A list created by Waseca-Le Sueur Regional Library System staff

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Books and Storytelling

• OverDrive: Check out our online collection of ebooks and e-audiobooks, available free with your library card
• Penguin Random House Author Events: Virtual author events for adults, teens, and kids.
• Random House Virtual Events: Random House is hosting author events, featuring your favorite authors, chefs and inspiring leaders.
• Mac Barnett’s Instagram Live: Author Mac Barnett (@macbarnett) will be reading a book a day on Instagram. Available via mobile devices.
• Oliver Jeffers Instagram Live: Author Oliver Jeffers will read his books at noon.
• Josh Gad Book Club: Actor Josh Gad (Olaf, from Frozen) will be reading books 6:30 pm on Twitter.
• Save with Stories: Actors Amy Adams (Giselle from Enchanted) and Jennifer Garner (13 Going on 30, Juno) will be reading picture books on Instagram.
• PenguinKids Story Time: Penguin Kids (book publisher) will be holding story time every week day at 10 am on Instagram.
• Read, Wonder and Learn: Favorite authors and illustrators share resources for learning anywhere.
• Storyline Online: Listen to celebrities read children’s books.
• 450 Manga Volumes Online: a large number of Japan’s manga publishers are making their comics available online for free
• Storytime From Space: astronauts reading amazing children’s books out loud … from SPACE! Storytimefromspace.com
• Storynory: audio stories for children, including fairy tales, myths from around the world, classic authors, and original tales.
• Pinna: Offering an extended 60 days free trial during this crisis. Has audiobooks, podcasts, and music for kids 3-12, including many picture books, some read by their authors.
• Center for Puppetry Arts Shows: The Center for Puppetry Arts is performing live, interactive puppet shows using Zoom. Check out their schedule.
• Dramatic Readings: Practice your own reading! Read into a paper towel tube or act out picture books.
• Virtual story times on Facebook: Many libraries are hosting Facebook Live versions of their usual story time. This calendar shows the timing of various ones throughout the week. Each event has a link to the facebook event and the hosting site. Follow one of those at the correct time!
• YouTube Creators for Change: An ongoing global initiative that spotlights inspirational Creators who use YouTube to foster productive conversations around tough issues and make a positive impact on the world.
• Patrick Stewart’s Shakespearean Sonnets: One of the best voices in Hollywood is reading one sonnet a day on Instagram and Twitter.

Crafting

• CreativeBug: An online collection of crafting how-to videos, available free with your library card
• Carson Ellis Instagram Quarantine Art Club: Artist Carson Ellis (@carsonellis) will lead daily art assignments for kids and adults
• Organize a neighborhood art show: In Spain kids are posting their artwork in their windows so when families take a walk around the neighborhood (in isolation), they can see what other kid artists are working on.
• Lunch Doodles With Mo Willems: Mo invites you into his studio every day for his LUNCH DOODLE. Learners worldwide can draw, doodle and explore new ways of writing once a day for a few weeks. Viewers can see each new video at noon to watch all of Mo’s videos, find activity sheets to print out, and more. 
• Stimola Lab: Live stream events for kids, tweens, and teens by professional authors and illustrators represented by Stimola Literary Studio
• TinkerLab’s Daily Art Challenge: Start a daily sketching practice.
• Kutovakika Lessons: Learn how to take creative self portraits on YouTube.
• Smallfull Free Printables: Sign up for their monthly newsletter for adorable free printables.
• Coloring Book Pages: 2020 Children’s Book Week book art of 23 artists, now in coloring page format

Music

• Live Streamed Music for Kids: This is a listing of independent children’s musicians around the globe who are transitioning our live shows to live streams to accommodate social distancing recommendations due to the coronavirus crisis.
• Live Streaming Shows & Music Classes for Kids by Independent Artists:
• Met Opera Streams: The Metropolitan Opera in New York City is posting nightly performances from its archives while the Met is closed.
• The Jolly Pops: Every day at 10:30 they will be getting on Facebook Live and play Jolly Pop Favorites.
• Okee Dokee Brothers!: This wonderful kid music duo has an Ad-Free YouTube channel with full 40min adventure movies, music videos, shenanigans, and interviews. Link to their Youtube channel. Link to their study guide.
• Fender Lessons: Fender is offering 3 months of free guitar, ukelele, and bass lessons for the first 100,000 people to register.

Exercise/Movement

• GoNoodle: Movement and mindfulness videos created by child development experts
• Yoga For Kids:

Wellness

• Tips for Social Distancing: Tips for connecting with others, relaxing during stressful times, and more. Created by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
• Tips for Dealing with Stress during Infectious Disease Outbreaks: Tips for identifying signs of stress, knowing how to relieve stress, and more. Created by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
• Talking to Kids about Social Distancing: The Child Mind Institute created these recommendations on how to talk to your kids about social distancing
• Wit and Delight’s Journaling to Get You Out of Your Head: Great journaling tips that help deal with anxiety
• Emotional Crisis Help: Text “Home” to 741741 when you are feeling depressed, sad, or going through an emotional crisis. A crisis worker will text you back immediately and continue to text with you. Free.
• Elizabeth Gilbert’s 5-4-3-2-1 Practice:
  

STEM

• • 30 Days of Lego: 30 days worth of Lego building prompts
  • Nature Journaling: Make a living journal. Go on walks (while keeping a safe distance from others) and find one thing for your child to draw, describe, weigh or measure.

 

• 25 Ridiculously Fun Lego Activities for Kids

 

Online Learning

• Playful Learning: Offering a 30-day trial membership, great homeschooling resources
• Great Courses Plus: Offering a free month of classes for adults like Everyday Engineering, Masters of Mindfulness, Learning Spanish, Fundamental Photography, Algebra I and more.
• Pinna: Offering an extended 60 days free trial during this crisis. Has audiobooks, podcasts, and music for kids 3-12, including a section for learning new things.
• Khan Academy: K-12 free online lessons
• Flocabulary: Offering a 30 day free trial of educational hip hop songs and video about K-12 subjects,

Virtual Field Trips

• San Diego Zoo: Live cams of apes, koalas, pandas, penguins, and more
• Musée d’Orsay: Famous works by artists who lived or worked in France between 1848-1914, including Monet, Cezanne, and Van Gogh
• Smithsonian National Zoo: Webcams allow kids to watch lions, pandas, elephants and naked mole rats.
• Seattle Aquarium: spend a half hour under the water with the experts
• Explore Live Cams: live cams of many cool things: Polar bears, ocean animals, elephant park, Decorah eagles, and more.
• Cincinnati Zoo: Starting on March 16, the zoo will have a FB Live event every afternoon @ 3pm on their home page featuring an animal and an activity that kids can do at home.