Enrichment Ideas
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Art & Photography
Coding
​Crowdsourcing

Art & Photography
Amanda. "Wild, Free & Crafty." Wildfreeandcrafty.com. Free Online Art Lessons for Kids.

​"At-Home Learning: Creative resources for Families and Teachers." Create ED by Crayola, Crayola. "At Crayola, our mission is to help families and educators raise creatively alive children. Using creative tools and experiences, we provide educators with innovative teaching strategies, parents with tips and techniques, and children with colorful tools that bring their imaginations to life. We believe in creativity in learning and would like to share the following resources to help families Create-to-Learn at-home. "

Compton, Natalie B. "Travel Photographers Are Taking Epic Nature Photos Using Indoor Optical Illusions." Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2020. 

Cooper, Megan. “Foster + Partners Releases At-Home Architecture Challenges for Kids in Quarantine.” 

"Coronavirus Lockdown: Gallery Pieces Become Online Jigsaw Puzzles." BBC News, 5 Apr. 2020.
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Diller, Nathan. "Arlington Public Library Is Publishing a 'Quaranzine' with Work from Local Artists." WAMU, American University Radio, 6 Apr. 2020. Adapt this idea for students after you look at the Arlington VA example.

Farago, Jason. “A Picture of Change for a World in Constant Motion.” This novel study of Katsushika Hokusai’s “Ejiri in Suruga Province” offers students of almost any age the opportunity to really look at this Japanese print from 1830. That might sound duller than it is – see the wind, the newspaper, Mt. Fuji.

Google Arts and Culture offers a changing variety of tours and interactive activities that allow you to explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie and more. There’s an App.

Kozin, Daniel. "People Are Re-creating Famous Works of Art at Home in Isolation." AFAR, 13 Apr. 2020.
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​"'Learning Through Art' at Home." Museum of Fine Arts Houston, 2020.  Online materials to use now, whether you are a parent who wants new ways to think about art with your kids, or perhaps you're teaching school remotely and need fresh ideas. These materials are designed to be used with the MFAH art collections. Find a work of art via the Learning Through Art online resource, and try your hand at sketching, poetry, science, and more. Each activity offers fun for the grades and ages indicated. Feel free to explore them all. Many can be modified for other ages, too.

Louvre Online Tours. Visit the museum's exhibition rooms a nd galleries, contemplate the façades of the Louvre... Come along on a virtual tour and enjoy the view. PLUS there are many Louvre resources available online that can be enjoyed by all the family: One minute in a museum; YouTubers at the Louvre; Mona Lisa VR experience; 800 years of history; A closer look at Louvre artworks

MyModernMet, 30 Apr  2020. “Advertised for children aged 2-12, the various engineering and critical thinking projects the firm has created have broad appeal. … [F]eature[s] the instructions for how to build a paper skyscraper, how to create their own city, how to draw trees , and how to create the architecture of the future” as well as more coming. 

NikonSchoolOnline. Free photography courses – yes, selling Nikons. Maybe best suited to secondary.
 
OrigamiInstructions.com. If you are looking for Origami Instructions, you’ve come to the right place. Actual photographs of the folding process.

Patkar, Mihir. “6 Kid-Friendly Websites for Free Arts and Crafts Activities for Children.” Make Use Of, 18 July 2020. “Children need to learn and play for well-rounded growth. These free websites for crafts and arts activities ensure just that.”

Rushing, Erin. “Digital Jigsaw Puzzles.” Smithsonian Unbound, 7 May 2020. These puzzles are all pieces of art held by the Smithsonian Institution, all in the realm of natural history. This may appeal to all ages.
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Sir John Soanes Museum London is a national museum, displaying the extraordinary collections amassed by renowned British architect Sir John Soane, including antiquities, furniture, sculptures, architectural models and drawings, and paintings including work by Hogarth, Turner and Canaletto. It spans continents and millennia, and many objects are on permanent display. Much of the museum is available for virtual tours.
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Toy Theater. "Art tools that allow you to build virtual sculptures, paint on famous paintings and do other interactive activities." There are similar math, reading and other tools available through Toy Theater.
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​Waldorf, Sarah, and Annelisa Stephan. "Getty Artworks Recreated with Household Items by Creative Geniuses the World Over." The Iris, Behind the Scenes at the Getty, The Getty, 30 Mar. 2020.
      For local Houston inspiration, here’s the Menil website. 

