Try these family activities to keep the election jitters at a low simmer this week

At this point, certain children have picked up on their parents' election angst, or proclaimed the person whose name is stuck into your yard or taped on your window to be “the good guy.” Others are blissfully dressing in Saturday night’s Spiderman costume and begging for Reese’s cups for breakfast. (I mean, they do contain protein-packed peanut butter, right?)

That’s just how things seem to be right now. Scary stuff on the news. Extracurricular learning on Zoom. Candy for breakfast. Goldfish for lunch.

If you’re getting through the day without screaming, give yourself some credit. If not, well, count yourself among most of us. Here are some activities to keep kids feeling like kids this week.

Pick up crafting kits now for a virtual workshop at 10 a.m. Saturday, register at craftnowphila.org/craftnowcreate, free (ages 5–11)

All week long, a kid can pick up one of 500 free crafting kits at a dozen or so community centers, art galleries, and a school or two throughout the city, while they last. On Saturday, that same kid can turn on a screen and turn those materials into clay monster heads, wooden dragonflies and butterflies, mini mosaics, kites, puppets, Swedish holiday gnomes, and felted soap. The morning Zoom class might lack the camaraderie of previous years' CraftNow events at the Kimmel Center — but at least the mini-makers can immediately use the felted soap to wash up after.

Through Sunday, Nov. 8, free, game sheet on Facebook @newtownhardwarehouse (ages 3 & up)

Neighborhood porches and front stoops are still decked out in cobwebs, ghosts, coffins, candy corn lights, and silly gravestones. So let the kids run around the block looking for items in a Halloween scavenger hunt cooked up by clever folks in charming Newtown, Bucks County. Check all the boxes on a game sheet of scarecrows and hay bales and such — they’re available at the 150-year-old Newtown Hardware House and on the store’s Facebook page. Then turn in your completed card during business hours at the store to get a prize. Bucks County too far away? Just let 'em have a second fun-size Snickers instead.

1 p.m. Thursday on the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge Facebook page, free (ages 7 and up)

John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum teaches all about clouds — stratus, cirrus, cumulus, etc. — in this Thursday’s episode of its twice-weekly Facebook Live nature program for kids. Every lesson hosted by the untamed marshland by the airport is engaging, fun, and free. Only trouble is, you have to get an adult to log on, because no self-respecting kid uses … Facebook.

10 a.m.-11 a.m. Friday, reserve at penn.museum/events/kids-family, pay-what-you-wish (ages 4–7)

Every few years, research about families reminds us that meals together are a big deal. But this is not new news. The Penn Museum makes the global, centuries-old case for everyone coming to the table and chewing with their mouths closed. Pencil, crayons, and paper required. Lunch after.

4 p.m. Fri., info @QueenMemorialLibrary on Facebook, under “Upcoming Events,” free (ages 5–8)

Storybook reader (and little-kid parent) extraordinaire Kate Eckert and a performing pal come to Chew Playground (1833 Ellsworth St.) for an outdoor storytime that’s more than books. It’s also singing, dancing, and having fun in the giant field beneath a giant tree. This week, bring a blanket and mask, and enjoy some Bone Soup. Weather permitting. Chew has another pop-up storytime 4 p.m. Nov. 20.