Kids are home from school in both Missouri and Kansas. Many parents are doing a juggling act of work, housekeeping, making sure kids are doing their schoolwork and trying to provide some form of entertainment.
Many people and places are stepping up to provide FREE online activities kids an enjoy at home.
Most of these take place on Facebook and Instagram, but there might be some on other platforms. This may be the first time some of these hosts have worked with this technology so be patient and kind. We’re all learning what to do here.
Below is a list of current live streaming events geared for kids. Please note that we’ve converted all times to Central Daylight Time (hopefully correctly). The links we’ve included will take you to websites and Facebook pages that may list those times as Pacific, Mountain or Eastern so you’ll need to watch for that.
Check back because we’ll continue to update this. If you know of something cool we’ve missed, let us know at info@kansascityonthecheap.com.
You may also be interested in:
- Kansas City on the Cheap’s Virtual Events Calendar
- Free and Fun Education Resources and Websites for Kids
Live Stream Events from Kansas City
Plenty of Kansas City attractions are live streaming events and providing digital resources for kids right now. Here’s how they can connect locally.
Kansas City Zoo
Catch up with the animals from the Kansas City Zoo on any one of their four web cams running 24/7.
Mesner Puppet Theater
Fun shows, projects and other activities for kids can be experienced every weekday at 2 p.m. from the Theater’s Facebook page. If you can’t make the live session, check out their stuff on YouTube.
Sedgwick County Zoo
Our neighbors in Wichita are hosting live chats with their zookeepers, close-up animal encounters and exclusive behind-the-scenes tours every weekday on Facebook at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Wonderscope Children’s Museum of Kansas City
Local favorite Wonderscope starts live streaming stories, songs and games right into your home. See our full post for more details on how your kids can enjoy the programming.
More Live Stream Events for Kids
A silver lining with the current situation is that joining events virtually lets your kids experience fun and learning activities from places outside of your backyard. Here are some we’ve scoped out for your family to enjoy.
Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts
The Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts is expanding its digital learning platform to include FREE live streaming. Interactive puppet shows, museum tours and learning workshops are available right from your home. You can find their schedule on the Center for Puppetry Arts website and then hop onto Facebook to watch live streaming.
Daily Sing-Along/Play-Along with Erin Mae
Every weekday at 12:30 p.m. CDT, Erin Mae hosts sing-along and play-along classes for kids. These are currently scheduled though April 10 and are set up on a pay-whatever-you-can basis. Mondays and Wednesdays will be sing-alongs for kids Pre-K through second grade. Expect lots of singing and dancing. Tuesdays and Thursdays are play-laongs for kids learning to play stringed instruments. Fridays are an anything goes days so feel free to submit requests.
Denver Zoo Virtual Safari
Like many zoos around the country, the Denver animal care team is still busy feeding and caring for nearly 3,000 animals. Their Zoo to You: Virtual Safari has daily updates with animal videos, wildlife-themed activities and other family-centered fun.
Draw Every Day with JJK: Webcasts for Young Artists
Author Illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka (a.k.a., JJK) is hosting FREE art education webcasts. These are currently scheduled every weekday at 1 p.m. CDT through April 3. Lessons are appropriate for all ages and will last about 15 minutes.
Home Safari Facebook Lives by the Cincinnati Zoo
While the Cincinnati Zoo is closed, they are hosting a daily Home Safari Facebook Live event each day at 2 p.m. CDT where kids can see some of the zoo’s amazing animals and following along with a do-at-home activity. Sessions are currently scheduled through April 11. If kids don’t have access to social media but want to go back and watch the videos, they can check out the Zoo’s Safari Resource page.
Goodnight with Dolly
Enjoy classic stories as part of a Goodnight with Dolly, a FREE weekly read-aloud video series that launches April 2 from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Kids Cooking Lessons from $5 Dinners
Staying home and cooking? The $5 Dinners blog is offering FREE easy and fun cooking lessons for kids. Catch them on Facebook Live Monday through Friday at noon CDT. There are sessions scheduled through March 27. The $5 Dinners website will give you the week’s menu, shopping lists and earlier videos.
Lincoln Center Pop-Up Classroom
Get a dose of creativity with the Lincoln Center NYC via Facebook Live at 1 p.m. every weekday. Led by some of world’s best artists and educators, each creative learning activity utilizes simple materials found at home to help families with children explore a variety of art forms.
Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems
Mo Willems, Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence, has his studio door open worldwide every day for his Lunch Doodle. Learners worldwide can draw, doodle and explore new ways of writing by visiting Mo’s studio virtually once a day for the next few weeks. Gather up paper and pencils, pens, or crayons and join Mo to explore ways of writing and making together. New episodes are posted each weekday at noon CDT and remain available for streaming later.
If you’re using social media as a virtual refrigerator to post your kid’s artwork, be sure to use hashtag #MoLunchDoodles.
Mac Barnett Story Time
Children’s author Mac Barnett, author of Extra Yarn, Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem, and many more books, will be reading one of his books out loud, on Instagram Live, every weekday at 2 p.m., until he runs out of books to read. Visit his Instagram page to find the streams.
Makin’ Music Carolina LIVE
Jump online for some FREE music classes for families with young children select weekdays at 8:30 a.m. Classes are streamed via Facebook. Their page also have instructions for how to make fun instruments out of household materials.
Miximal Mondays with Ben Clanton of Narwhal and Jelly Books
Author and illustrator Ben Clanton of Narwhal and Jelly books fame, is going to be on Instagram Live every Monday at 11:30 a.m. CDT to spend time talking and drawing with kids. Sessions will last 20-30 minutes and are on Ben’s Instagram page. Videos will be posted afterward on Facebook and Ben’s website.
Mr. Jon & Friends Weekday Live Streams
Mr. Jon & Friends is a group that writes and performs music for kids. They are hosting weekday live streams each day at 9:30 a.m. for musical fun. These sessions are FREE but there is an option to donate if you like. Videos are also available for re-watching. The Mr. Jon & Friends Facebook page has full details.
Tom Chapin & The Chapin Sisters Stay-at-Home Free Concerts
Children’s music performer Tom Chapin is playing 20-30 minute mini concerts each weekday at 10 a.m. as a way to entertain kids at home. These concerts will be live on his Facebook and Instagram pages. They’ll also be up for 24 hours after launch so you can catch them later if you like. These sessions are FREE and scheduled through March 31.
Tuesdays with Tinkergarten
Every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. head to Tinkergarten’s Facebook page for a free virtual Tinkergarten class led by founder Meghan Fitzgerald. Classes are about 20 minutes long and you don’t need any special equipment.
