With students home due to local school buildings being closed, there are many options being offered to help alleviate boredom.

C.H. Booth Library provided ideas for breaks from screen time in an e-mail to patrons on March 18.

“If there is a shortage of computers at your house with everyone learning and working online or you just need a break from screen time, here are some off-line ideas for creative and educational play,” the e-mail read.

The information included arts and craft activities. The e-mail suggested the website artfulparent.com, which has more than 500 arts and crafts activities. A “Newspaper collage for Earth Day” looks like a seasonally appropriate craft that can be done with pages from this week’s print edition of The Newtown Bee.

There is plenty to do outside. The library’s e-mail offered a link to verywellfamily.com that has a list of “50 Fun Things to Do Outside With Kids as a Family.” Suggested activities include going for a walk, riding bikes, and flying kites. Just remember to maintain a healthy “social distance” during outdoor activities at this time.

Classic outdoor games that do not involve touching include Mother May I, Simon Says, and some hand-clapping games. The string game “Cat’s Cradle” has individual options. A twist on “tag” has children jump on one another’s shadows instead of touching.

Outdoor artwork can be completed between rainy days using sidewalk chalk. One reporter at The Newtown Bee recently observed greetings from children scribbled on driveways for their friends to spot when later walking by.

The library’s e-mail also suggests, “Keep your child’s writing and thinking skills sharp during this break from formal classroom learning” with “50 Creative Writing Topics for kids” from the website kidsplayandcreate.com.

For activities across a range of disciplines, the library’s e-mail offered up the website whatdowedoallday.com. It has a list of indoor activities for kids, like playing dot to dot and making colored glasses.

“Mad Science of Fairfield County has posted some of their most popular experiments for you to try with your kids at home,” the library’s e-mail reads. The “at home experiments” are available on the website madsciencepromo.com/athomeexperiments. Experiments include “instant ice cream,” “ghost bubbles,” and “copycat solution.”

Lego challenges were listed in the e-mail as being available online at educatingyoungengineers.com.

The final idea offered up in the library’s e-mail was a link to thehomeschoolmom.com’s “50+ Free Educational Resources To Use Online During Social Distancing.” Resources include virtual “field trip destinations,” suggested YouTube channels for things like art and yoga for children, and free streaming services, like from the Metropolitan Opera.

Reading Aloud

C.H. Booth Library Children’s Librarian Alana Bennison on March 23 said via an e-mail that “reading aloud is one of the best activities for parents to do with their children.”

“For older readers, you might want to consider reading the same book and having your own family book discussion. For example, you can access Hoopla with your C.H. Booth Library card, and select ‘ebooks,’” Bennison wrote in reference to one of the library’s many digital program offerings, available online at chboothlibrary.org/services/downloadable-media/. “In honor of Women’s History Month select the genre ‘Women’s History Month for Children & Teens.’ There, you will find a variety of ebooks about influential women in art, sports, politics, science, engineering, entertainment, and more for children of all ages. While these notable women have been role models for many, parents can extend the conversation with their children to include personal role models, who were the women that impacted their lives growing up. Books have a way of unlocking meaningful conversations — at least it’s a great place to start!”

Has your family come up with safe, fun, and educational ideas to pass the time at home? Share a photo and description as part of The Newtown Bee’s “at home” life photos collection from local residents. Send a photo and description of the new “at home” life in Newtown and Sandy Hook by e-mail to eliza@thebee.com, with a brief description and names of those pictured for possible inclusion in a print edition of the paper. Photos sent by Wednesday at noon will be included for possible publication in that week’s print edition or in a following edition. Check weekly to see if your submission made it into the paper.