Try These Activities for Your Bored Kids

My neighbors have three school-age children. All their activities are canceled. School is done at home through distance learning. While they enjoy the extra time together, it can get tough to keep the kids entertained and engaged. Owatonna Parks and Recreation Department is jumping to the rescue with a variety of ideas.

Take a look their Online Health & Wellness Resources page for activity ideas for young and not-so-young. Ideas include sports drills for baseball, softball, and soccer players. Once the snow from Sunday melts, playing catching or kicking a soccer ball around is simple and a great bonding experience. You'll also find some great drills to work on with links to Facebook and YouTube instructional videos.

For adults, a variety of links will get you in tiptop shape through yoga exercises, YMCA fitness programs, Cross Fit workouts, and more. (Those steps you are putting on from your work station to the fridge again don't count as a workout.)

The resource page offers virtual Sudoku, AARP games, and links to tutorials on how to play chess and checkers. You can find some special memory games and chair exercises for older adults.

While it's nice to get the kids away from the computer screens as much as possible, there are also some great virtual tours you'll find on the parks and recreation page. I have to admit virtual tours of national parks in Alaska and Hawaii sound interesting to me. Or get up and close with the animals of the San Diego Zoo.

On the subject of animals, taking a look at the Eagle Cam operated by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is a addicting watch.

The Owatonna Library is hosting a weekly LEGO Challenge. After opening up with castles in week one, they invite creative minds to build dragons during the week of April 13. Find more details plus story times on their Facebook page.