Family-friendly activities and resources for staying home

A roundup of resources and actitivies for families at home

Image | Child colouring

Caption: (Aaron Burden/Unsplash)

If you're at home with your little (or big) ones, and you're looking for activities to keep the kids busy, the CBC Toronto Community team has you covered. Coming up with new activities every day isn't always easy, so we've compiled a list of activities and suggestions to help.
We're also inviting the community to send us photos of how you've been adjusting to staying home as part of our 'Show Us Your GTA'(external link) series. So if you'd like to share a photo of your child's colouring book, or maybe a new activity that you're trying out together, tag us on social with the hashtag #CBCyourGTA for the chance to be featured. You can find more information here.(external link)

Add some colour to you day

No matter your age, there's something soothing about sitting down to work on a colouring sheet. With so much changing, having calming activities to focus on is important. If you want to help your kids discover their artistic talents, CBC Toronto hosts Dwight Drummond and Gill Deacon (in colouring sheet form!) are available, alongside a kid-friendly Toronto skyline sheet created by illustrator Holly Truax. The CBC Arts team has also compiled a list of free colouring pages from Canadian artists across the country, which you can find here.
Download the colouring sheets below:

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Explaining COVID-19 to kids

How do you explain concepts like pandemic and isolation to kids? This comic, created by Winnipeg-based illustrator Kailey Sheppard, provides a helpful starting point for these conversations, complete with easy to understand language and images.

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CBC Kids has also created fun downloadable sheets that showcase proper handwashing for kids, which you can find here.(external link)

Justin Trudeau answered kids' question about COVID-19 on CBC/Radio-Canada

Image | Justin Trudeau answers kids’ questions about the coronavirus

Caption: (CBC)

Questions about COVID-19 aren't only for adults. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Dr. Theresa Tam, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, responded to questions from kids across Canada about the nationwide effort against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Watch the conversation here:

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News for kids, by kids

Children, like many adults, have a lot of questions about what's happening in the world right now. CBC Kids News (external link)breaks down the things that kids and teens need to know in an accessible, factual and kid-friendly way.

Image | Flatten the curve

Caption: (Flatten the curve)

Suggested articles:
Want to make sure your children are still learning while out of school? CBC's educational platform for teachers from primary through high school levels, Curio(external link), is now free for families to use.

Image | HomepageParentsCurio

Caption: (CBC)

During these times, it's important that both parents and children have resources to rely on. If you're looking for perspectives from a parents' point of view, CBC Parents(external link) is the place to look.
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Social studies with CBC Docs

Image | Social Studies

Caption: CBC Docs is making life easier on impromptu homeschool social studies teachers. (CBC)

CBC Docs has compiled a collection of documentaries that families can stream for free. As many parents are now teaching their children from home, this series of social studies-themed films touches on topics ranging from sports to climate change. You can find them here.

Story time in podcast form

Image | The Story Store

Caption: The Story Store:Shorties podcast (CBC)

CBC Kids podcast The Story Store: Shorties has released brand new episodes perfect for story time. The best part? They're only four minutes long, perfect for a pre-bedtime ritual. Find new episodes here.(external link)