Whether you’re trying to keep the kids occupied while you get some work done or you’re needing to break-up screen-time, the great thing is that there are a lot of options available. From arts and crafts to eating lunch outside, there are many ways to spend quality time with our children at home during this period of self-isolation.
While we get through this period as a community, we’ve pulled together some of our favourite activities for you do at home.
If there was only one activity you could do, reading books together would be it. You can think outside-the-box here though, looking at everyday items as opportunities. Picture books are great, but so are cereal boxes or the endless supply of handyman pamphlets are so interesting for little ones and generate a lot of great questions around how the world works outside your home. Bedtime stories are wonderful and with the extra time at home, try incorporating some allocated time for reading in the day.
Cosmic Yoga has a brilliant library full of kids yoga classes which combine yoga moves with their favourite stories. It’s a wonderful way to get our bodies moving and it’s fun for parents to get involved too.
An easy way for kids to brighten the day of a friend or a loved one is to send a life-sized, painted hug to them. Lay some paper out on the floor and stick it together so you have 1 very large piece of paper (if you have butchers paper at home, this is ideal!). Ask your child to lay down and draw their outline on the paper. Cut out the hug, paint, decorate and send to your loved one.
Our recycling bins are full of a wide variety of container shapes, sizes and textures. Egg cartons, yoghurt tubs and milk bottle lids could become a big truck with the help of some sticky tape. By redirecting some of these containers into a ‘craft time sensory bin’, our children have a huge range of materials to create from.
This blog has some of the best inspiration we’ve seen for what you can do with your paper towel rolls before recycling them. From bird houses to farm animals, we’ll be trying a couple of these projects for sure. A great way to have fun, think creatively and practically showcase the value of re-use and sustainability.
“I wish my kids would spend more time indoors,” said no parent ever.
But how to lure them out? Now is the perfect time to be planting seeds in pot plants in preparation for spring. Tip – save some of the apple seeds before you throughout the core. You don’t need a large backyard, just a couple of pots and the process of filling a pot with soil, planting the seeds and watering (and very often excitedly over-watering).
Pair this activity with reading the book “The Carrot Seed” (or listening to the Read Aloud version here) – it’s a beautiful book about the importance of looking after what we have.
Throwing and catching are important skills to practice for hand-eye coordination and gross motor development.
Balloons, scarves, ribbons, paper aeroplanes and ping pong balls are the perfect things to be thrown up in the air, indoors and not damage anything. Physical activity releases a lot of energy and while parents work, it can be difficult to find enough energetic activities to do indoors.
We’d love to see the things you create and the fun times you’re having together as a family – tag us @heritagehouse_childcare if you’re posting online so that we can share the experience, remotely.
You can learn more about boosting your child’s development and how we approach creativity at Heritage House by contacting us online.