While children are home from school as a result of stay at home orders associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s easy to become stir crazy or default to the use of electronics. That’s why here at Mickie’s Miracles, we’ve curated a list of ideas to help you make the most of your time at home! The following are several activities belonging to 5 different activity types. Find the ones that appeal to you and your family the most and go have fun!
Education
While school is out education should be a primary concern. This is the time for you to really get to know your child and their natural inclinations and proclivities. Below are some resources you can use to help develop your child’s interests and talents.
- Scholastic has some great educational resources for you to use and give your kid a head start for when school gets back in.
- Flashcards for math, vocabulary, science etc. are a great way for your kids to retain pertinent knowledge to their academics. You can create them from your child’s text books. If there are already pre made flash cards for a subject, all the better!
- Setting up an outdoor gym class that focuses on the athletics your children are good at can really help them when it comes time to get back into competition. Look up professionals who play the sport and study their movements. Really focus on practicing the details of those movements to have them sharp for when the season starts back.
Online Tours and Exhibits
Online tours and exhibits are free or going for bargain rates right now. The following are some great tours and virtual exhibitions that your kids can be entertained and educated by!
- Everyday at 3 PM the Cincinnati Zoo will be live-streaming animals on their Facebook page.
- You can experience a virtual tour of Yellowstone Park and also plan a visit.
- The Boston Children’s Museum also has some excellent virtual tours your kids can learn from.
- If you have any future astrophysicists in the family, then a tour of Mars from 2011’s Mars Rover will be in order.
- You can also virtually tour the Great Wall of China from the safety of your home as well!
Crafts and Science Experiments
- Making Elephant Toothpaste will be a great activity for any future chemists! All you need is hydrogen peroxide, yeast, water, and an empty bottle!
- Making your own play dough can help give your children a good sense of how to make things for themselves. A great recipe can be found here at: https://www.iheartnaptime.net/play-dough-recipe/
Projects
- After reading several novels, have your kids write a book of their own creation. This can really help enhance their creativity.
- Teaching your kids how to edit videos can be a very useful skill. They may become Youtubers one day!
- If your child is interested in computers, then teaching them how to code would be a great use of this time social distancing. Mommy Poppins has great lessons designed just for children!
Social Activities
- Face-timing family members can be a great way to catch up with relatives that live far away. You can even have the play games with aunts and uncles, cousins, or grandparents right over a phone or tablet!
- Face-timing friends from school can be a good way for kids to gain ideas from friends who are doing different activities to keep them busy. It can also help them keep up with what their classmates are studying.
All of these activities are ways to make the most out of a stressful situation and give your kids the edge when this crisis is over. Try them out and let us know which ones work best for you!