As horrible as this situation is. We can use it as an opportunity to spend more time with our families.
Here are a couple of ideas of what you can all do together...
1. At home photoshoot
Times like these make you realise how important family is. Make sure you have captured your memories together... especially when living through something that will be in our history books for many generations to come!
It's time to dust off your camera and learn how to use it!! Using a camera doesn't have to be difficult, you can simply switch it to Auto mode. However, now more than ever it may be a time to learn how to use it manually - like a pro. Using your camera in manual mode gives you so much more freedom to get really creative! You can learn the basic skills on YouTube or Google.
Here's one I did earlier...
2. Create a show
I have so many memories dancing around my living room as a kid. Pull out your old clobber, let the kids dress up and create a show - those who film it get extra points!
3. Facetime
Talking to others will help to keep us all sane during isolation. Pick up the phone and call your friends and family. Use this time to catch up with old friends.
4. Den building
There is probably not a single child or adult who doesn’t like to build and play in dens or caves.
Children’s imaginations go wild with this activity. From planning the build - what will they use to make their den? Can they gather the materials themselves? - to playing inside of it, each step is an absolute pleasure. Hopefully they’ll be inspired to come up with exciting, fun-filled role play, or simply enjoy a change the scene and play with their toys ‘hidden away’ in their cave.
The easiest way to create a stable den is through using a blanket or bed sheet and cover a table or some other furniture moved together. You can create quite a spacious den using four chairs arranged in a square with the blanket placed over the back rests. Add few cushions added into the cave and your kids will have a great time for sure.
5. Gardening
I love being outdoors. What a perfect time of year to do the gardening.. just in time for the summer! Get the kids involved and give your garden a spring clean!
Or recycle old watermelons and do this...
6. Throw a party
Did someone say it was rabbit-dogs birthday? Get all the stuffed toys out and create a birthday party! Turn up the music so your neighbors can join in too.
7. Water fight/ paint with water
Hand your kid a paint brush and a tub of water and let them paint the whole garden - you'll thank me later.
8. Arts & Crafts
Get creative with pens, paper and paint! Write a blog, transform your bath into a spaceship, create a life size drawing of your kids....
Stick a load of A4 sheets of paper together (or if you have a big paper roll even better!) and place it on the floor. Lie down on it and outline your body with a pen. From this moment on there is no way to stop the kids getting creative: colour in, add accessories to the figures like stickers or stamps, design clothes with old material offcuts or other things you might find in the art drawer. The kids will have lots of fun with the real-size copies and you may have something really special to decorate the their bedroom wall afterwards.
9. Indoor gym
Transform your living room into a kid’s gym and create some fun and age-appropriate sports stations. You can put a trail of paper sheets on the floor which the kids have to walk over without touching anything else but the paper. Time jumping on the spot, which can be made more difficult for older kids (maybe they have to spin around while jumping).
A planking station is great fun as well. If you have a soft carpet or mattress you can try some somersaults with them if they are old enough (take care that they don’t hurt their neck!). Any other kind of gymnastic exercise which is performed only with their own body weight is great.
To make it more competitive you can use the stopwatch to time the duration of each exercise. But make sure to stick to age-appropriate duration. It’s about the fun and switching back and forth between the stations rather than aiming for the next world record.
Even more fun is it when mummy and daddy join in the kids gym activity and afterwards you all deserve a special treat!
10. Look back
Get out the old videos and photo albums, eat cake and reminisce. Then see no.1 so you can look back at this time in the future too!
11. Chalk in your garden! Make your kids happy - and your neighbours too!
Comments