With time on our hands it’s also tough keeping the kids amused without resorting to Netflix or Playstation; although we need to sometimes, especially when we’re working from home as well. And let’s face it: there’s only so many board games and puzzles you can do, and craft activities are just messy. It’s important to keep our kids’ morale up when their movements are so restricted and sometimes we’re strained for ideas and ways of connecting. Here’s some fun ideas that can be done together, shared with kids of all ages.
1. Hobby practice. Whether it’s shooting baskets, kicking the ball, dancing, martial arts or playing a musical instrument, encourage your kids to practice their hobbies every day and note their progress.
2. Photo sorting. You know those thousands of photos on your phone or computer? Have your kids go through them with you. Allocate each child their own Dropbox file/USB/hard drive and find all those classic baby shots. Each photo has a story and it’s a good way to stimulate interesting conversation. Show them some photos of when you were little. Compare what you looked like at similar ages. Perhaps print some photos off to make a collage, put in a frame (or make a cardboard frame) or turn into cards for grandparents or friends for Christmas.
3. Set up a circuit. You don’t need much space to set up a simple circuit of activities that can be done on the spot. Write them on bits of paper and spread them around your backyard/balcony/lounge room. Make up activities to suit the materials you have at hand like skipping, step ups, ball tosses, hula hoops or pull ups. Or if you don’t have anything available, use body activities like star jumps, ski moves, crunches, squat jumps, high knees on the spot, hopping and planks. Crank some funky music loud and each family member moves to a different station at the end of each verse or chorus.
4. Restaurant at home. Scour your old recipe books or check out online recipes. Choose an old favourite or a new idea that might become a favourite. Have the kids get involved in choosing the dish, writing the shopping list and preparing the food. They can write a fancy menu, set the table and create place cards, place mats or a centrepiece. Plate up fancy with some little herb garnishes; make rice or mashed potato into a mould on the side. Take photos. Serve up. Then set the timer for five minutes for a frenzied tidy up.
5. Create systems. Get your kids to brainstorm how their things can be arranged so they are easier to find. Today I’ve challenged my daughters to work out where their hair clips/scrunchies/hair ties/bun nets for ballet are going to be to make them easier to find. Tomorrow I’m going to get them to organise a system for their shoes. Giving kids a hand in deciding where their stuff belongs (is it best to keep these in a drawer, a basket, on a hook, in a bag?) teaches responsibility and encourages pride and ownership of their belongings.
6. Become a book reviewer. Set aside half an hour for reading each day for older kids, or one or two picture books a day for little ones. Encourage them to share their reading at the end of the week either by a little presentation or power point of what they’ve read, drawing a timeline of main events in the book or making a picture collage of the themes or drawing a picture of the characters. Grade the book out of ten.
