House Activities Over Corona Outbreak

President Trump declared national emergency over corona virus… Wait, but I am not ready for it. I mean what do I have to prepare, what should I do? Does that mean I can’t get out of my home?

I am sure lot of us have such questions coming in our mind at this point in time because for sure none of us would have imagined such a situation can arise during our time. I mean it sounds straight out of a sci-fi movie or feels like a war zone. I want to call it the silent war – where we are on house arrest.

Also, with schools closing, the biggest question – What are we going to do with kids at home for this many days? Our school is closed till April 10 and most districts are closed between 2-4 weeks.

Its kind of like if you have diabetes, then you have to completely cut off sugar from your diet to bring your diabetes under control. Similarly, to control Coronavirus and ensure public safety, certain necessary steps have to be taken.

Therefore, while we are stuck at home, I have compiled a list of indoor activities where the children are kept busy and you are not exhausted by the end of the day.

Becoming Da Vinci

I do not know what is it with kids and colors and paint, but kids of all ages love to paint. Yes, it does get messy, but then I designate an area in the garage, cover it up with newspapers and then let them have fun. I mostly get my painting supplies from Marshalls (reasonably priced when buying in bulk) or Michaels. This easily takes up a good 2-3 hours.

At this point, I let them be creative and messy because it their time for fun. It is good for any age kids. You can have younger kids splash on colors on the board or have them color in pages while older kids can do a painting of an image they like.

Cooking Fun

Cooking is such a cool activity! My kids fight to cook and make food. It is also funny to see how creative they get with making something. Cooking does not have to be complicated. It can start with something so simple as to making popsicles or to squeezing out their own fresh orange juice which they feel really proud of the fact they made their own juice! It can also be complex food such as making pancakes, making pasta or stir fry veggies.

I am not much of a baker, but their aunt it is. They are constantly learning how to make cakes, cupcakes, frosting, cake pops and more from her. They enjoy licking the leftovers.

It teaches them this sense of responsibility and accomplishment that ‘hey we actually know something in the kitchen’ since kitchen has a very complex vibe to it. My kids ever since they were small, they would love to help me mix stuff and see how raw ingredients when combined becomes a new food.

Board Games

One of my favorites pass time is board games. I love to buy new games, but now I am running out of space since one whole cabinet is full of them. I have Twister, Monopoly for kids, Chess, Scrabble, L.O.L board game, Sequence, Charades, Jenga and you name it. We take turns playing the different board games.

It is an option for us parents where we can relax for two – three hours and just watch the kids play. Or if you want to join your child, you can. I tend to use this time to relax. You can also have your kids design their own board game!

Lets Make Slime

One of the favorites of kids of all ages is Slime! I do not like slime as it gets all over and its too goooeeeyyy for me, but kids love it. More than playing with slime, they love to create their own slime. Therefore, you can keep the ingredients ready for slime so you do not have to go buy them. You need glue, water, borax solution and food coloring and you have your slime. Check out this link to make slime – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaALjlyKDZI

Indoor Camping Time

The idea of camping is something exciting to adults and kids. It does not have be elaborate but it can be something very simple. If you have a tent, you can bring that out and then decorate it. If you do not have a tent, you can find a spot in your house where you can spread a white sheet of blanket. Or you can spread that sheet over chairs making it a circle. You can layer the inside with blankets and pillows and have your kids play in there, eat and sleep there.

Arts and Crafts

There are a lot of arts and crafts projects which you can do with your kids and there are a lot of YouTube tutorials as well that teach you how to do such activities.

You can make instruments out of recycled materials or you can even make jewelry out of beads, pasta, wool, bottle tops, shells or any other objects. You can even just print out materials on how to draw and learn to draw or print out coloring pages for younger kids. Older kids can even create their own flipbooks or even scrapbooks.

12 Virtual Museum Tours

This is a site where you can take virtual tours of 12 famous museums from around the world. It is quite neat since kids and adults can learn about the different cultures, educate themselves and explore all the different exhibits of the different museums. They have the British Museum in London, the Van Goh Museum in Amsterdam, the National Gallery of Art in Washington and many more. Every day you get to explore a different place. The link is https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours%3famp=true

Movie Marathon

Hasn’t there been that one series you have been dying to watch, but you just don’t have the time? Well, now is the time. You can binge watch on a particular series or movies that you have been waiting for. You can choose series like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings or Beethoven or Free Willy and many more. Sometimes, its good to catch up on classics with your kids.

Exercise is a Must

Since most classes/activities are cancelled then how to get some exercise in? That too with children around?

Well, fear not – that is the beauty of online videos. There are so many YouTube videos where you and your child can do exercise together. It may sound silly, but believe me, it is a lot of fun. I like to do yoga with my kids, but you can do any exercise from push-ups to zumba to aerobics and you name it. This way you get your workout in and your child finds it a fun, challenging game to keep up with you. You can even have a little competition between siblings to see who wins the exercise first.

Backyard Sports

Sports is always that one thing loved by most kids and adults equally. You can utilize your backyard space to have kids play basketball, catch, dodge-ball, handball or even bicycling. It is fun, takes up easy 2-3 hours and kids can release their stress out of being at home all day.

These are some activities you can entertain your kids with everyday and not have to hear ‘we are bored.’

Please be safe and do take the necessary precautions for you and your family.

Do share of any other at home activities you do with your kids.