A CNN photographer keeps his eye on windows of the world. We need those windows on the world to keep learning even when we can't leave home. https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/portugal-windows-photographer-andre-vicente-goncalves/index.html

General Enrichment (including technology)​​
​​Music & Sound
​Languages

General Enrichment
​(including theater & technology)
Alley@Home Help Online. Houston’s Alley Theater offers resources for Teachers, Families, Teens and Tweens, and even some Spanish language resources.

America’s Test Kitchen Kids. “Young Chef’s Club.” All kinds of kitchen projects and knowledge, much of it free.

​Asmelash, Leah. “Ikea's instructions for building the best pillow forts are what every parent needs right now.” Edition.CNN.com, 15 May 2020.

"Epic! Is the Leading Digital Library for Kids 12 & Under." Epic!,.  Instantly access 40,000 of the best books, learning videos, quizzes & more. Free remote student access through June 30.
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Ford, Anne. "Digital Escape Rooms and Other Online Programming." American Libraries, 31 Mar. 2020,

Isimon. "Experience Hogwarts with This Virtual Library Escape Room." I Love Libraries, American Library Association, 1 Apr. 2020, . "Peters Township Public Library's digital escape room includes a variety of magic-themed puzzles, set during your first year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You can complete it alone or in a group—or even compete with friends to see who gets the fastest time."

​Isimon. "Kids Staying Home? Librarians Recommend These Apps and Games." I Love Libraries, American Library Association, 7 Apr. 2020, . The Association of Library Service to Children's Notable Children's Digital Media (NCDM) List is a great source for finding librarian-approved digital content for kids 14 and younger.

​Kletter, Melanie. “Lift Your Spirits With These Online Dance Performances.” SLJ, 28 Aug 2020. “The pandemic forced dance companies around the world to cancel in-person performances, and it will likely still be some time before we can resume watching live shows again. But many dance companies have stayed connected with fans by streaming new performances online and posting recordings of prior shows. Videos still capture the vibrancy and grace of dancers and also allow for close-ups views that are not always possible during in-person shows. Viewing an online performance is also a great way for dance fans to watch international companies and take in a show that may have high ticket prices or is too far away attend in person.”

​Netflix. Educational Documentaries. For many years, Netflix has allowed teachers to screen documentaries in their classrooms: https://help.netflix.com/en/node/57695 However, this isn’t possible with schools closed. So at their request, we have made a selection of our documentary features and series available on our YouTube channel. If you are a parent or teacher, please check the ratings so that you can make informed choices for your students and children.

Network for Good. “Surprise Paperbag Birthday Party.” One of several novel ideas to cheer folks up during quarantine. Paperbag party idea excerpted here.

"PBS for Parents." PBS. Scroll down this page to find these links: Read Along with PBS Kids; Find Ways to Play, sorted by age group; Featured Activities; Family Night.

Washington Post Staff. “The Ultimate Parents’ Guide to Education and Activity Resources.“ Washington Post, 28 APR 2020. A compilation of resources, sorted by discipline, that may be of interest to families currently homeschooling during our self-Isolation for COVID19. Some of these will also be offered individually in this SNL listing.

Music & Sound
CDSS Resource Portal: Families. Country Song and Dance Society. A collection of songs, stories and musical experiences by experienced musicians in the traditional music world offered by CDSS for families who would like their children to learn traditional tunes.

Classics for Kids. "A classical music education website for younger kids with games, resources for parents and teachers, and more."

