The only good thing about the Coronavirus making its rounds within our country is that it’s almost spring. And with spring comes warmer temperatures and playing outside, which is where I would rather be than cooped up inside.
Spring Break is here and I usually spend my free time taking my kids to fun places. However, this year is going to be different. The idea of taking my kids to the pool, aquariums, or any of the other places where they could get sick if a non-starter for me. So this year we are going to stay home and make the best of it.
With long stretches of family bonding kids are going to get antsy, so I’ve come up with a few ideas to keep kids’ minds from getting bored.
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If your child’s school shuts down, contact the teacher and see what they would be learning and then try to engage your child with that subject. I know both my kids need work with their reading and this is the perfect opportunity to help them improve.
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Get out some board or card games. If you don’t have any, check Amazon. They have some fun, cheap games that will probably interest your kids.
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Help your children with sports. If you child wants to participate in a sport this summer, help him or her practice in your yard or at a park.
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Do science experiments. There are tons of age-appropriate science experiments that you can do at home on Pinterest. These usually are done with things you have in your cupboards.
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Have your kids help you bake. My kids love helping me pour in the ingredients when we make cookies. If you have older kids, this is the perfect time to teach them how to cook or bake.
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Have a family singing or dancing competition.
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Get out your bikes and take a ride.
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Take a walk around your neighborhood or go for a hike.
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Have your kids pick a craft and make it together.
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Make play-doh or slime. I swear my kids will play for hours with those.
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Have a movie marathon. Has your child never seen all the Harry Potter movies? Now is the perfect time to watch them!
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Sometimes all you need is a box. Make it into a car or a spaceship and watch your kids play make believe.
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Build a gigantic fort.
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Do some exercises together.
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Read a book together
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You can also take your kids on a virtual tour of some famous museums:
British Museum, London; https://britishmuseum.withgoogle.com/
Guggenheim Museum, New York; National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; Musee d’Orsay, Paris; National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City, and many more; https://artsandculture.google.com/
The Louvre; https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne
These are just a few ideas to keep you going when your children get bored. If you need some more ideas, Pinterest is always my go to for inspiration and things to do or check out our Resource Guide for over 500 activities to do with kids of all ages!
