Need ideas for a productive day at home? Cover items in each of these categories each week, and you and your crew will feel plenty satisfied.
Music
Gather the family for an all-out jam session using any instruments at your disposal (metal spoons on pots and pans, oatmeal container drums, bean shakers, etc.). My teenager likes to pull our her guitar or ukulele, while the rest of us use toy instruments.
"Voice" is a favorite part of music time, so singing is NOT optional. Infants and toddlers will enjoy nursery songs and fingerplays (Oh Susanna, This Old Man, Wheels on the Bus). If there isn't a microphone available for karaoke time, use an empty paper towel roll. Queue up favorite songs on your Amazon Echo and also experiment listening to a variety of music while going about the day's activities. My girls recently discovered "Lots of Drops of Brandy" by the Chieftans, and we have to play it at least once a day.
Recruit older kids to put on a concert, especially if they're currently learning to play an instrument. Compose a silly rap or song together as a family. Dance like nobody's looking (and if you have a larger size family, a "Soul Train line" is must)!
Gather the family for an all-out jam session using any instruments at your disposal (metal spoons on pots and pans, oatmeal container drums, bean shakers, etc.). My teenager likes to pull our her guitar or ukulele, while the rest of us use toy instruments.
"Voice" is a favorite part of music time, so singing is NOT optional. Infants and toddlers will enjoy nursery songs and fingerplays (Oh Susanna, This Old Man, Wheels on the Bus). If there isn't a microphone available for karaoke time, use an empty paper towel roll. Queue up favorite songs on your Amazon Echo and also experiment listening to a variety of music while going about the day's activities. My girls recently discovered "Lots of Drops of Brandy" by the Chieftans, and we have to play it at least once a day.
Recruit older kids to put on a concert, especially if they're currently learning to play an instrument. Compose a silly rap or song together as a family. Dance like nobody's looking (and if you have a larger size family, a "Soul Train line" is must)!
Outdoor Life
The outdoors are still open! Have a nature walk and use all your senses to observe birds and other wildlife as well as flowers and trees. Bring the binoculars! Play hide and go seek or freeze tag in the yard. Start a small garden. Tomatoes are easy to grow in our area, but also try your hand at cucumbers, peppers, and fresh flowers. Pull out the camping supplies from the garage and pitch a tent, light the fire pit, and have s'mores after a backyard cookout. Children also enjoy finding interesting rocks and sticks outside, lying in the grass, digging for bugs, and swinging (I hope you have a swing set out back).
The outdoors are still open! Have a nature walk and use all your senses to observe birds and other wildlife as well as flowers and trees. Bring the binoculars! Play hide and go seek or freeze tag in the yard. Start a small garden. Tomatoes are easy to grow in our area, but also try your hand at cucumbers, peppers, and fresh flowers. Pull out the camping supplies from the garage and pitch a tent, light the fire pit, and have s'mores after a backyard cookout. Children also enjoy finding interesting rocks and sticks outside, lying in the grass, digging for bugs, and swinging (I hope you have a swing set out back).
Sports & Recreation
Even throwing and catching a ball across the room qualifies as sports time! Although you're stuck at home, there are still so many options. Play Frisbee on the street. Jump rope. Dribble a ball. If you have a b-ball goal at home, it's a plus! My 6-year-old has taken to skating downstairs on our wood floors , and she won't hear any complaints from this mama! We've also brought in the Plasma Car, and all of us (including the adults) have enjoyed riding around the kitchen island on it.
Older kids and younger kids alike will enjoy a game of sock-and-wastebasket toss, especially if you're keeping score. Most of us have backyard pools, so certainly spend plenty of time getting in some strokes. Not only is walking the neighborhood great exercise, it's a fun way to get out of doors and see new faces. Also, try yoga, aerobics (find a YouTube video), or ride bicycles.
Even throwing and catching a ball across the room qualifies as sports time! Although you're stuck at home, there are still so many options. Play Frisbee on the street. Jump rope. Dribble a ball. If you have a b-ball goal at home, it's a plus! My 6-year-old has taken to skating downstairs on our wood floors , and she won't hear any complaints from this mama! We've also brought in the Plasma Car, and all of us (including the adults) have enjoyed riding around the kitchen island on it.
Older kids and younger kids alike will enjoy a game of sock-and-wastebasket toss, especially if you're keeping score. Most of us have backyard pools, so certainly spend plenty of time getting in some strokes. Not only is walking the neighborhood great exercise, it's a fun way to get out of doors and see new faces. Also, try yoga, aerobics (find a YouTube video), or ride bicycles.
