Please note: The information provided in this tipsheet is for reference only. It is not intended as a recommendation or endorsement of organizations, news sources, agencies or private businesses, or as a comprehensive resource list.
Based on when you are viewing this tipsheet, the information may not be the most up to date. Please refer to the date this tipsheet was last updated, at the end of the document. You can also access this tipsheet online at hollandbloorview.ca/covid-19-tipsheets
Arts, music and sensory activities
- School's closed? Try these fun things to fill your child's day: a list of fun activities that Holland Bloorview families have brainstormed online. If you have an idea, feel free to submit on the Bloom Facebook page (BLOOM Blog)
- Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems: drawing classes that are streamed online at lunchtime, with past lunchtime videos (The Kennedy Centre)
- 30 Day Lego Play Challenge: a printable calendar with a new Lego goal per day (My Kids Time)
- Kids Horticulturally Inspired Activities for Early Spring: activity ideas that involve nature (Plants in the City)
- Family Entertainers with Live Streams: a schedule of musicians, magicians, and artists who are live streaming at particular times during the day (Team T&J)
- Fluffy Slime Recipe: how to make slime at home (The Best Ideas for Kids)
Businesses offering craft ‘to go’ kits
- Crock-A-Doodle: locations are offering Painting-To-Go Kits. Etobicoke, Unionville, and Whitby are just a few amongst others who are advertising on Instagram.
- Glaze Craze: this Richmond Hill studio offers a Take Home Art Kit with curbside pick-up or delivery options
- Sweet Flour Bake Shop: the Toronto location is offering spring cookie decorating kits delivered to your door
Connecting with others online
- HB Alumni Network: connect and share information with Holland Bloorview alumni clients and families via the hospital’s newest online networking platform
- The Netflix Party Google Chrome Extension: sync a show or movie with a group of friends, while also group chatting
- Houseparty: a group video chat platform that allows for face-to-face communication with multiple people at a time
- Chai Lifeline Canada: a list of resources, tips, and daily schedules of events for families to participate in, created for the community impacted by childhood illnesses
- Mindfulness Mondays with CAMH: free online mindfulness sessions for caregivers and loved ones in the developmental disability community, regardless of age or disability
Exercise and physical activities
At home
- 10 Ball Games for Kids - Ideas for Active Play Indoors (Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls)
- 87 Energy-Busting Indoor Games & Activities For Kids (What Moms Love)
- 30 Day LEGO Challenge (Free Homeschool Deals)
- Free Printable Charades Cards (Fun-Stuff-To-Do)
Videos and Apps
- Evolve 21: an app with cardio, yoga and meditation, with adaptive exercises to support a variety of abilities and disabilities (Cerebral Palsy Foundation)
- GoNoodle: Good Energy at Home: used in schools by teachers and now available in your home with games, workout videos and songs to keep your children moving (GoNoodle)
- Take a Brain Break With These 10 YouTube Channels With Movement-Encouraging Videos For Kids (Popsugar Family)
- 10 Online Exercise and Yoga Kids Classes to Make Up for P.E. (Romper)
- Daily games for kids (1.5-7 years) (Little Kickers)
- Fit 5 videos from Special Olympics Offer exercises to challenge all abilities
Live streams
- Dana Falsetti Yoga: accessible chair exercise classes and wrist free practice
- P.E. with Joe: free 30-minute workout classes for kids, streamed on Youtube
- Three Branches Wellness: free online yoga classes from a Toronto-based studio
- Mindfulness Mondays and Fit Fridays Free online mindfulness sessions for caregivers and loved ones in the developmental disability community, regardless of age or disability and fitness sessions (Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre)
Virtual tours and trips
- Art Gallery of Ontario’s Art Collection (AGO)
- 12 Famous Museums That Offer Virtual Tours (Travel + Leisure)
- Ripley’s Aquariums At Home (Ripley’s Aquariums)
- 33 Virtual National Park Tours (Totally the Bomb)
- 20 Virtual Field Trips You Can Take With Your Kids (Adventures in Familyhood)
- 15 Broadway Plays & Musicals You Can Watch On Stage From Home (Playbill)
- Virtual Rides at the Disney Parks Around the World (The Points Guy)
- Canada’s Wonderland Virtual Ride at Home (Canada’s Wonderland)
Book readings or listening activities
- American Sign Language (ASL) TV.: ASL stories for preschoolers (Aunt Alice’s ASL TV)
- Children’s Authors Doing Online Read Alouds & Activities (We Are Teachers)
- 26 Best Podcasts for Kids in Elementary, Middle and High School (We Are Teachers)
- Audible’s free stories for kids: for all ages, in many languages (Audible Stories)
- Story readings: for gender-independent kids and families, videos and live streams each morning (Flamingo Rampant)
- A song and book reading: by a Kindergarten teacher in Toronto, videos and live-streamed every day (Mr. Kane’s Storytime)
- Children’s books: these are specifically read by celebrities (Storyline Online)
- Thresholds Podcast: shares the lived experiences of young people with disabilities (Youth Advisory Council at Holland Bloorview and the Koffler Centre)
Early Release Movies On-Demand
- Family movie night in: 48-hour rentals for new release movies on-demand starting at $19.99 per rental (E! News)
There are also activities to do in the meantime that are about COVID-19 or Coronavirus. You can find these ideas in other Holland Bloorview tipsheets.
This tipsheet belongs to a set of specialized resources for the COVID-19 and Coronavirus outbreak period. If you are looking for other family resources that have to do with childhood disability, please visitwww.hollandbloorview.ca/resourcecentre.
Created by the Family Support Specialists at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital on March 23, 2020. Updated April 5, 2020.
We thank the following Facebook groups online for their suggestions and input: Holland Bloorview Parent Voices and CareMongering Toronto: Community Response to COVID19. If you have a question or a resource to share, please feel free to reach out to us at resourcecentre@hollandbloorview.ca.
