The Coronavirus Disease began in Central China’s Wuhan City in December 2019, but it soon accelerated to spread like wildfire in over 177 countries around the globe including the US where it has infected over 10, 000 people up till March 2020.
The rapid outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease in the US has led to abrupt closure of all social institutions including schools and businesses, forcing children and parents to stay home. Self-isolation has become the only best option to control the Coronavirus spread along with maintaining personal hygiene.
When the news of Coronavirus outbreak was topped with the announcement of American schools shutting down for an indefinite time period, parents were given more than one nightmare to prepare for. Apart from worrying about the family’s health and safety, parents nationwide faced a daunting task to balance between working-from-home and keeping the kids busy and active while they are cooped up at home 24/7 due to the conundrum of social-distancing.
While self-quarantine is extremely crucial at this time of pandemic and majority of kids are studying via remote-learning platforms, the loss of school and eight hours of childcare it offers such as PE lessons, sports games, and social activities is inevitably making parents tensed for the physical and mental wellbeing of their little ones.
If you are a parent on a triple duty of working, parenting and teaching at the same time and facing the daunting task of keeping the kids physically and mentally active at home in this baffling time of healthcare emergency and self-quarantine, then stop worrying as we have got your back!
Here are some really interesting ways you can keep the kids busy and happy during quarantine.
Indoor Treasure Hunt
When kids are stuck in the house and the Coronavirus spread is keeping them cooped up, it’s obvious that you need to give them something that’ll keep them engrossed and moving and what can be better than a classic treasure hunt? Just search the internet for printable clues (with or without pictures) and scatter them around the whole house with one clue leading to another and place some treasure such as a bar of chocolate, toy or any other object at the end. You can also set some rules at the beginning of the treasure hunt such as no running or finding the treasure in a certain time limit to make it more fun. Even though the treasure hunt will keep your kids moving, don’t forget to turn it into a good brainstorming activity and give out clues that’ll put their brains to work.
Art-attack with Shaving-cream Paint
Making paint out of shaving cream and using it on the windows or any glass surface is a great sensory art activity for the kids that can lighten up their mood and add color to their dull self-quarantine day. Don’t worry, making paint out of shaving cream is incredibly easy and plus it is even easier to scrub-off with a wet cloth. All you need is some shaving cream, a few squirts of washable paints or food coloring and a bowl to mix it up and voila! Your DIY shaving cream paint is ready to be used by the kids to paint all glass windows in the house with their hands or paintbrushes. Trust me, they’ll love it!
Shake it off!
Even though the Coronavirus has made us socially deprived, the positive thing about self-quarantine is that we continue to get internet-access by reliable providers such as the AT&T Internet without any data caps or overage fees so that we can keep ourselves entertained and distracted in this stressful time of self-isolation. Being home-bound can make you and your kids equally lazy and sluggish and looking up the web to find some kid-friendly exercise routines for you and the kids to do together could be the best way you can boost your family’s energy levels and cognitive abilities by shaking a leg. Just look for dancing, yoga or any other exercise videos involving kids on YouTube and have a fun-filled physically active time with kids.
Refreshing Nature Walk with an Art-twist
Staying indoors for 24 hours in a day is boring and suffocating for everyone, especially for the kids as they love going to the malls, theme parks or movie theatres for a breath of fresh air. So what can be possibly done to freshen up their mind, body, and soul when all public places are crossed out from the list? The answer: take them on a refreshing nature walk in the backyard or around the neighborhood where they can safely see, hear, smell or feel the flowers, leaves, stones, and trees and feel connected to the natural world and appreciate its beauty. You can also add up a little art activity to this nature walk by giving a bag to each child with a drawing pad, a pencil and some color pencils, paints or markers in it so that they can note down what they see and then later use their memory and drawing skills to draw and paint the nature bounties they saw on the nature walk.
Set-up an In-Home Family Theatre and Play Cinema
Kids love movies and snacks and what could be better than setting up a comfy matinee in your living room and play cinema to add a buzz of entertainment to make their self-quarantine less dreary? Just print some movie ticket templates online or draw them by hand, make popcorns or snacks and sell them to your guests (the kids) to play cinema and welcome them to your TV lounge matinee to watch an informative movie, documentary or show that you just downloaded or streamed. Curl up on the couch with your little one to enjoy cinema-like feels at home and increase your knowledge at the same time.
Stay Strong, This Too Shall Pass!
Self-quarantine can be equally challenging for parents and kids. However, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. This stressful time will soon pass and your whole household can overcome the pandemic together by keeping a positive mind and staying indoors to avoid any health risks. Just because there’s a pandemic outside doesn’t mean your family can’t have fun and relax. Take this self-quarantine time as an opportunity to bond with your kids and try out these fun-packed activities together to fight social isolation together.
Author Bio:
About Caroline Eastman:
Caroline is doing her graduation in IT from the University of South California but keens to work as a freelance blogger. She loves to write on the latest information about IoT, technology, and business. She has innovative ideas and shares her experience with her readers.
