Well, it’s official. We are all starting to lose it. I can’t remember what silence sounds like and if I hear someone yell “Mooooooooom!!” one more time, I might just get under my bed and never come out again. Ok, ok let me shift into park on the drama levels. But serisouly, if you are quarantining with kiddos, you know you’re sitting there going “Mmmmmhhhhh preach mama!” So, while I unfortunately can’t claim that we’ve got it all together over here and quarantine has been nothing but dreamy, mess free DIY projects and calm movie nights, (where no one is having a melt down because we didn’t pick a movie we’ve already watched 73 times) I’m going to share a quick list of what’s been working over here. I guess I should add “practice adorable family pyramid poses” to our list. Charlie fell over 6 times but had zero injuries, so I’m going to consider this a huge success.
- Set up a treasure hunt – There is no shame in our treasure hunt game. We broke out their plastic eggs from Easter (don’t even ask why I didn’t throw them away yet) and set up a treasure hunt in the front and back yard. We filled the eggs with random little bits like their toys and knick knacks and I was amazed at the excitement levels on their faces when they opened the eggs to find THEIR STUFF in them.
2. Bike ride picnic lunch – This is a daily favorite, and honestly the more time I can come up with where we are away from the house, even if it’s a few blocks away, the better for the overall family moral. We have a little bike path and park area by our house (which I am thanking my lucky stars for daily!) which we head to every day, sometimes twice a day. I pack little snacks and once I hear Charlie yell behind me “Mooooooom, I’m exhausted!!!” I know it’s time to breakout the blanket. This kills two hours of the day and lots of that crazy kiddo energy and we can usually have some quiet art or movie time after, since they are so tuckered out.
- Teach them a recipe– cookies, blueberry muffins – Since I am only allowed in our kitchen to clean and decorate, I’m giving Eric all the credit for all the recent cooking with the girls. He has come up with an amazing amount of 3-5 ingredient recipes that are perfect for them to feel like they made something completely by themselves. Here are two of our favorites.
Oh, forgot one more job, I’m assigned. I am also the screamer of ‘not so close to the stove, it’s hot!!’ while everyone is cooking.
4. Learn TikTok dances –Well, as much as I tried to resist, Grace finally got me on the TikTok bandwagon, and we are kind of hooked. We’ve been learning ALL the dances while Charlie stands close by, giving up her judgy side eye. Pretty sure there will be some posts coming soon.
5. Write a letter to a friend – This works so well for your slightly older kiddos. Grace is 7 and all about writing in a journal and crafting, so she loved the idea of making little “miss you” letters for her friends. Just grab some stickers and glue and a stack of blank cards and let them go to town!
6. FaceTime with the whole fam – we have been doing this every weekend with my brother and our parents and it’s been amazing! When was the last time we all had a chance to really catch up live?! My twin brother is in NYC, and though my parents live 5 minutes away from me, it’s a rarity that we all make time to talk, let alone on video.
7. Teach them how to clean/organize – it dawned on my one day that nope, my 7-year-old doesn’t know how to clean and organize her room! I mean, how can you expect your kids to keep their room clean if we never really taught them how to properly do it? I don’t remember my mom ever showing me how to fold clothes or clean a bathroom and yes while I figure it out of course….well, would have been nice.
8. Teach them how to edit videos – I’ve heard someone else giving this tip and imidiately thought “hey, a cheap assistant! I’ll take it!” But seriously, if my kids could figure out how to navigate Netflix by the time they were 4, surely they can master Videoshop. And what kid doesn’t want their own YouTube channel these days? This is a perfect way to have them star something fun and make it all their own.
9. Do virtual tours and animal viewing – Ok, I may have spent a half hour hopping around all of the below, starring at puppies and Pandas until my productivity timer went off and busted me. So clearly, this is a great way to kill time!
10. Help them end the day well – try this Sleep Meditation for kiddos. Grace has trouble falling asleep and this has been helpful for us!
