As summer approaches and social distancing persists, there are a few resources that parents may want to tap into when it comes to keeping kids entertained with quality content.
Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization providing education for families around media and technology for children, runs a well-known website, commonsensemedia.org, that offers honest, kid-centric reviews for parents, as well as filters to see what new movie, TV, and game releases suit each age group. But the secret weapon of the site is the user-submitted reviews of movies that have already been given a test drive by real parents and kids, who offer frank takes on the quality and content.
If perusing the web is too time consuming right now (understandably so), Common Sense Media also launched a podcast last week, "Parent Trapped" where host Ann Marie Baldonado offers up tips, tricks and recommendations for quarantined parents, along with expert advice and celebrity guests. You just might get your next movie recommendation there.
Another great resource is the free streaming service Kanopy. With just a local library card, you can access Kanopy's vast collection of streaming films and TV shows, either through their website or Roku/Smart TV app. Please note: some libraries do not offer Kanopy, and for their main channel, often restrict users to a certain number of streams per month (I get 10 streams per month through my library membership). However, the Kanopy Kids section offers unlimited streams for young audiences. Parents can set up parental controls on the website, and allow kids to stream to their heart's content.
Poking around the Kanopy Kids section turns up the usual preschool-age "Sesame Street" edutainment-style content, as well as everything from "Arthur" to the "Berenstain Bears" series, but there's also a wealth of older titles, like the 1939 animated classic "Gulliver's Travels," and even the 1969 Australian film "Skippy and the Intruders," featuring beloved marsupial Skippy the Bush Kangaroo (I can only imagine Skippy is the Aussie answer to our "Lassie" or "Flipper"). Or check out the beautiful hand-drawn animated film "Ernest and Celestine" in both English and French versions (with English subtitles). No time like now to expose kids to different languages and cultures.
"Ernest and Celestine" belongs to a collection of films from GKIDS, a popular distributor of high-quality foreign animated films, and Kanopy Kids offers a wide range of content from a variety of eras and countries. It's easy to choose films based on needs -- educational content, age, short bits, story time, adventure -- and make watch lists to organize everything. They even have "Muzzy," that amazing BBC foreign language learning monster ("je suis la jeune fille" ring any bells?). Even if libraries are closed, their digital resources are still available, including Kanopy, and even the digital e-book lending library app Libby. They'll likely prove helpful for keeping kids entertained as well as mentally engaged while staying at home.
