Welcome to YEP’s Website Resource Page. Here we have a number of sites categorized by topic.

Tips for Parents

• If you happen to enjoy graphs and statistics, here’s a cool article on Parenting Teens in the Age of Technology.
• As much as we may worry about students overusing technology, it’s important to remember there are a number of Benefits of Technology for them as well.
• And to finish things, here’s a great article about Teaching Students Life Skills Using Technology.
• Great Tips for Parents to Support Their Middle Schoolers as school begins, and throughout the year.
• Suggestions for Students to Include Activity into Their Lives, focusing on physical health. 

Food

• If we have any aspiring chefs out there, check out this list of 70 Easy Recipes that can be made even by those who are just starting to cook.
• For those who might not have any cooking skills yet, you might want to read about Why Kids Should Learn to Cook, and some Tips on Learning to Cook ranging from 3 year olds to YEP student age.
• If you’re just looking for tips on little changes you can make so your chocolate chip cookies turn out just the way you like them, Click Here 
• For a chocolate chip cookie recipe with a special secret ingredient, Click Here
• If you’re in the mood for banana bars, Click Here
• If you’d like to make a “double root beer float” just in time for summer, Click Here
• Here are 13 Apple Recipes, perfect for the fall, or any time you have apples.
• If you want some Awesome Patriotic Snack Ideas, we’ve got you covered. Ideas range from easy to a bit more of a challenge. 

Outdoor Activities (for families or individuals)

• We love this List of Summer Activities from UNICEF, which includes a number of fun things students can do on their own or with family.
• If you’re just looking for something fun to do, we have this List Of 4th Of July Activities. Suitable for all ages. Also suitable for days other than July 4th.
• If you’ve ever thought about starting your own, here are some great Tips for Creating a Neighborhood Treasure Hunt.
• To make their own fun, many families have tried scavenger hunts. Check out This Site for some starter ideas on making your own.
• For those who will be celebrating Easter, or just like hiding plastic eggs around their neighborhood any day of the week, Here is a Fun Idea to spread a little kindness during the egg hunt.
• This is A Great List of Family Activities. It’s labeled for dads and teens, but there are no rules saying other family members or friends can’t get in on the fun! The key is to take interest in what your family members are into and give it a try.
• If you’re looking for a family trip to the apple orchard or pumpkin patch, we are lucky to have a number to choose from in our area, many with bonus features like corn mazes, pumpkin launchers, farm animals, and more! Some great ones we recommend are Valley Pasture Farm, Govin’s, and Ferguson’s. 
• If you’re not sure what to do with your family in the Fall, check out this list of 50 Fall Activities for Families.
• Here’s a List Of The Best Outdoor Activities for families, ranging from crafts to sports.
• If you’d like to go camping, but don’t have a favorite spot yet, check out Reserve America for a list of campgrounds and RV resorts all over the country. You can even make reservations on the site for locations that require them. This Government Site offers similar results.
• To see a number of fun things to do where you are or where you’d like to go, just check out TripAdvisor. For the example in the link, we just typed in “outdoor activities in Dunn County,” and got options for forests, biking trails, and more.
• If you need a reminder of all the opportunities for outdoor wonder available within a short car ride, check out this List of Dunn County Parks.
• If you’re not sure where you might want to start, check out this Detailed List of 10 Wisconsin Parks, including nearby Interstate and Willow Falls State Parks. Interstate comes highly recommended by our advisors.
• Travel Wisconsin is a great resource for information about things to do in Wisconsin, including This List Of All Wisconsin State Parks, which also has links to each park’s official site for all the information you could ever need.
• Although Wisconsin doesn’t have any official National Parks, they do have a National Lakeshore, Riverway, and two Scenic Trails. Check out This Page From Travel Channel for information on each of them, including a virtual tour, info on planning a visit, as well as Covid-19 related closure news.
• The National Parks have a great website where you can Find Your Park based on location or activities available. For example, you could look for parks in California, or only see parks that offer horseback riding, swimming, or that have shopping nearby. It’s an easy way to start planning a perfect family vacation!
• Coming highly recommended by former YEP advisor Jennifer, especially for younger family members, is the National Parks Junior Ranger Program. It includes fun activities that can be done both online, and on location at National Parks all over the country.

