​Spring Break = Home Quarantine

Having our kids home can be a blessing and a curse. Usually we get excited! We plan a week full of activities - beach, parks, play dates, museums, hikes, we may even plan a getaway. Yet, this year despite our best intentions and preplanning, spring break looks a little different. Don’t you fear, you can do it! Spring break with our kids stuck in the house can seem like a curse, but if you plan ahead and create a week full of indoor activities, it can truly be a blessing.
 
You got this! I believe in you. And trust me the more you plan ahead, the better the week will be. When kids lack structure and activities, they resort to their own devices to past the time. As a parent, you know what I am talking about. Stay ahead of the game and preplan activities for them to enjoy and keep you sane.
 
Here are my top 3 suggestions:
Screen free day – now before, you absolutely veto this. Stop and think about all the amazing possibilities. My favorite things about screen free day is that you too, mom and dad, need to get off your phone. This forces everyone in the family to be in the moment, enjoy each other’s company and make some great new memories. And when the day is a success, it’s a great reminder for kids and parents that we don’t need electronics to have fun!

• Board games – whether it’s candyland, monopoly, checkers, connect four or uno. Dig into that closet, pick teams and have some fun!
• Puzzle – we are bringing it bag to the olden days, dig out that jigsaw puzzle and together make the magic happen
• Puppet show – you can use just about anything - old socks, paper bags, popsicle sticks and construction paper. Get creative, make characters from your favorite movie and reenact the scenes. Invent new characters and an interesting story line
• Build a Fort – bust out blankets, pillows, fairy lights and create a little oasis. Hey, they could even have a slumber party in their fort.
• Paper airplane challenge – use recycled paper, create a starting line with tape, slippers, cones, anything and let it rip!
• Balloon hockey or tennis – blow up a balloon and create random challenges – how long can you keep it up without touching the ground. This activity also builds team work, which is extremely helpful for siblings who are always at each other’s throats
• Sous chef – let your kids be your sous chef. Have them help in the preparation of their favorite meal or dessert. Not only do you get assistance, but you are teaching your kids how to whip up one of their favorites. What an amazing memory for them to pass down to their own kid.
• HIIT workout – get up and moving. This link leads you to an article about how exercise helps kids (and adults) with emotional regulation. They lay out 7 fun animal themed movements that help manage their emotional experience in just 7 minutes.

Imagination it up – one of the magical aspects of being a kid is that their imagination runs wild. Sometimes, I wish that I was as carefree as these little ones. They just do, without fearing having any judgment. We should really learn from them.

• Science projects. Try making this easy to make parachute, test out different cups, parachutes or designs to see which falls the fastest or slowest.
• Dance party – show them how it’s done. Bust out your some classic dance songs and bust a move. How educational would it be for you to teach them the cabbage patch, sprinkler, moonwalk, and running man. And they can teach you how to whoa, floss, dab and hype it out.
• Scavenger hunt – this will take some preplanning, but create a scavenger or treasure hunt for your kids. You can even leave treasures at each location that come together for an activity.
• Arts and Crafts
  • DIY moon sand
  • Magic milk
  • Sensory bottles
  • Lava lamp

​Challenge :: Ready set go. I mean ready, set, bust out laughing. Start by challenging your child with a little face off. Whether it is singing, dancing or strategy game, make it fun. You can even bet for push ups or chores. Lose can do the dinner dishes. 

• Karaoke – who sang it best. Use Youtube videos with lyrics and get to it. Or, if you have Amazon prime, most songs on Amazon music come with lyrics. Use a spatula, hair brush, just about anything as a make shift mic and rock the day away. Sing duets, movie soundtracks or old school classics, it’s your pick.
• Instagram - are you filters? I know you know what I am talking about, which Disney princess would you be, which animal would you be, word of the year of 2020, etc. This is a fun game that you and your kids can guess and laugh at the results, plus you have a video saved of your reactions.
• Tik tok – you’ve seen it. Even celebrities are doing it. Join the hype, sign up for a tik tok account and join in on lip syncing and mimicking dance moves. When parents join in with their kids, it definitely makes for a good show!
• Minute to win it games – Google it, pinterest search, there are just so many games you can possible challenge each other and beat the clock. The best thing is, most households have all the items needed for these challenging activities

Educational activities - Now that spring break got extended, it is important that we keep our kids on somewhat of a schedule, otherwise getting them back in the swing of school will be TOUGH! There are quite of bit of companies who have created free online resources to assist your child from home. A blogger, Jodi Southart, created a comprehensive list. Click, print and set time each day for your kids to do some school work. Along with worksheets and other online learning, have your child read for 30 minutes a day. Trust me, it will be way easier getting them back into the classroom if they keep a homework routine during this school break. You could even reward them with a set allotted amount of screen time when their work is completed. For older children, try reading a book (Harry Potter, Wrinkle in Time, Jumanji, Charolotte's Web) turned into a movie. Click here for a list
of favorites. You can watch the movie as a family after they finished the book.