Resources & Activities
for Families, Caregivers, and Educators

Early Learning and Online Storytime

TRL's YouTube channel

Timberland Events calendar - Join us for Zoom Storytimes!

Pre-K Learning and Fun at Home - Parent and caregiver suggestions and activity ideas to help engage your children [ages 0-7] in learning at home.

Online resources for fingerplays and songs to encourage early learning:

Spokane County Library System: Getting Ready for Kindergarten

Bellingham Public Library Early Learning Resources

King County Library System: Tell Me a Story

Jbrary Storytime Online Resources - Includes links to online storytimes.

Storyline Online - Videos of celebrities reading picture books

Vroom - Free tools and a mobile app that provides easy access to daily “brain building” activities for children birth through age 5, helping them learn now to get ready for school, friends, and life.

Online Activities

How to Create a Makerspace at Home - A list of illustrators and authors who are hosting activities online.

Highlightskids.com - Activities and games from the creators of Highlights magazine.

50 Brain Breaks - Quick, easy activities to help kids re-energize, refocus and give their brains a boost.

Draw Every Day with JJK - Join Jarrett J. Krosoczka on his YouTube channel for drawing lessons.

DC Kids Camp - An at-home program for kids home from schools that are closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Watch videos of middle grade authors and illustrators, learn to make superhero art, create a comic, and more.

Let's Do Fun Stuff Together - Online Activities with Drew Brockington (Author of CatStronauts)

Educational Activities and Resources

Smithsonian Learning Lab - Provides interactive and easily accessible resources for learning.

NASA STEM Engagement - Educational resources including videos, NASA missions, and image galleries.

Eight Digital Education Resources from the Smithsonian - Distance learning resources including STEM webcasts, history podcasts, and comprehensive lesson plans.

NASA Kids Club - Games, videos, STEM activities you can do at home, and more.

Education.com Weekly Boost - Worksheets, lesson plans, and activities for young learners.

Exploratorium.edu - Science activities, videos, and exhibits for all ages.

Khan Academy Kids is a free, fun, educational app with thousands of activities and books that will inspire a lifetime of learning and discovery for young children ages 2-7.

Ted Ed - Celebrates the ideas of teachers and students around the world. Includes hundreds of lesson plans.

Online Games

PBS Kids - Educational games and videos from PBS KIDS shows.

Peep and the Big Wide World - Play fun math and science games, videos and activities with Peep and his friends! Explore our preschool curriculum and at home activities.

ABC Mouse - A full online curriculum for children ages 2-8. Reading, math, science, and art. ABC Mouse is offering a 30-day free trial for families during this extended break.

Arbol ABC - 500+ juegos educativos GRATIS para niños 3-10 años. Juegos infantiles e interactivos en matemáticas, lenguaje, inglés, lógica y arte. ¡Jugar y aprender!

Cool Math - A family-friendly site for logic, strategy, and math games.

Sesame Street - Play educational games, watch videos, create art, and more with Sesame Street muppets.

Books and Authors

Kate Messner - Former classroom teacher shares a collection of recordings from authors and illustrators sharing lessons and excerpts from their books.

Picture Book Read-Alouds - Features authors reading their own work.

Authors Everywhere - A YouTube channel with authors sharing their books and work.

Everywhere Bookfest - Participate in a virtual gathering of authors, books, and readers May 1 and 2.

Live Concerts, Virtual Tours, and Live Cams

Digital Concert Hall - Attend a live streamed concert through the Berliner Philharmoniker.

The Met Opera - A different opera will be streamed each night.

Seattle Symphony - Attend a live streamed symphony.

Seattle Aquarium Live Cams

Monterey Bay Aquarium Live Cams

Google Arts & Culture - A list of galleries and museums offering virtual tours.

Musuem of Natural History

The Louvre

Resources for Caregiving and Parenting in a Pandemic

Child Trends - Resources for supporting children’s emotional well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early Learning Nation - A parent’s guide to surviving COVID-19 and strategies to keep children ages 10 and under healthy and happy.

NPR - Just For Kids: A Comic Exploring the New Coronavirus.

Harvard Graduate School of Education - Helping children cope with the Coronavirus and uncertainty.

Zero to Three - Resources that offer tips for families including age-appropriate responses to common questions, a guide to self-care, and activities for young children experiencing social distancing.

Generations United - Information for grandparents and multigenerational families responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other Resources

Washington State Library Living Well - Washington State Library staff will be updating this site with learning and entertainment resources for home schoolers, workers-at-home, and career builders, and for librarians and K-20 educators through the COVID-19 outbreak.