Indoor/Home Activities

• Try one of these ideas for a Family Game Night. 
• The official YouTube Page for the Children’s Museum of Eau Claire, where they share videos on topics ranging from fun science projects to craft ideas and even some recipes.
• For everything from crafts to recipes and party ideas, Disney Family has it all.
• Here are some Great DIY Costume Ideas, for Halloween, or just a slow Tuesday.
• This Site Gives Instructions on how to build your own robot. Another option you could try is This Walking Dog Robot. Or perhaps you’d prefer A Horse Robot? Or if you want to make A Dancing Robot, we’ve got that too.
• For those interested in creating origami, This Site contains some basic templates to get started on a bookmark version. 
• For a little of everything science related Check Out This Site that includes 40 links to “engaging and entertaining” science based sites for various ages.
• If you’re interested in learning to play the piano or keyboard, but don’t want to take piano lessons, check out this link for Free Online Piano Lessons and Tips. If you look around online, you can find something similar or other instruments as well.
• If you can’t go out on a rainy day, you could try out an Indoor Scavenger Hunt.  
• If you’re looking for a good selection of family friendly sci-fi movies ranging from old to new, check out This List.
• If you’re looking for some fun science related things to do, Check Out Funology. They have everything from science experiments to recipes, with tons of great ideas for students and parents. 
• If your idea of fun is trying out a new science experiment, check out Science Bob.
• Another similar site is The Exploratorium. They have videos, games, experiments and more. 

Health and Physical Activity

• A Site to Get You Up and Moving. Lots of drills (by sport), fun outdoor games, plus helpful information to deal with challenges that being at home might bring (conflict, boundaries, mindfulness, patience, and more).
• Suggestions for Students to Include Activity into Their Lives, focusing on physical health.   
• Next, we have a Teenagers Guide to Healthy Eating and Fitness.  
• It’s really important not to forget mental health, and this site has 5 Tips to Cope With Stress.
• Self-care can include being kind to yourself and others. Check out This Page dedicated to giving you ideas on how you can do that while also giving you ideas of new self-care practices!
• Take this How Healthy are You Quiz? to see what you know. Some of the answers may surprise you.
• This site focuses on helping students Create and Maintain Healthy Friendships, and points out why those are so valuable.
• This site shows ways to practice for specific sports or simply get some good exercise. Check it out for ideas on At Home Health and Fitness.

Fun Quizzes

• Star Wars Character Quiz. Which character are you?
• Here’s one we posted around Mother’s Day, “What fictional mom are you?”
• Or, “Which Disney mom are you?”
• Don’t forget to take this Shark Personality Quiz (Advisor Kenzie, is a Hammerhead, btw).
• We also have a quiz that answers the question: “What Type Of Dad Are You?” (You don’t have to be a dad to take the quiz!)
• Or, if you’re more of a Disney fan: “Which Disney Dad Do You Have?” 
• Take this quiz to find the answer to the question, Which Sci-Fi Character Are You?
• For those who are curious, we have a quiz that answers the question, What Superhero Are You?
• If you’re curious about the topic of health, take This Quiz to find out what you know.

Support with School

• For help to begin the school year and along the way, here is a great list of 101 Back to School Tips for Students and Parents.
• Tips for students on Surviving Middle School, covering almost all topics. Although it’s written for new middle schoolers, it’s helpful for all grades.
• Here is a List of 10 Homework Help Sites that might be a great source of support through the school year. While we’re at it, here are 10 More, although there may be some overlap.
• If you are one or know a student who wants to combine using their phone with education, we have a nice selection of Education Apps for Middle School Students.
• Check out Quizlet for flashcards, games, and more ways to help students study.
• Locally Created List of educational resources for all ages. Includes help in certain topics, tutoring, and also a list of activities, like live videos of wild animals and links to virtual museums.
• A Great Wisconsin Based Resource that includes tv shows and internet-based sources to help with at-home learning, provided by PBS.

Friends

• Let’s start at the beginning by answering the question, “What is Friendship?” The page also talks about different kinds of friendships, and when friendships change.
• We also have an interesting article about the importance of friendship, as well as ideas for How to Make and Keep Friends.
• We all know that having friends shouldn’t mean always doing everything they want you to do. Check out this next one for 8 Ways to Handle Peer Pressure. 
• For those who might be doing school virtually and aren’t seeing their friends as much, we have a few Ideas for Connecting with Friends Online.

