Keeping the Kids Entertained
No matter how scary and chaotic this Coronavirus outbreak is, it has allowed us to spend more time with our families. If you are a busy bee during the week and you’ve barely had time to help your kids with schoolwork or get them ready for bed, this stay-at-home period can seem like a blessing. However, soon (if not now) you will realize that spending 24/7 with your little ones locked inside the house can easily turn into a nightmare. Kids easily get bored, and if you don’t come up with new ideas to keep the kids entertained daily, your adorable mogwais can turn into gremlins.
So, what can you do with your children when going to the playground or visiting their friends is out of the question? Here are several ideas to keep them occupied during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Keep a schedule
Although it may be tempting to declare quarantine a holiday and just let your kids do whatever they want, it is important to keep their time organized. Every night you can write their schedule on a whiteboard, so they know exactly what to expect from the following day. Let them know when it is time to read, study, play, and rest, and you will be much less bothered by your kids who have no idea what to do with themselves.
Give them household tasks
Unless your kids are still in diapers, they could greatly benefit from having chores in their routine. Younger children will have a blast working alongside you, helping you take the laundry out of the machine or sweeping with their tiny broom. If your kid has their basic baking kit, they could help you out in the kitchen and prepare snacks and decorate cookies on their own.
Stay in touch
Your kids’ social life should not suffer because of the quarantine, so use Skype, FaceTime or other video chat options to help them stay in touch with their friends. They can also use these services to talk to their grandparents and other family members you want to protect from Co-vid 19. If you wish to limit your children’s screen time, let them talk to their friends for no more than an hour each day, otherwise, they will probably spend the whole day staring at their phone or a laptop.
Play in the yard
If you live in a house with a yard, you are one of the lucky ones. Despite the quarantine, your kids can still go outside and get some fresh air. If you let them play on their own in the yard they will probably find a place to sit and play games on their phone, so organize a scavenger hunt, a round of hide-and-seek, or, if your kids are little, let them play in the mud with buckets and plastic shovels. If you live in an apartment, organize a hiking trip (somewhere where there are no people in sight) and explore the local forest, go looking for birds and see what hidden treasures you can find.
Organize a dance party
On most of the streaming services, you can find kid-friendly playlists, so you don’t have to waste time looking for the perfect tunes for your dance party. Fun, contact-free games such as Limbo or musical chairs can keep your little ones occupied with things to do for hours, just be prepared for a lot of noise!
Raid your closet
You surely have a ton of things in your closet that you won’t use anymore, such as washed-out shirts and old sheets. Use them to make dresses and collages with your kids, make forts in the living room out of old things, or find other ways to cut up and repurpose them.
Keeping your kids entertained during quarantine is not that complicated, just use your imagination and let your inner child lead the way.
More from the Homestead Guru:
- CDs For Chickens? Ways To Keep Your Chickens Entertained(Opens in a new browser tab)
- Knives and Fires at Preschool? Yes, It’s a Good Thing.(Opens in a new browser tab)
- Unschooling and “Child-Led Learning” Defined(Opens in a new browser tab)
- New Study: Kids Drinking Whole Milk Are Thinner Than Those Who Drink Skim(Opens in a new browser tab)
- Alarming New Study: Unvaccinated Kids are Healthier(Opens in a new browser tab)
- Want to Liberate the Next Generation? Unschool Your Kids.(Opens in a new browser tab)