big data project related to COVID-19 or many other topics to contribute unused computing power to here.
Finally, right here at home, the Morgantown Public Library has vast free resources available online. Check out Tumblebooks and Hoopla for e-books and audiobooks, graphic novels, puzzles and games, plus educational and entertaining TV programs, movies, and music for kids. And so much more—seriously, if you haven’t ever just browsed the site, do yourself a favor and check it out. Language learning? Popular magazines? Music lessons? You’ll find things you’ll wish you’d known about a long time ago. If you don’t have a library card, you can sign up remotely while social distancing is in force—message the library and answer a few simple questions to get a library card number. askmympls@gmail.com, @morgantownpubliclibrary on Facebook, mympls.org
posted on March 27, 2020
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