Fun and Games

• If you want to Play Online Restaurant Games, we’ve got you covered. 
• This site provides a fun Game Where You Run for President. You choose a political party, learn what they stand for, go through debates and other important steps, and in the end, you might be the next president! (May not work on some devices)
• Check out this Fun Bug Matching Game. Andy’s review, “I can’t explain why I liked it, but I really, really did.”
• If you want tons of food related fun and games, ranging from grocery shopping bingo, to food coloring sheets, and food jokes too, Click Here
• If an online treasure hunt sounds cool, This Game is fun while also making your brain do a bit of work. It feels like it’s made for kids, and that’s probably because it is, but that doesn’t mean Andy didn’t play all 30 levels…
• National Geographic has a wonderful Site With a Variety of Online Games ranging from Arctic Fox Snowboarding to a personality quiz that says what kind of cute baby animal you’re most like.
• Check this one out for The Ultimate List of Music Education Games. It includes everything from general music information, to writing music, and even info on many different instruments, all in game forms.

Virtual Tours

• While we can’t take the family to the zoo right now, the San Diego Zoo is offering the next best thing, with Live Cams of Their Animals. Sometimes they are doing something awesome! Sometimes they are doing nothing! What will you get to see?
• Check out this one for a Virtual Tours of Almost Everywhere, including famous landmarks, museums, and more!
• Then, we’ll head over to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where you can see live cams of all their animals.

Writing

• For students who are interested in writing, but don’t know where to start, we have some Writing Tips for Beginners.
• If you like writing and are into Sci-Fi, check this site for Tips On Writing Sci-Fi short stories. 
• If you like reading or writing sci fi, check out Conquer Books, a site run by Wisconsin sisters that includes everything from writing tips to book reviews, and a sci-fi quiz or two along the way.
• If you or your child has an interest in writing, This Site gives people of any age a lot of great places to start a great fantasy story.

Reading

• A List of Audio Books divided into categories for all ages. They say they’ll be free until the world gets back to “normal”.
• For the readers who might want to learn about our government, here is a fantastic List of Books sorted by grade level from K-12. 
• We’ve got a link to some Good Sci-Fi Books, perfect for YEP members of any age.
• If you happen to have a little extra time, here’s an even Bigger List of Sci-Fi Books, recommended by age from 6 to 16.

Art

• If you’re ready to start creating art online, here are 10 Free Sites for Creating Digital Art Online.
• For those who want to take a step back and start from the beginning, here are 15 Drawing Tips for Beginners. Although they say the tips are for beginners, depending on what you’re into drawing, there are still at least a few good tips for more experienced artists.
• For Free Coloring Pages you can print off yourself, Crayola has you covered.
• If you’ve ever thought about turning your drawings into animation, the creators of Phineas and Ferb have some great Tips on How to Animate The Disney Way.
• if any of you have thought about making your own comics, this online Comic Storyboard is a great place to start. If any students create anything, please feel free to share with us.
• Did you know Disney has 12 “principles” for making animation? You can Check Them Out Here along with animated clips that help explain the principles. For all the artists out there, some of these ideas might be able to make your work even more impressive!
• Check out the official page for tons of Bob Ross Painting Videos.
• 50 Links to sites on art and music to help kids of various ages learn and create from home.

Fun Facts

• If you like the kind of fun where you might accidentally learn something, check out these Presidential Facts that you can use to stump your friends. For example, do you know which president had a pet alligator?  (Heads up, this site seems to change from time to time.)
• Check out this Cool Site from Scholastic that includes info on topics from how elections work to presidential pets, and a lot more! We recommend this one as a good place to find information in a fun way.
• If you’re just looking for some fast, fun facts about St. Patrick’s Day, check out this Page from Nat Geo. 
• For a beginners guide to some tiny microorganisms, This is a Great Place to Start.

A Little Bit of Everything

• For a one-stop-shop that includes food related video games, songs, recipes, information on eating healthy, and so much more, Click Here
• Many Links to Content ranging from educational support to virtual tours of everything from the Smithsonian Zoo to the Legoland Hotel.
• National Geographic has a great Youth Focused Site that includes apps, games, videos, science experiments, and more.
• If you just want to look at cute baby animals, Zooborns is dedicated to pictures and videos of newborns at zoos across the world.