keeping busy in the summer of covid-19

Outside/Active
 

• Go for a walk with a friend
• Play tennis or basketball at the local park or school
• Go backyard camping – pitch a tent, make a campfire (with adult help of course), tell ghost stories, and maybe even sleep outside.  
• Play outdoor games (cornhole, Jenga, badminton, frisbee)
• Set up a “Survivor” type challenge in your backyard
• Design a scavenger hunt for siblings, friends, kids on your street
• Tend your garden
• Go for a bike ride
• Go “birdwatching” in your yard with some binoculars; learn some bird calls (try birdwatchingacademy.com)
• Walk your dog, or start a dog walking business in your neighborhood
• Set up some fun water games with sprinklers, water balloons, slip n’ slides, etc.  
• Turn your patio or driveway into a giant stained-glass window using sidewalk chalk
• Have the kids on your street work together to make a sidewalk chalk street/sidewalk obstacle course or fitness challenge
• Go on a family outing to a hiking or walking trail
• Sign up for an exercise challenge or make up your own
  • The yes.fit app has the coolest challenges with fun medals at the end
  • How about logging running, biking or swimming mileage to cover the length of the Grand Canyon or the Appalachian Trail?  Check out theconquerer.events.
• Missing Summer camp?  Replicate a camp tradition at home.  Maybe a special campfire meal?  A craft?  Or a sporting event? A string or gimp friendship bracelet?

 
Creative Activities
 

• Paint by numbers
• Jigsaw puzzles
• Coloring books
• Do a crossword or word search
• Play your favorite music – dance or just listen
• Play with toy soldiers, dolls, barbies or stuffed animals
• Build a fort!
• Go outside and paint what you see 
• Sign up for a monthly subscription box that contains a new craft or building project (like KiwiCo, sketch box, little passports)
• Do a 30-day LEGO challenge https://thatbricklife.com/lego-challenge-30-days-of-play-calendar/
• Cook your way through a cookbook
• Learn to use songwriting software (like Garageband or Noteflight) and start composing!
• Master a particular cooking or baking skill, like cookie decorating or making macarons or baking bread
• Take online music classes 
• Write a script and put on a play
• Play a musical instrument
• Build something cool out of a cardboard box (how about an arcade game, a musical instrument, a dollhouse?)
• Take photos, and experiment with photo editing
• Grab some model magic or clay and get creative
• Set up an art exhibit or put on a concert or show for your family to enjoy!

 
 
Do a Good Deed
 

• Make and mail a homemade card for a loved one
• Clean up a neighborhood park or trail
• Clean your bookshelf or old toys and donate to kids in need
• Write letters to senior citizens in nursing homes who are not permitted visitors
• Write letters to health care workers at your local hospital/first responders to thank them for their service
• Volunteer to babysit for a neighborhood child whose parent is balancing working from home and childcare
• Help elderly neighbors with yard work or errands
• Sew masks for friends and family
• Volunteer to walk a neighbor’s dog
• Make friendship bracelets in your camp or school colors and mail them to your friends

 
 
Reading and Writing
 

• Do some creative writing (try the app called “Prompts for Writing” or check out these: https://thinkwritten.com/writing-prompts-for-kids/)
• Write a graphic novel (for some tips from Raina Telgemeier https://goraina.com/tools)
• Set a goal to finish a book series (all of Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Wings of Fire, Land of Stories, Kingdom Keepers, Fablehaven, Mysterious Benedict Society, the Penderwicks, Story Thieves, Canadian Flier, Magic Treehouse, My Weird School, Mercy Watson, the Who Was/What Was books, The Cupcake Diaries; Wimpy Kid; Dogman; etc.)
• Set up a book club with your friends (you can do this via Zoom)
• Learn/work on a new language (with Babbel, Rosetta Stone, or with a bilingual friend)
• Create a family cookbook – collect favorite family recipes, put in a scrapbook, decorate!

 
 
Lunch and Learn!
 

• Listen to a podcast (Every little Thing; Wow in the World; Stuff you Missed in History Class; But Why? are just a few!)
• Listen to a book on tape 
• Listen to a TED talk (there is a TedTalks Kids and Family podcast too)
• Watch a MasterClass
• So many museums are offering amazing programing – here is a little sample:
  • Barnes Takeout  Get your daily serving of art in our new YouTube series. In short videos, Barnes curators, scholars, and educators present off-the-cuff musings about some of their favorite works in the collection.  Subscribe for new content every weekday.
  • There are so many cool things to learn about and do from the Smithsonian https://www.si.edu/kids
  • Check in on an animal cam https://nationalzoo.si.edu/webcams (from pandas to naked mole rats!)

 
 
In the evenings…
 

• Go on a tour of the night skies.  Thursdays at 7:45pm: Night Skies @ Home with Chief Astronomer Derrick Pitts of the Franklin Institute.  Stargazers of all ages are invited to step outside and enjoy a tour of the night sky from home: https://www.fi.edu
• Find a sports team to follow that is different from your usual  –  how about Korean baseball or German soccer? 
• Set up an at home spa – face masks, mani-pedis, and relaxing music
• Find a family show to watch like Survivor, The Amazing Race, Great British Baking Show, Top Chef, Cake Wars, Lego Masters, etc.  

 
Online Camps and Classes
 

• Met Museum – check out the @metteeens Instagram account for awesome art/craft projects and Teen Studio for ages 15-18 (free, but must register) https://www.metmuseum.org/events/programs/teens/teen-studio
• Metropolitan Opera Summer Camp (3rd-12th grade, free) https://www.metopera.org/discover/education/global-summer-camp/home/
• Be a CHEMIST at home this summer!  http://scienceinthesummer.fi.edu/phila
• New York Times Summer Academy Online (10th-12th grade, fee) https://nytedu.com/pre-college/summer-academy/online/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=sa-online&Cid=7011G000000Aeaq&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkojb9a2O6gIVFI_ICh0XjAVLEAAYASAAEgKjGfD_BwE
• Outschool.com (all ages, some free) allows you to explore any interest over live video chat.  They offer everything from SAT prep to yoga, Minecraft to cake decorating.  Amazing! 
• Check out offerings from your local NPR station.  Ours in Philadelphia offers journalist, photojournalist and stop motion animation camps.  (grades 6-12, fee).  https://whyy.org/education/summer-camps/Outschool
• Varsity Tutors – live online classes, some academic and some just for fun.  (all ages, some free)  https://www.varsitytutors.com/virtual-summer-camp-catalog
• IMACS – Math and computer science enrichment classes (all ages, fee)
• Wild Explorers Club - The Wild Explorers Club is a monthly, online adventure program designed to ignite a heart for exploration and wonder in our kids.  (ages 6-12, fee).

 
 
I would love to hear about what you are doing to keep busy this summer.  Drop me a line at drledley@me.com with your ideas and I will update this list!