25 Tips to Maximize Your Family Time While You Shelter-in-Place
I was commenting to my husband yesterday that it seems like the world has stopped. Normal routines have been interrupted, the streets are relatively empty, shopping at stores is limited, and attending events or gathering with friends has come to a screeching halt. We are definitely unplugged! While this can be disconcerting, it is also a unique, albeit unplanned time. Like never before there is an amazing opportunity to spend more time (quality and quantity) with our spouse and children. What can you do as a family to make sure you make the most of this unique time? Here are some great resources and fun tips to maximize this shelter-in-place season.
25 Tips to Maximize Your Family Time
- Make meals together. Let the kids experiment a bit! Put out multiple ingredients and have them build their own meal. Check out videos of kids cooking to inspire your future Rachael Ray or Emeril Lagasse!
- Play Pictionary, or another favorite board game, or do puzzles together.
- Plant a vegetable garden. You might want to try a Seeding Square to help kids learn how to grow from seeds.
- Do body scans together. You can try the kids butterfly body scan.
- Have a dance jam together. Put on your favorite dance music and just have fun! Give high fives for the most creative dance moves!
- Try some yoga. Cosmic Kids Yoga or Yoga with Adriene are good places to start!
- Get out the popcorn and watch old home videos or browse through old family pics.
- Build a fort with blankets and chairs, grab a snack and your laptop and watch a movie in your new digs!
- Do some drawing together. You might sit around the table and have each person draw the person to their right. When you’re done- share them and have a good laugh. Or, choose one thing, inside or out, and all of you draw that one thing. After you’ve finished, share your creations and notice how you each had a different perspective. Use this difference to talk about how we’re all uniquely different and that is a beautiful thing!
- Take a doodling class from an artist. Children’s author, Mo Willems is doing a class daily called Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems, (you might just learn to make your own book!) Or try Emergency Art Classes with Mopsie.
- Order Mad Libs for Kids and read them after dinner for a good laugh.
- Have the kids write and sing a song and record on video and send to Grandma and Grandpa.
- Set up a big pile of pillows on the floor next to Mom and Dad’s bed and let the kids jump off the bed. Have a pillow fight after. Our grand kids love this!
- Have a picnic lunch or dinner inside or out in the back yard.
- Download a star gazing app like Sky Safari or Sky View and take the family on an adventure out in the back yard. Lay out a large blanket enjoy the constellations! If you have an outdoor fire pit or barbecue, make your adventure complete by enjoying some s’mores.
- Send a surprise package to someone you know who lives alone.
- Visit a museum, zoo or aquarium online.
- Do karaoke using a music streaming program or YouTube. Use a ladle or hairbrush for your mic!
- Play indoor golf. Set up goals (tape on carpet works) and obstacles (anything goes) and use mops or brooms as your clubs.
- Have a paper airplane competition. Create a prize for the winner!
- Play hide and seek- inside or outside, weather permitting.
- Get outdoors! Go on a nature walk and collect small items and make a collage when you get home.
- Go for a hike through your neighborhood, on a local (closed) golf course, or go for a family bike ride.
- Spring is here! Find a trail or space where you can enjoy the wildflowers. Take pictures of each and make a point to learn their names when you get home.
- Explore some of the amazing kids resources online:
- Visit PBS and PBS Teaching Materials for ideas on educating children during their time away from school
- Learn more about the oceans with different educational materials for children.
- Visit your favorite animals via live cam at the San Diego Zoo, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, or just view some puppies.
- Travel is limited but you can still take a virtual tour of Yosemite! We had to cancel our trip there for April but we can still go virtually!
- Famous actors/actresses reading children’s books! What more could you want?
- Fitness: Check out Go Noodle and other online fitness programs for kids
Please comment below and let us know some of your own fun activities or resources!