Social Distancing

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Corona Virus social distancing got you down? Are you now homeschooling kids without feeling adequately prepared? Going stir crazy but want to stay away from the masses? I hear you loud and clear. I think for many of us we are still a little unsure what we are supposed to be doing. We don’t know what this virus is exactly, or what to expect; and because of that we aren’t really sure how to live our lives. Should we be stock-piling toilet paper and canned goods, or will life be back to normal in a couple of weeks and all this chaos will have been quite unnecessary? We will just have to wait and see I suppose.

But with that said, don’t panic. Stop buying everything and anything without rhyme or reason and stay calm. We will be okay. And while we won’t be visiting amusement parks, or concerts, etc. anytime soon, we can still live happy, full lives. Here are some tips to help in the coming weeks. Social distancing is necessary to slow the exchange of the virus and help alleviate the pressure in our medical facilities, and we can do our part by staying away from people as much as possible and doing what we can to not spread the disease.

HOMESCHOOLING:

I know a lot of kids are hoping this will be 2-4 weeks of no school. But, that would be a great disservice to them, and there are so many great resources to help parents out during this unknown time.

RESOURCES:

www.scholastic.com/learnathome

OUTSCHOOL.COM

PBSKIDS.COM

STARFALL

EDUCATION.COM

ABCMOUSE.COM

GOOD2LEARN

GO-NOODLE (great for indoor PE/mediatation)

IREAD/IREADY

Go here for a list of places offering free subscriptions at this time (take advantage)!!!!

FIELD TRIP IDEAS:

Think science, history, and more. Find out what your child is learning about and give them the hands on, one-on-one time that will be fun for them and you. These are ideas of places that are outdoors, and should be safe during this quarantine time.

Tide-pools

Outdoor gardens

Farms/orchards

Arboretum (L.A., Fullerton, Descanso Gardens, The Huntington, look for local arboretums. Outdoors and open space)

Virtual Museum Tour here and more here.

Virtual Aquariums (live cams and more)

YouTube Cooking Tutorial: we are planning on cooking more (talking about fractions, and home economics skills). One thing we are working on is bread, and tortillas, so less supermarket runs. We will also be making butter, for fun, because I will def need to get the cream from the store for that.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES:

Storyline Online (we listen to these in the car and they are amazing)!

Make a terranium or fairy garden outside

Science Experiments (linked above for resources)

Put out bird seed each morning; watch birds, draw and write about them in a journal

Scavenger hunt: nature related, shapes, colors, letters, etc. Change it for the age and learning abilities of your children. Could be done in the house or outside.

Learn a new skill (cross stitch, crochet, paint, we love doing “draw so cute” , “Draw Everyday with JKK” and other fun YouTube tutorials) I may have them learn to make paper boats so we can race them in the rain.

Obstacle Course

P.E. inside with dance routines, yoga, etc

Write a book/comic book. Write, and illustrate and even bind them. Such a great keepsake of this crazy time.

SAFE OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES AND OUTINGS

Hike! Nature isn’t canceled. If you have been following us here or on Instagram/Facebook you know we love to hike and be outdoors. I think fresh air and moving your body has to be good for you, even now. Plus, you don’t touch others or really share the same air, so this is a great way to get out without putting yourself or others in harms way.

Follow this link to learn about some of our favorite family hikes.

The Carlsbad Flower Fields (still open and on rainy days if you buy your tickets there you can get in for 50% off).

Antelope Valley Poppy Fields.

Local Regional Parks.

As of now the National Parks are still open and would make a fabulous day trip.

The beach: bike rides, or playing, this is a great, large area to be outside and away from others. Hopefully the weather will agree!

Camp in your yard. Maybe your spring break plans are cancelled but there is no reason you can’t have fun right here.

The drive-in movies. Get out, see a new movie all in the comfort of your own car.

Staycation- I know this one may be iffy for some people, but as long as it is local you should be fine. In fact, hotels should be cleaner than ever and we need to support local businesses as this is going to be crushing for the economy. We are planning a small staycation over spring break to Carmel by the Sea and are looking forward to exploring beautiful California to the best of our abilities right now. And while touristy areas will be closed, there is plenty of outdoor things to do away from the masses.

INSIDE ACTIVITIES

Movies at home: show your kids the classics! But cuddle up, get some cocoa and relax.

Board Games

Painting

St. Pattys Day crafts: we will be working on creating our own shirts and a fun scavenger hunt tomorrow. I might even include math problems to solve or school answers they have to give to find the clues.

Puzzles

Reading (alone and start a book aloud) If you have never read a book out loud to your kids, you are missing out!

Recommended books to read out loud (we love finding great books with a movie to watch once we are done)

-Charlotte’s Web

-Wonder

-Holes

-Ivan the Great

-Bridge to Terabithia

-Trumpet of the Swan

-Pippi Longstocking

-Harry Potter (favorite)

-The Penderwicks

-A Wrinkle in Time

-The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe

So while it’s important we are all good, conscientious citizens, I do encourage you to be creative and live life (as normally as possible; meaning don’t sit around watching Netflix for 9 hours each day) during this interesting time in history!

I would LOVE to hear other great ideas of ways to keep busy during the Covid-19 pandemic! Please comment and I will update as ideas come in!