Things to occupy the kids

[mae0111]

A few things I’ve found...

1. Mo Willems does a lunchtime (EDT) doodle session from his studio in MA. www.kennedy-center.org/mowillems

2. Virtual tours of museums - list here: mcn.edu/a-guide-to-virtual-museum-resources/

3. The Cincinnati Zoo streams a little education program each day at 3pm EDT. DD2 and I watched it together today.

What are you doing to keep them occupied??

[campermom]

I plan to do Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube.

[k3am]

We have done a bike ride and a run. Cosmic kids yoga. Work sheets. Dance party. Reading. Kindle time. Khan academy.

It's 2:38 and I'm ready to pull my hair out.

[supertrooper1]

Today: reading time, played a game of Rummikub, made Rice Krispy treats, art, bike ride, playing in the yard and too much tv time.

In the future: rock painting, some sort of math, more baking, more games like Scrabble and cribbage, study geography with BrainBox-Around the World, more reading, some science experiments, write short stories.

[twinmomma]

We happened to have a stockpile of Kiwi Crates and Atlas Crates that we never seem to have time for. So this morning they spent a couple hours working on that independently. They're old enough to do the projects unassisted, but it takes a lot of time and concentration, which is perfect for me to get work done!

Have you guys seen the movie Wonder Park? DD1 is obsessed with creating her own model like that, so she plans to work on blue prints and build it out of recycled materials we have around the house. The playroom will probably look like a dump heap by the end, but it should occupy them quite a bit.

[sdlaura]

My parents took the kids this morning 8:45-noon, then I had lunch with them, put the toddler down for nap at 1:30 pm, and left my 6-and 7-year-olds downstairs with lots of screens and a new Pokémon kit. There hasn't been too much screaming and I did overhear them inventing their own ball game of some sort. It's been almost two hours and I'm afraid to go see what the downstairs of my house looks like right now.

[traveltheworld]

Luckily DH is unemployed at the moment so he took the lead. But I made a schedule last night that included 2 sessions of outdoor time, reading time / story podcasts for DD (who can't read), Beast Academy (for math), practice piano.

So far it has gone surprisingly well. I think having a set schedule helps. Normally if the kids were left to run around freely, it descends into screaming and chaos within 30 minutes. But so far, no screaming / crying, etc.

[mommyatty]

We are still technically on Spring Break. So we aren’t doing school. But some things the kids have been doing:
-Forts
-kinetic sand
-playing with dinosaurs
-making a leprechaun trap
-taking walks
-riding scooters.

Our school will start providing lessons next week. So that’s good.

[186momx]

Today DD has done a bunch of her optional spring break packet, read 2 Dork diary books, did the melt bead thing which I can't get melted right, ate lunch, done 2 different 30 minute conditioning workouts and is now watching some Scooby doo before our 4:30 appointment comes. She has done a really great job but this momma is frazzled beyond frazzled.

[sandandsea]

I made this schedule and it’s been okay today. There were a few times I had to redirect and the reading happened half of what it should have been.

[mae0111]

sandandsea - I made a schedule as well. DD2 stuck to it pretty well. DD1 did one review worksheet, got 1/2 of it wrong because she wasn’t paying attention, cried, and followed me around asking me to play monopoly.

I pick up their work packets tomorrow. It appears that the 1st grade teacher printed dictionaries for the kids. 😳

[mrsGreeko]

We have some other craziness going on at the moment so as much as I’d like to follow a schedule I wasn’t able to do that today.

But my kids have enjoyed:
- making trailers in iMovie, including writing a script for a full movie that they made a trailer for
-coloring shamrock pictures I found online to hang i our front window for our neighborhood “shamrock walk” tomorrow
- doing dot to dot pages that I printed off the internet
- extra story time
- painting canvases (I stopped real quick at a craft store to buy some paints, brushes and canvases)
- playing with ooblek (except we now have no more corn starch)
- playing with the hose in the backyard
- riding bikes and skating in the street
-skating in the house (our main floor is all hardwood so we let them)
- reading books (I ran to the library the day before it closed)
- baking a new recipe

- board games and puzzles too

We don’t have any elearning at the moment. I do plan to have them do some school work, but today wasn’t the day for it. Tutors are coming tomorrow for the two oldest so they will each have an hour of math instruction and the one tutor might also spend a little time with the youngest, not sure yet. So I don’t have to worry about it tomorrow either.