Arts & Handicrafts
Some handicrafts require precise supplies, and with store limitations lately, you may not be at liberty to gather what you need for some projects. But perhaps you have most of the tools you'll need for card-making, sewing skirts (or face masks), or learning origami.
For creative art time, pull out coloring books, or print free coloring sheets online, and let the kids choose from using crayons, map pencils, markers, and stencils. If you have balloons, newspaper, and flour, you can make paper mache animals. Molding with play dough and cutters are great tools for creativity time!
Use chalk to draw flowers and other pretty pictures on the sidewalk, or draw out a colorful Hopscotch board in the street for all the passersby to enjoy. I like printing out the free step-by-step drawing tutorials at ArtProjectsforKids.com to help my younger two kiddos learn to draw simple things like animals and buildings.
Home Projects
Which home projects can you do as a team this week? Have you completed your spring cleaning? Younger kids can be amazing with a feather duster; older kids can get the baseboards spotless and maybe even the toilets. Can you paint a room or rearrange the furniture for a new look?
Everyone in my family gets together from time to time to wash the vehicles, and it makes for some fun quality time if not a random soak-down or two. From scrubbing the porch to washing the windows, home projects can keep your family busy and industrious, and keep your house looking great!
Some handicrafts require precise supplies, and with store limitations lately, you may not be at liberty to gather what you need for some projects. But perhaps you have most of the tools you'll need for card-making, sewing skirts (or face masks), or learning origami.
For creative art time, pull out coloring books, or print free coloring sheets online, and let the kids choose from using crayons, map pencils, markers, and stencils. If you have balloons, newspaper, and flour, you can make paper mache animals. Molding with play dough and cutters are great tools for creativity time!
Use chalk to draw flowers and other pretty pictures on the sidewalk, or draw out a colorful Hopscotch board in the street for all the passersby to enjoy. I like printing out the free step-by-step drawing tutorials at ArtProjectsforKids.com to help my younger two kiddos learn to draw simple things like animals and buildings.
Home Projects
Which home projects can you do as a team this week? Have you completed your spring cleaning? Younger kids can be amazing with a feather duster; older kids can get the baseboards spotless and maybe even the toilets. Can you paint a room or rearrange the furniture for a new look?
Everyone in my family gets together from time to time to wash the vehicles, and it makes for some fun quality time if not a random soak-down or two. From scrubbing the porch to washing the windows, home projects can keep your family busy and industrious, and keep your house looking great!
Housekeeping
Housekeeping includes all the things we should be doing to keep our house running and maintained. Laundry, vacuuming, cooking, baking, and other chores all fall under this category. Even the youngest child can help pick up small items like toys and place them in a bin. Give older kids an opportunity to plan a meal or dessert for one of the weekdays, and let him/her take the lead with preparing it.
Friends & Family
Social distancing doesn't mean you can't reach out to friends and family. Use the phone, Facetime, Skype, or other applications to connect with other families for conversation. Try Zoom for a party-line meetup with small groups of friends. Consider a tea time gathering, poetry readings, a Bible study, book club, etc. Write letters and send cards and photos to grandparents. And remember, time with family means time with the family members who live in your own home. Don't discount playtime with siblings (who wants to build a fort together?), and having big kids read to younger siblings.And YOU - you'll need a Date Night with your significant other (if applicable), which might mean getting the kids in bed early and cooking a special meal or dessert, lighting candles, playing music, and enjoy casual conversation with your love. Oh, and put on makeup and dress up, even if you're just going to the formal dining room.
Hobbies / Personal Interest
There's plenty of time lately for personal hobbies - yours and theirs. Hobbies can include reading, writing, robotics, making plays, sewing, writing poems, photography, Rubik's cubes, designing worlds in Minecraft, learning a foreign language, inventing new board games, etc. Take time to explore hobbies and try to give everyone time to work on his/her hobby each week.
Giving to Others
It's easy to feel isolated during this time of social distancing, but there's still plenty that can be done to help others. Find out where you can volunteer locally. Are donations needed? Manpower? Does anyone need a meal? Or can you pick up something for a next door neighbor when you run to the store to get what you need?
Perhaps your child will want to call up an elderly family member each week to lift the person's spirits. Join the Face Mask Sewing movement and help get masks in the mail to people who're in need. Can you bring a new pet into your home? Check with Montgomery County Animal Shelter to find out about their current fostering needs.
