Looking for things to do with your kids? Local resources? Fun things to do as a family while you are at home?
You can always try out our wide variety of databases, ebooks, eaudiobooks, movies & TV, newspapers & magazines and more—just scroll down past the calendar on the right and click a button to get started! Online Learning & Resources will take you to our complete list.
While you are on the Online Learning & Resources page or our homepage, if you click on the Tutorials button on the right side of the screen you can select any of the tutorials to learn more about many of our databases and some other websites and services.
We know there is a ton of information and ideas of things to do all over the internet right now. Here are some that we recommend. Take a look!
Local, State & National Resources
Bloomington-Normal COVID-19 Information from Bloomington-Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, McLean County Chamber of Commerce, Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council and other trusted sources
Feed the Kids of BloNo—Daily weekday lunch options around Bloomington-Normal
State of Illinois COVID-19 Response
Illinois Department of Employment Security
PATH 211 - Central Illinois residents can call 211 to find fast, free and confidential help for health and human service resources
Your Money, Your Goals from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a financial empowerment toolkit that can help you consider the impact of your choices when money is tight
Follow our social media to see programs and information for all ages! Like our Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel to learn more.
Apps
iNaturalist is an app that lets you record data, video, etc. of plants and creatures that you personally observe
If you are looking for a list of apps that can be found on our Tech Playground iPads, please email your request to kids@normalpl.org. It is a long list of titles, but it is not sorted by folder and no links are included. Some of the apps are free and some are paid.
Books, Authors & Writing
Authors Everywhere! YouTube channel—Authors with writing and art workshops, read aloud sessions and more
Camp NaNoWriMo—Hosts weekly virtual Write-Ins
Draw Every Day with JJK—Jarrett J. Krosoczka on YouTube
KidLit TV—Great for preschoolers
Lunch Doodles with Mo—Learn how to draw Pigeon, Elephant and Piggie and more!
Storytime Online—Free online story videos on YouTube
Learn
Learn coding with Code.org, CodeAcademy.com, CodeCombat.com or Scratch
Coursera—Learn from leading companies and universities
Crash Course—Educational and fun videos on a variety of topics
Green Giraffe—Kids Cooking Classes
Khan Academy—Free online courses, lessons and practice
Penguin Classroom—Free education resources based on books
Scholastic—Daily activities and lessons for different grade levels
Listen
American Archive of Public Broadcasting
Audible Stories—free steaming stories for kids and teens
Berlin Philharmonic Digital Concert Hall—Live and Archive
Metropolitan Opera—Nightly Live Stream
Play, Move & Create
Coloring Books from Museums—Free downloadable pages
Go Noodle—Movement and mindfulness videos for kids
I Heart Yoga—Family Yoga on Facebook
Spy Museum—If you were planning on coming to any of our spring break Spy Week acitivites, take a look!
Our own McLean County Arts Center is running a Stay Home Art Challenge with new challenges every day
Visit
Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden is hosting Home Safari Facebook Live each weekday at 2 pm (3 pm EDT) to highlight their animals and share an activity you can do at home
Virtual Field Trips Google Doc
More
Companies offering free subscriptions right now
Giant Google Doc of Free Educational Resources due to COVID-19, updated often
It's Census Time! Visit my2020census.gov to fill out your census and learn more