Quarantined? Here is a list of 6 things to do this weekend

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to have us quarantined in our homes, many are wondering what types of activities they can do to entertain their kids- and themselves. While this is a difficult time for everyone, it is our hope to provide some positive ventures and ideas for the community. At the end of each week, you can tune into our blog for a list of activities and ideas for you to do with your child or together as a family! 

Wondering what you can do this weekend? Here is our first list of some family activities:

1. Support a local business: I know what you’re thinking; no one wants to leave the house and go to places during this time. In fact, many people have already stocked up on enough groceries and supplies for weeks to come. However, our community and local/small businesses are suffering right now. Whether it be a restaurant, small bookstore, local coffee shop, or general store near you, this is the time to support them. Many restaurants have switched to delivery or ‘to-go’ only in an attempt to stay afloat. Some of our local bookstores, coffeeshops, and others have decided to offer online orders. If you can, a great thing to do with your family this weekend is to support one of these businesses by ordering takeout or simply even purchasing a gift card to use at a later time. If you are trying to buy a book or game, instead of a large corporation, look to the smaller ones you can order online from. We need to support one another as a community and lend a helping hand where we can during these difficult times for all!
2. Khan Academy: Struggling to homeschool or help your child with the resources they need to still partake in school work? Khan Academy can help! They are an online nonprofit providing free education for anyone, anywhere, anytime. They even offer daily schedules for students ages 2-18. There is a plethora of online courses specified by grade, age, and subject!
3. Play Board Games: Kids these days are engrossed in technology and computer/video games, however, experts suggest screen time should be limited. There are plenty of games that can be played with the whole family, and they don’t even require a screen! Board games also provide a more engaging environment for children and parents alike. Some of the best board games to play with kids are: Connect 4, Sorry!, Ticket to Ride, Operation, Catan Jr., Monopoly (there are so many versions, they even have National Parks), Life, Clue, CandyLand, Spot It!, Codenames: Disney, Apples to Apples, Battleship, Scrabble, Scattergories Jr., Uno, and many more! Don’t have any of these games at home? No problem, they are all available online! 
4. Card Games: If you want to get creative and skip the board games, there are a ton of games you can play and all you need is a deck of cards. You can play most card games with 1-4 players as well. Some card games you can teach the kids are: Go Fish, Solitaire, Old Maid, Crazy Eights, War, Rummy, Memory, Slapjack, and Twenty-one. If you’re unsure of the rules, you can simply click each card game and it will take you to a list of rules. 
5. Reading: Did you know March is reading month? What better way to spend some time together than to read a book as a family! This is another great way to get the kids off the computer, tablets, video games, and phones. Challenge them to read so many pages a day, for so many minutes, or even a certain number of books a week. Make it fun! See who can read the most pages a day in the family and the winner could get a prize such as being able to earn some minutes on the computer or gaming console. Another option is to choose one book and have a family book club. Take turns reading allowed from the book and discussing each chapter after you are done. Reading is a great way to exercise our minds! 
6. Physical Activity: After exercising our minds, we need to exercise our bodies! Being shut in the house for a majority of the day isn’t good for anyone. Propose a walk or hike with the family (just make sure to stay 6 feet apart from others). Have the kids put on a skateboard show for you with the tricks they’ve learned over the last few months. Kick the soccer ball around, shoot some hoops, or jog around the house. Another way to make it fun, is by setting up either an indoor or outdoor obstacle course for the kids to do using materials and items around the house. Need some inspiration? Learn how to build an indoor obstacle course in 7 easy steps. You could also challenge the kids to a competition; for example, see who can do the most jumping jacks in a minute or push ups in a minute. Need to do some spring cleaning and organizing? This can also be incorporated into a fun exercise for kids! Any type of movement is providing some exercise, and the kids can help you put things away, sort things or clean up a room/closet in the house! 

I hope you find this list of resources helpful if you get lost on what to do with the kids. Stay tuned next week for our next list of ideas!