This article is written by TechLabs for Parentville. It is not a paid collaboration, just people helping each other out in exceptional times. I hope you will like what they propose, and I promise to bring you more propositions, soon. In the meantime, stay safe, stay healthy, stay home.
Working from home with the kids feeling bored will be a big challenge for the next few weeks. It’s hard balancing the need to be entertained, with the fact that school is no longer in session. Don’t worry; we found some fun activities that will use everything you already have at home! Just make sure to combine them with some « unplugged time » to have a successful « staycation ».
The ultimate art experience
For art lovers and virtual enthusiast alike, here’s an app that’s not only informative but also fun to use at home. There’s a choice for every type of children. There are beautifully illustrated posts and will conquer even the most reluctant of readers, interactive content like « Meet Vermeer » and « The Art of Color », that will bring you inside art exhibition without leaving your living room. Selfie lovers will be able to compare their selfies to millions of selected portrait details with « Art Selfie ». With Museums closed, the Virtual Reality Tours offered on this app will be a good alternative. You can even see how famous works of art would look like in your living rooms with « Art Projector ».
Google Arts & Culture is available for desktop and as a FREE Android and iOS.
Join the TechLabs Virtual Classroom
Let us bring the experience of classroom learning into your home. Next week parents and children can tune-in to our free e-learning seminars featuring the latest in STEM learning, with paid options to continue. We can deliver affordable micro-electronics to your home for the duration of the online course. At the end of the course you can either return the items or purchase them!
As part of the TechLabs Virtual Classroom, families may choose from:
- 3D Design & Printing
- Minecraft Education
- coding with mBlock and HaloCode
- Robotics with Micro:Bit
To be the first in line, sign-up for our email notifications and follow our Facebook page to join our Live Sessions. Come meet our teachers and see the amazing tools you’ll be using in the next few lessons.
Music in your room
If your child is interested in making music, it’s possible that she already knows about Chrome Music Lab, from school. It’s the perfect tool to use both at school and at home, to learn more not only about music but also how it’s connected to science, math, art. You can use it to make your songs and explore the different pre-set modes on their site.
It’s a free tool, and you can access it on a desktop computer.
Turn your living room into a Dance Studio
If your children love to make and watch dance videos on TikTok, why not introduce them to JustDance? This FREE app is available for desktops, Mobile devices (iOS and Android) and even as a Smart TV /Apple TV app.
Some of you might recognize this from the popular video game series with the same name, from a few years ago when it was a popular Wii game for house parties. Now the concept has been revamped, allowing illimited friends to join the fun from the comfort of their own homes to compete to be the number one dancer. All you need to do is free some space in front of whatever screen you may be using, choose a song of your liking and follow the steps! The better you follow the choreography, the better the score you’ll achieve. It’s a fun activity for all ages, and we’re pretty sure some parents will join their children for the best dance party yet!
Take a virtual vacation
With or without special VR goggles, WITHIN lets you use your mobile devices and game consoles to experience everything from being in Paris, watch the New Year’s fireworks in Hong Kong, to being on a dog sleigh! They have a collection of hundreds of videos for all tastes that will allow you to be « within » your chosen video. The app available for free for iOS, Android and, as they state on their homepage, everywhere fine VR is served!