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Whether it’s the impending school holidays or the thought of being quarantined with the kids in tow that has you breaking into a sweat, now is the time to start planning ahead. Forget about stocking up on toilet paper and paper towels. You need to be thinking about how you’re going to occupy your little munchkins and avoiding at all costs the continual war cry of ‘I’m bored, there’s nothing to doooooooooooo!’
Personally, I love the holidays and the chance for our family to reconnect BUT that’s because we’re usually able to get out and about, enjoying all of the fabulous events and facilities our awesome town has to offer.
With the looming threat of COVID-19, it’s looking more and more likely we’ll all be spending a lot of time at home. With that in mind, I’ve made a ‘go-to’ list to alleviate the crazy. It’s by no means exhaustive but it’ll give you a starting point and hopefully go a long way to keeping your sanity intact.
PAINT
If you have really small children you can give them a container of water and a paintbrush and have them ‘paint’ the fence. If they prefer something more tactile, finger painting is always a winner with the pre-school crowd. Bigger kids aren’t so easy to win over so give them paper or canvas or whatever you have available and let them go for it. Give them items like old toothbrushes, sponges and bubble wrap to use so they can explore textures and patterns.
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COLOUR YOUR WATER
The first time I put food colouring and water together, I got almost two hours of uninterrupted peace and quiet. Pull out your pots and pans and bigger containers. Distribute water and a few drops of food colouring into each one. (If you want to avoid arguments, make sure each child has their own container for each colour. You need to be smart people!) Provide smaller empty containers, cups and utensils so that they can scoop, pour and play to their heart’s content.
CARDS & BOARD GAMES
Pull out all the old faves. Connect4, Trouble, Battleships, Guess Who, Monopoly – whatever you’ve got stashed away in the cupboard. Teach your children card games – Fish, Solitaire, Uno… when they tire of those, challenge them to use the cards to make a pyramid. The first person to complete a three or four tier pyramid gets a chocolate. That should keep them busy 😉
READ
Blow the dust off your old favourites or borrow from the local library. Did you know you can pre-order books from the library online? Simply login, place a hold on the books you’d like to borrow, nominate which library you’d like to collect them from and they’ll text you when the books are available for collection. From there, you simply rock up, run in, pull your collection from the hold shelf, use the self-checkout facilities to complete the borrowing process and you’re good to go. Minimal contact with people required. Alternatively, you could elect to ‘borrow’ electronic copies and download to your device when they’re available.
ART & CRAFT
No need to go in store, you can easily order your goodies online. Kmart and Riot Art both have affordable craft supplies. Make up a little art box for each of the kids and leave the rest to their imaginations. Decorate pinecones, make a collage, create a sock puppet, make peg people…there are literally millions of ideas online.
LEGO
Does anyone not love lego? This one is fun for the whole family. Challenge the kids to see who can build the tallest tower or the most creative animal. Maybe you could all work together to build an entire lego city. For more ideas check out this 30 day lego challenge.
GO OUTSIDE
Go back to basics. Play hide and seek in the backyard. Throw and catch a ball. Play kick to kick. Throw a frisbee.
Go for a walk. Ride a bike. I’d probably avoid your regular playground hangs. There are ample paths that aren’t super populated so for some well needed fresh air, I’d head to these instead.
DAYTIME DISCO
Put on your favourite tunes and let loose. Better yet, if the kids have their own headphones, make it a silent disco 😉 If you have glow in the dark necklaces and glasses left over from N.Y’s, get them out! Maybe the kids can plan their own playlist and dress up in their best dancing clothes.
GOOGLE/YOUTUBE
How to draw…how to make…the online world is your oyster. If creating isn’t your child’s thing, how about exploring famous capitals or landmarks using Google Maps or taking a virtual tour through a world famous museum?
IT’S MOVIE TIME! NETFLIX & STAN
Seriously, what did we do before these streaming juggernauts came along? The girls and I have been revisiting movies from my childhood. Hello ‘Goonies’, ‘Gremlins’ and ‘Short Circuit’. Find your much-loved family classics, prepare some ‘movie snacks’ and make an afternoon of it.
MAKE A CARDBOARD CUBBY
Put the boxes from those online orders to good use and build a cardboard cubby. Kids LOVE boxes. Other things they could do include – creating a car or a boat, using them as a tunnel to crawl through, making wings and pretending to fly, constructing a maze, making a rocket, drawing all over it, making a train or creating a mail box.
COOKING
I’m not suggesting you need to channel your inner Martha Stewart. (Although, if that’s your thing, by all means go to town) But if baking doesn’t rank highly on your skills list, there are ways of allowing the kids to get creative in the kitchen that don’t involve complicated instructions or mountains of mess. Put together a few bowls with different coloured icing, bring out the sprinkles and let the kids decorate plain old biscuits. They love it!
Or what about letting them help prepare a family meal? Yes, it takes oodles longer and watching them grate something is akin to watching an iceberg melt, but hey, if you’re quarantined you’ve got nothing but time, am I right?
MAKE A MINI CAR WASH
Gather up the cars, trucks and trains, load up some containers with soapy water and let the kids get to work.
ROLE PLAY
Get those dressups out and let the pretend play begin! Some of the things your child might enjoy; making a shop or cafe, playing hairdressers or schools, creating a vet or doctor’s clinic for toys, teddy bear’s picnic or tea party, making a zoo for all their animal soft toys.
CREATE A STORY ON THE iPAD
Armed with an iPad or similar device and using their toys as characters, have your child take a series of photos and add text to make a story. Alternatively, they could film themselves being reporters and make their own news report.
MAGNETIC TILES
Magnetic tiles are awesome. If you have pre-school children, there’s so much you can do with them. Have the kids sort the tiles into colours, use them to make patterns, teach your child about 3D shapes and of course – build!
NOISE CANCELLING HEADPHONES
These are for you, not your kids. There will come a time when it all might feel a bit too much and that’s when you’ll need these. This set from Sony are the Bees’ knees.
OTHER IDEAS
Put on a puppet show, make a photo scrapbook, thread beads, make a friendship bracelet, create an indoor treasure hunt, playdoh, make paper aeroplanes, jigsaw puzzles, colouring, drawing, write a letter or special card, make a flip book, stickers, blow bubbles, felt boards, do chalk drawings on the concrete or fence, pull out some blankets and make an indoor fort.
Hopefully these ideas provide a little bit of inspo!
GOOD LUCK!!