Erik Satie: Gymnopédies - Cats & Friends Choir. YouTube, 9 Apr 2020. Made in Jitter and Max For Live by Florent Ghys. “The Cats & friends Choir is proud to present their first interpretation of Erik Satie's Gymnopédies. The three movements of this deep and soulful piece have been virtually recorded by more than 500 enthusiastic participants in isolation from their homes and farms.”
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​Kidz Bop Dance Along Videos. YouTube. Have a KIDZ BOP Dance Party in your living room to get the wiggles out! KIDZ BOP Dance Along videos are the best way to incorporate music + movement into your daily routine.

Kletter, Melanie. “Tune In to a Virtual Concert This Summer.” SLJ, 17 July 2020. Even tho summer is over check venues from the Grand Ole Opry to the New York Metropolitan Opera for ongoing streaming event, some of which are FREE.

"Listen at Home." Houston Symphony. Many resources for music lovers and students just beginning to enjoy classical music, among other genres.
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Lyles, Taylor. “The Library of Congress Wants to Help You Remix Public Domain Audio Clips.” The Verge, 27 APR 2020. The Library of Congress has launched a new website that allows you to create short remixes of royalty-free audio clips.

Powers, Rebecca. "Even When You Can't Travel, You Can Still Bring the Sounds of a Far-off City to You." Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2020. 

"Radiooooo, the Musical Time machine." Radiooooo. This cool online radio station lets you listen to popular songs from any decade and country from 1900 to now. When you go to Radiooooo you see a map of the world. You click on any country on the map, and select a decade beginning with 1900. It will start playing music from that country and decade.

Schwartz, Meredith. "Ambient Pleasures and More: 9 Sound Libraries To Whisk You Away." Library Journal, 1 May 2020.
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​Tank, Wes. “CAT IN THE HAT: Dr. Seuss Raps over Dr. Dre (and Dr. Octagon) Beats.” YouTube, 10 APR 2020. “Wes Tank raps Dr. Seuss' classic children's book "The Cat in the Hat" over the legendary hip hop instrumentals for "Blue Flowers" by Dan the Automator of Dr. Octagon and "Nothing But a G Thang" by Dr. Dre, with much due respect to the flows and styles of Kool Keith, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. All words and illustrations belong to Dr. Seuss. All instrumentals belong to Dr. Dre and Dr. Octagon. Mixing by Matthew Griffo. This cultural mashup was created for edutainment purposes with much respect given to the teacher KRS One.” He does many of the Dr. Seuss titles in this style.

"This Mile Long Wooden Xylophone Plays Bach When You Roll a Ball Down It." CanYouActually, 12 Aug. 2019. CanYouActually.com is an arts and humanities website that was founded with one thing in mind, Entertainment & Inspiration! [They] hunt down and curate some of the most interesting content from around the web. [They] cover a variety of different topics including art, design, travel, life, humor, science, technology, and more! Just check out all of our categories in the top left corner! [The] focus is to keep [readers] entertained and inspired, even if it's just for a few minutes.

Waterford Upstart. “#CoronaVirus Children’s Dance Party.” Spotify, Apr  2020. “100 kids songs that won’t drive parents crazy (plus “Baby Shark,” which will).”

Coding
​Girls Who Code. “Girls Who Code At Home Activities.” Free computer science activities for students, educators, and parents. We release activities weekly on Mondays — some online, some offline, of varying levels of difficulty. Each activity features a woman in tech who pioneered innovative technology.
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Tynker. “Coding Made Easy.” Everything needed to learn computer programming the fun way! Ages 5+. Free Access to premium coding courses during school closure.

Languages
"DuoLingo." DuoLingo. Learn a language for free. Forever.

ESL Video. “Welcome top ESL Video.” First example I've seen of resources for ESL kids. Free quizzes, lessons and online conversation classes for English language learners.
 
Gaulladet University. ASL for Free. American Sign Language.

Crowdsourcing
Hester, Jessica Leigh. “Even More Ways to Help Librarians and Archivists from Home.” Atlas Obscura, 7 APR 2020. As long as we’re all cooped-up, here are six digital projects that could use your curiosity.

Maclin-Hurd, Stefanie. "Stay-At-Home Stir Crazy? Library Crowdsourcing Projects Provide Productive Distraction at a Social Distance." Library Journal, 6 Apr. 2020. ​​