Lewisville schools are closed at least through May 1st, which means that families are not only dealing with the realities of the coronavirus pandemic—parents working from home, layoffs and job insecurity, medical/frontline workers risking exposure to keep the hospitals open and the grocery stores stocked—but on top of it all, parents are now learning just how valuable their kids’ teachers really are! 

As families all over Texas and the U.S. struggle to get into a new routine with at-home learning, there are some inevitable growing pains. Fortunately, if you have an internet connection, there are plenty of resources to help keep you and your kids entertained, educated, and safely at home. (If you don’t have internet service at home, don’t panic! You may qualify for free service.)

At-Home Activities for Kids During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Family Field Days

All you need are some simple supplies and your own backyard to stage a family field day. From egg-in-a-spoon races and hula hoop tournaments to water balloon relay races and broomstick limbo, you might be surprised how much fun you can have when everyone unplugs! Just search “at home field day ideas” to find tons of other games and challenges you and your kids will love. 

Virtual Field Trips

At-home learning doesn’t have to be boring. Check out these resources for virtual field trips your kids can take from the kitchen table. 

• Visit some of America’s most beautiful National Parks.
• Learn about art history and see famous works of art at the Georgia O’Keefe Museum, MoMA, Musee d’Orsay, and other world-renowned museums with Google Arts & Culture. 
• Watch puppet shows, learn about puppetry, and take puppet-making workshops right on Facebook with the Center for Puppetry Arts. 
• Stream free Shakespeare performances from the Globe Theatre. 
• Go wild with the Koala Cam and other zoo cams from the San Diego Zoo. 

At-Home Fitness for the Whole Family

P.E. class may be canceled, but you can still keep your kids (and yourself) active at home, no home gym required. Just check out some of the cool fitness content you can find for free online: 

• Push the furniture out of the way and turn your living room into a yoga studio with YouTube yoga
• Get fired up for the day by streaming group fitness classes from your favorite gyms.
• Grab your whistle and get in “coach mode” with PE At Home ideas.
• And of course, you can never go wrong with a family dance party! 

We look forward to being able to welcome you back to Zone Action Park soon, but in the meantime, we hope these ideas help you and your kids fend off cabin fever and stay entertained. Don’t forget, you can purchase deals online now to use later—because we all need something to look forward to!