As schools across Minnesota close due to the COVID-19 virus, families face a further disruption to their lives and schedules -- what to do with their kids for an extended period of time.

On Sunday,  March 15, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz made the decision to close Minnesota schools starting Wednesday, March 18 through Friday, March 27. While Spring Break was scheduled to fall during that time regardless, parents find themselves wondering what to do with their kids for an additional few days.

Scholastic -- multinational publishing, education and media company -- is offering free online courses to students.

"As more and more teachers, students, and families around the world are affected by the coronavirus, our priority is to support them in the best way we know how -- by providing them with rich stories and meaningful projects that will keep kids academically active," Lauren Tarshis, senior vice president and editor-in-chief of Scholastic Classroom Magazines said.

Scholastic has launched a "Learn at Home" website with daily courses for students from Pre-kindergarten to grades 6 and higher. The website currently has five day's worth of content to keep kids reading, thinking and growing, including three hours worth per day of writing and research projects, virtual field trips, and geography challenges.

The website is free and accessible on any device.

If you don't currently have internet at home, Charter Communications has announced they're offering homes with students K-12 and in college free internet. A local artist has also announced that she'll be offering free, daily art lessons over Facebook. For all your local COVID-19 news, visit our regularly updated article here.