University Libraries: COVID-19 Resources: Kid Stuff

For Children - Explaining COVID-19

Coronavirus Slides for Kids
Coronavirus explanation for kids by Manuel Molina Cruz
Helping Children Cope With Changes Resulting from COVID-19
From the National Association of School Psychologists
Reducing Stress at Home
Helpful tips from the New Jersey State Library and Loren McClain, a certified instructor for the National Council of Behavioral Health and Mental Health First Aid USA.
Sesame Street in Communities
Contains resources and materials to hope children and their families cope during this challenging time.

Things to do with kids

9 kid-friendly activities while you're stuck at home

From the Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper.

10 free online educational game sites

From KQED public media.

100 ways to have fun with your kids for free or cheap

From zen habits blog.

Amazing Educational Resources

A crowd-sourced collection of educational materials being offered for free while schools are closed.

Audible Stories

Instantly stream an incredible collection of stories, including titles across six different languages, that will help them continue dreaming, learning, and just being kids. All stories are free to stream on your desktop, laptop, phone or tablet.

Authors Everywhere

A YouTube channel created and run by children's book writers and illustrators.

Brain Pickings

An inventory of the meaningful life - articles on art, science, philosophy, creativity and much more.
#ConcertsForKids
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts has teamed up with a remarkable group of artists who are bringing world-class performances and diverse musical perspectives from their home to yours. New concerts are released on Wednesdays at 4:00 pm and then are available on demand.

Exercising with Children
Suggestions and hacks to get children some exercise.
Funbrain
Puzzles, games, videos, books, and more for kids Kindergarten - 6th grade.

Khan Academy
Sign up for a free parent or learner account, see sample schedules for kids of different ages, and watch videos on dozens of subjects.

Library of Congress Classic Reads
No downloads needed. Just choose a classic book for children of all ages and read.

Kids Activities
Activities for kids of all ages
The Kids Should See This!
Smart videos for curious minds of all ages

NASA at Home
Includes e-books, virtual tours and a video channel. Additional NASA videos can be found at the NASA Video channel on youtube.

Nerdbear Top 60 Educational Games
Games to make education fun.

Netflix Party
A new way to watch Netflix together.

NPR's Podcasts for Kids & Families
A wide variety of family oriented podcasts
NPR's Science Friday
Weekly science podcasts
Picture Books Read Aloud Videos
Teacher and author Pernille Ripp shares over a dozen sites with read aloud videos.
#StoryMarch
The Greater Boston Illustrators' Group started this fun, free daily art challenge for people of all ages.
Zooniverse
Citizen science goes digital in the Zooniverse, where people around the world help researchers.

Audio Books for Kids

Audible

For as long as schools are closed, Audible is open. Kids everywhere can instantly stream an incredible collection of stories, including titles across six different languages, that will help them continue dreaming, learning, and just being kids. All stories are free to stream on a desktop, laptop, phone or tablet.

Highlights!

Highlights magazine is now online. Explore fun games, recipes, jokes, and much more.

Scholastic

"As more and more teachers, students, and families around the world are affected by the coronavirus, our priority is to support them in the best way we know how -- by providing them with rich stories and meaningful projects that will keep kids academically active," Lauren Tarshis, senior vice president and editor-in-chief of Scholastic Classroom Magazines said.

Storynory

Storynory has been giving free audio stories to the world since November 2005.

Story Time from Space

Story Time from Space is a project of the Global Space Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education foundation.While in space, astronauts are videotaping themselves reading these books to the children of Earth. These videos are being edited and placed on this Story Time From Space website- look under the heading ” Story Time Videos."

Adapted from https://tnstate.libguides.com/c.php?g=1015577&p=7395157 (Tennessee State University Libraries)

Coloring Templates for Kids of All Ages

Many museums and other websites are offering digital prints of their collections to download for free for those who enjoy coloring. Take a look at some of the amazing options below!

British Library Coloring Book 2019

Amongst the more recognizable offerings are a trio of illustrations from the British Library featuring the aforementioned Wonderland tea party, Aubrey Beardsley’s decadent Art Nouveau rendering of a scene from Oscar Wilde’s Salomé and an Arthur Rackham sketch of Cinderella arriving at the fabled fairytale ball.

Crayola Free Coloring Pages

The Crayola company website features several categories of free downloads such as Disney, Adult Coloring, Characters and more
Free Downloads from the NYPL
The New York Public Library has free coloring pages, crosswords, word searches and more for kids of all ages.

Just Color

Explore the galleries of free printable Adult & Art Therapy Coloring pages

New York Academy of Medicine ColorOurCollections
From February 3-7, 2020, libraries, archives, and other cultural institutions around the world are sharing free coloring sheets and books based on materials in their collections. Please download, print, and share your favorites!

Readings for Children

The following is a small sampling of children's books read online.

Betty White
Reading Harry the Dirty Dog
Dolly Parton
The "Goodnight With Dolly" readings will be streamed on YouTube and elsewhere starting on Thursday, April 2 at 7 p.m. ET. The first book in the series is "The Little Engine That Could," by Watty Piper.
Dr. Seuss
"Green Eggs and Ham" read by Neil Gaiman.
LeVar Burton Reads (Twitter)
Mondays for Children: 9:00 am PT/12:00 pm ET. Many more readings can be found on his podcast.
Mac Barnett
The author will be reading a book a day on Instagram Live.
Monique Gray Smith
The author has added a collection of videos of herself reading from her picture books on Instagram.
Neal Shusterman
Neal Shusterman is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty award-winning books for children, teens, and adults, including the Arc of a Scythe series.
Oliver Jeffers
The author will be reading one book every day on Instagram Live. Can’t make it? He’ll also be posting the videos to his website.
Peter Reynolds
Author, illustrator, and founder of FableVision. Find Peter’s weekday read-aloud events on Facebook at noon EDT, Monday through Friday.
Roda Ahmed
The author will be doing read-alouds on Instagram Live of her book "Mae Among the Stars."
Sarah Darer Littman
Sarah is adding readings, mini-lessons, and prompts to her page! Follow along and get inspired to get reading and writing.
Save with Stories
Amy Adams and Jennifer Garner announced that they would begin sharing videos of them reading children’s books on Instagram in order to raise money for children affected by school closures.
Sesame Street
Sesame Street Just made 110 Ebooks 100 Percent Free.
Storyline Online
Storyline Online has a large collection of childrens' books read aloud by actors.
Tony DiTerlizzi
Find Daily live drawing sessions on Facebook! Tony DiTerlizzi is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator who has been creating books for twenty years.