Happy Friday and welcome to May! Did April seem to fly by or crawl by for you? Well, “April showers bring May flowers,” and there sure are a lot of beautiful wildflowers out these days. We hope you have had an opportunity to get out and take in their splendor of color. April was a full month of distance learning and sheltering in place and though we may not know what May has in store for us, let’s hope for some figurative flowers to accompany the literal ones.
Now for today’s post…
Did you know that Wisdom Wonder Project has a blog? It is called Little by Little — Check it out! Betsi Ashby curated this fun post for WWP with links to free resources, and it was just too good not to share.
How is everyone doing?? The realities of quarantine are settling in for us in new ways this week, and we’ve found ourselves trying to stave off the doldrums.
Will we ever get to return to normal? What is normal exactly?
The ocean is calling, and I can’t go!
You want another snack?
Making space for the ups and downs of each family member amidst all this can be A LOT for a parent. Well, if you haven’t heard it yet today: We see you. You are doing a great job. Keep it up.
While being home with your family can have its challenges, especially after a month (or longer!) of sheltering in place, there are some silver linings. Frequent video calls with friends and family, kindnesses from strangers, and family time we will (hopefully) look back on as precious and rare. Businesses and organizations all over are also making generous gifts of content available for free (including us!). Surely you were bombarded with loads of free COVID-19 resource lists already, but we thought we’d pop in to remind you of some really great ones! Below is a curated list of different online opportunities to take advantage of. We’ll keep updating this post as we find more gems, and please comment below with ones you’ve found!
Note: Wisdom Wonder Project is not affiliated with any of the below-mentioned websites, businesses or organizations. Please review all material and/or videos to ensure content is age-appropriate for your child(ren).
Audible
Audible is streaming hundreds of their stories (across six languages) for free during the COVID-19 pandemic. Audiobooks are great ways to access literature while libraries are closed. From literary classics, stories for even the littlest listeners, to the first Harry Potter book, there are options for all aged listeners.
START LISTENING
Ivy League Courses
Here are 450 Ivy League Massive Open Online courses you can take online right now. If you sign up for Coursera, access courses at no cost by choosing to “audit”. Time to brush up on your Greek and Roman Mythology!
START LEARNING
Harry Potter at Home
JK Rowling has done it again! Bringing the Wizarding World right into your living room, “You’ll find all the latest things to keep you occupied – from special activity kits from Bloomsbury to Scholastic, to nifty magical craft videos (teach your friends how to draw a Niffler!) fun articles, quizzes, puzzles and more.
TIME FOR SOME MAGIC
Legoland
Legoland is posting LEGO building challenges and free printables for kids every week. Get that block play going!
START BUILDING
Animals & Nature
California State Parks PORTS Home Learning Programs
Register for K-12 classes exploring parks all over the state without having to travel.
SIGN UP FOR CLASSES
Conservation Training
“ConservationTraining is an open and free learning community that offers conservation-based training materials from The Nature Conservancy.” Learn about our precious planet and its wonders (for older teens/adults).
BROWSE COURSES
San Diego Zoo
The world-famous zoo has twelve different live animal cams for your viewing pleasure, including panda cam archives of Bai Yun and Xiao Liwu from early 2019. Giraffes, pandas, tigers, oh yay!
WATCH THE ANIMALS
Theater
The Globe Theater
Streaming a different free Shakespeare play every 2 weeks! Shakespeare’s London Globe is releasing a different play every two weeks, available on Youtube. making some divine sense amidst the current madness.
Romeo and Juliet: April 20-May 3
The Two Noble Kinsmen: May 4-17
The Winter’s Tale: May 18-31
The Merry Wives of Windsor: June 1-14
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: June 15-28
TO WATCH OR NOT TO WATCH
National Theatre at Home
Another London theater is streaming a different play every Thursday on Youtube. Be sure to check out the comments below the video, they have study guides and activities for kids based on the play!
Treasure Island, April 16-23
Twelfth Night, April 23-30
GO TO THE THEATRE
The Shows Must Go On!
Every Friday, The Shows Must Go On! will be releasing a different musical by Andrew Lloyd Weber on Youtube. Be sure to watch when you can, they’ll only be available for 48 hours!
MUSICALS ARE MY JAM
Museums
MET’s Timeline of Art History
The MET is pairing “essays and works of art with chronologies, telling the story of art and global culture through the Museum’s collection.”
EXPLORE THE MET
The Vatican
Take 360 degree, virtual tours of the Sistine Chapel and the rest of the Vatican with the whole family. Can you spot Michealangelo’s God and Adam on the ceiling?
TAKE A TOUR
The Lourve
Did you know that the Lourve was once a fortress built by the French king Philippe Auguste? Take a virtual walk around the moat, or explore Egyptian antiques together.
TAKE A TOUR
We hope you find space to take advantage of these resources without feeling pressured to get to them all. Maybe let each family member pick one from the list to do on their own or together, and let the rest lie for now. They’ll still be here if/when you do.
Any other free amazing resources you’ve found during the pandemic? Share with us in the comments below!