[covergirl82]

I did a schedule similar to sandandsea . DD has been getting assignments from her teacher since yesterday, DS got assignments from his teacher starting today. They will be reading, and we have free time and outside time. Board games and puzzles haven't been pulled out yet, but are an option.


Nat Geo has a kids website:  www.kids.nationalgeographic.com

[acr]

Spring Break for my 10 year old, but I have a list of activties for him to choose from if he has trouble self identifying something. 2 days in, and he's been better at occupying himself than I've seen before.

My list of randoms to choose from:

- Watch Cincinnati Zoo Home Safari & research 5 facts about the animal
- Use your watercolor pencils (can use YouTube for ideas)
- FaceTime a grandparent
- Play on the Switch
- Learn some Dance Moves
- Origami
- Lift Weights, do situps, planks
- Do the daily Lego Challenge
- Paint
- Tinker Crate
- Do the Mo Willems doodle
- Mad Libs
- Facetime a friend
- Discover an old toy in your room
- Ride bike
- Easter Craft
- Read a book
- Draw with digital drawing pad
- Go Noodle
- Draw
- Journaling. Write 5 sentences about your experience as a kid in the midst of the Corona Virus
- Make an iMovie

[greenmonkey1]

The boys are upstairs working on the first day of the 30 Day LEGO Challenge (https://theshirleyjourney.com/lego-play-free-printable-calendar/).

[erinshelley21]

I did this with the kids this morning. DS wanted to keep going after we spelled "saint patrick" We are going to pick different words everyday.

[erinshelley21]

A friend just shared these on FB. These could keep some kids occupied while working.

[erinshelley21]

This too. It can be done with alllll sorts of toys.

[sdlaura]

We’re going to start having DS2’s daycare provider come two mornings a week this week, and I’m trying to figure out what to ask her to do with the kids. The tough part is the age range - it’s hard to help the 6- and 7-year-old with anything while the 2-year-old is running around. It’s also the kids’ two- week spring break, so no new school work will be assigned, but I’d like to set up a sort of routine so that when they’re back from spring break, there’s a dedicated school work time. The plan is for her to come from 8:30-12:30 on Tuesday and Thursday. I’m thinking something like:

9-10 outside time (walk, bike, maybe go to her flat grassy backyard a block away for a change of scenery to kick a soccer ball)
10-11 snack and then school work? Written activities or drawing?
11-noon - play in our backyard? Trampoline arrives this week
12 - lunch. Should I make it or ask her to? She feeds the little kids at daycare but that’s at her house

[waverly]

I would ask her to make it. Our date night babysitter does and it’s usually just mac n cheese/ chicken nuggets.

[rere]

I have older kids, so a little different. I have let Ds download some extra games on the Xbox and he has been playing online with his headphones with a couple of friends. Some things:

1. A lot of baking. We have made cupcakes, brownies and cookies. I think they are calling it the Covid 15.
2. Almost daily walks.
3. Mine have had daily school work. This week is spring break. So we will see how it goes.
3. When Dh is home at night we have had a fire in the firepit.
4. 4wheeler riding
5. Fishing

I would love to do some yard work and have them help. The garden stores are open, but I feel guilty going just for mulch. My family greenhouse opens next week so I will probably go because they need to sell the plants and are taking orders to deliver to your vehicle.

[edwardo123]

I just ordered Raddish kids and Kiwi Crate for my 5 year old. I ordered Sketch box and the older Kiwi Crate for my 10 year old. I figured I would be paying for extracurricular activities normally, so I’m taking some of that money and using it to make being home better.

Luckily, my older daughter’s swim team will start holding daily dry land workouts on Zoom for 45 minutes. She also has been sent track workouts. My other daughter continues to take dance lessons twice a week on Zoom.

They both have on-line school work each day. I’m struggling on how to teach reading on Zoom. I am a reading intervention teacher that works with first and second grade struggling readers. I also need to help my daughters a lot with their work, sixth grade math is going to kill me.