Quarantined Week 3: 6 Things to Help Fight the Boredom

As another week has gone by, the quarantine has been extended. By now, the kids might be getting antsy. Wondering what more you could possibly do with them? Well you’ve come to the right place! It’s about that time again for our weekly list of activities. 

1. Arts & Crafts: As I mentioned in last week’s post, I will provide an arts and crafts project that you can do as a family or give to your kids to do with items that you already have on hand in your home each week. This week’s project is a DIY Key Windchime. Since spring has sprung, you might have been brainstorming what sorts of projects you can do for your yard or garden. If you have some old keys lying around, this project is perfect for your family. Using old keys, paint (optional), string, and a stick from outside you can create a beautiful key Windchime for the yard in a few easy steps! First, have the kids paint each key a different color or leave them as is. Next, tie a piece of string to both ends of the stick in order to hang it up outside. Then, tie a piece of string to each key. Lastly, tie the keys to the stick making sure they are close enough to each other to chime when the wind blows them. Voila! You have yourself a fun family-made wind-chime for the yard.
   
2. Ocean First Education: While homeschooling can be tough, there are an endless amount of learning resources out there for kids of all ages. If your kids are more interested in science and the ocean, Ocean First is for you! They offer a variety of 360 degree lesson plans to go along with a perspective of life beneath the waves. Ocean First has unique lesson plans for grades K-8 that are tailored around a special 360 degree video aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards. Kids can discover tropical coral reefs, ancient shipwrecks, fast-moving currents, learn to save the reefs, and much more all in this combination of 360 degree virtual field trips and lesson plans. The possibilities are endless!
   
3. Flashlight Games: The weekends might consist of a few different things: the kids staying up later, more family fun and games, or even wanting to go outside once it’s dark. When the sun goes down, it doesn’t necessarily mean the fun outside is over. When I was a kid, one of the things I looked forward to the most was Friday or Saturday nights so that I could play a game of flashlight tag with my neighbors and family. Although we may not be able to play with our friends at the moment, there are still plenty of ways to play games outside in the evening with the family and all it requires is a couple of flashlights! There are many different variations of flashlight games from flashlight hide-and-seek to flashlight freeze, and even a flashlight puppet show — endless fun to be had! If you don’t have access to a yard or space nearby, you can also modify these games to be played inside! Just turn off the lights in a room and break out those flashlights. 
   
4. Become A LEGO Master: While I’m sure many of your kids have already been playing with their LEGOs and building different things, I have a new challenge—build your own amusement park or theme land! Task your kids with using their imagination to create a brand new theme park; not one that already exists! The theme could be a type of Disneyland or maybe superheroes, Beyblades, Harry Potter, and princess to name a few. Have them create this new park only using LEGOs from the ground up! This challenge can be an ongoing project for your kids to come back to when they need a break. Don’t have access to LEGOs? No problem! The Brick Building Game allows kids to build anything out of LEGOs online! The game even allows you to print out and save your creations. Fair warning, if you choose to go this route, a few ads do pop up that you simply have to exit out!
   
5. Build Your Own Mini Golf Course: Have the kids been itching to go to Urban Putt? While you may not be able to go play a game of silly golf right now, you can bring it to your home! You may be wondering, “how can I bring mini golf to my home?” Just build your own mini golf course! It’s a lot easier than it sounds and kids have some of the most imaginative and creative minds around. You can use almost any household items you have to create a course of your choosing. Some common things to use in your construction are containers, toys, stuffed animals, paper towels or toilet paper rolls, empty Kleenex boxes, cups, and more! In addition to the items you use to build your course, you will need a putter and some golf balls! Get the whole family involved and have each member create their own hole for a family-owned mini golf course! If you are still looking at how to build a course, you can find more instructions here.
   
6. Cincinnati Zoo Home Safari: While there are a ton of virtual field trips for the kids to do out there, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden has opted for their own take on at-home field trip— a Home Safari Facebook Live event! Everyday at 12pm PST, the whole family can tune into their Home Safari Live event on Facebook, where the zoo highlights some of their wondrous animals everyday! Before concluding, they include an activity that the kids can do from home. Wondering how you can tune in if you don’t have access to social media? The zoo has you covered! All of their videos are posted to their site and the Cincinnati Zoo Youtube channel not long after the Facebook Live event is over. This is a great opportunity for an in-depth look into some of your kids’ favorite animals until they can visit again!