I reached out to a lot of my friends this week and asked them for their tips to keep their kids busy and happy while we are all stuck inside and social distancing. I compiled their ideas along with my own into a huge list of ideas for you to use to keep your spirits up.
I think a few things are important to keep in mind throughout all of this though. Remember to hug your kids and reassure them that everything is going to be okay. Focus on the morning. Make it the most productive time of your day. It will help you to get things moving and will set the tone for the rest of the day. Have a family dinner. Kids are happier with structure and goals.
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General
- Get up on time or even early
- Exercise in the morning to boost your energy
- Set up a schedule that mirrors your child’s school schedule and add pictures for younger kids
- Include “recess” in the backyard
- Make a big list of things you want to get done
- Involve the kids
- When the fighting starts, pick an activity from the list
- Watch home movies
my friend’s kids having green eggs and ham
Screen-Free
- Build a blanket fort
- Read books
- Play with things around the house
- Play in the backyard
- Have a spa day with your girls
- Sing
- Take extra baths
- Set up a kiddie pool outside when it gets a little warmer
- Set up some sensory activities
- Make some fancy mocktails
- Make a fancy pizza
- Make a fancy dessert
- Meditate
- Read scriptures
- Write a letter
- Look through your family photo album
- Play family games
- Play in the water.
- Take some water safe toys and freeze them in a big bowl overnight. Give child warm water and paintbrush, a turkey baster or even a spoon and let the ice slowly melt and free your toys!
- Write in a journal
- Practice math
- Have a snowball fight with socks
- Legos in the tub
- Play with cars and make roads with tape on the floor or furniture
- Play hide and seek
- Blow bubbles
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my friend’s kids doing a science project at home
Educational
- Work on goals
- Independent play, potty training, teaching, bike riding
- Have your kids help you cook – even if it’s just stirring or pouring things from measuring cups (this is also a good way to teach real-life science and natural consequences like following instructions makes yummy snacks)
- Have a music lesson
- Tell your family stories to your kids
- practice handwriting by tracing your name on different textures (sandbox, grass, tree trunk, cement, etc.)
- Do some at-home science experiments
- Learn household tasks like Laundry
- Sort things
Exercise
- Set up an obstacle course and time yourself and your kids running through it.
- Play games on your Wii or Kinect
- Just chase your kids around the house
- Take your kids outdoor time If possible
- Go for a walk outside. For more tips on walking with a kid and a dog see my
- Have a dance party
- Ride bikes
- Check out a kid’s exercise channel on YouTube
- Wrestle with your kids, tickle, carry them upside-down, spin, etc.
Crafty
- Color
- Write your own book
- Practice taking pictures
- Make boondoggles
- Learn finger weaving
- Give the kids paper and scissors and see what happens. Not everything has to be cute and planned. You can set up tidy and safety boundaries first. “All the paper should stay on the table and we only use scissors on the paper” etc. but besides that, go wild.
- Try fruit loop beading
- Paint rocks
Internet-based
- Video call a friend or family member
- Listen to podcasts
- Listen to stories read by celebrities or astronauts on their social media channels
- Some TV time is ok. Look for a post coming soon about great shows to watch with your kids. One of the moms said: “I’ve come to accept the fact that cultivating a calm and positive home environment is more important than keeping them mentally engaged… so if you need to give them a little more Netflix/video games than usual so you can fit your mental health time in, then let it be without guilt.”
Other resources
- Canny Kids – they have a daily activity for kids at 11:00 central.
- Busy toddler on Instagram
- Rad and Happy – coloring pages
- Teachers pay teachers – you can register for free
- Milwaukee with Kids – fun and easy science experiments
- ABC mouse
- Code.org
- ABCya
- Overdrive
- Hoopla
- Audible
- Sidekick Mama
I hope this helps you and your kids. Please let me know what other kinds of things you want to hear about. Send me an e-mail to he***@************************ve.host, or leave me a comment.
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