Many of us have a little extra and unexpected time at home right now. With school districts closing and many employees now working from home, we all have a few extra challenges in the weeks to come. We have compiled a list of activities and resources to help simplify things during the next few weeks.
Create a Learning Station:
Use a caddy like this to contain everything that you’ll need during Learning Time. This will keep everything on hand and easy to grab when you need it. Ours has pencils, a pencil sharpener, markers, crayons, scissors, glue sticks, and some books.
Working While Your Kids Are Home:
If you are working from home during this time, you have an extra challenge. I am planning to work before they wake up and after they go to bed. There are also times during the day where the kids can play independently while I work. I will sneak in work time during their free play and outside time. Multitasking is a big no for me. I end up getting interrupted with my work and frustrated, which makes the kids frustrated, and it doesn’t work for anyone.
Our Schedule:
5:30 Mom wake up, get ready, work time
7:30 Kids wake up, breakfast, make beds, brush teeth, get ready for the day
8:30 Free Play
9:30 Outside
10:00 Learning Time
11:00 Creative Time
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Outside
2:00 Creative Time
3:00 Free Play
4:00 Learning Time
5:00 Screen Time (30 min. educational 30 min. free choice)
6:00 Dinner/clean up
7:00 Family play
7:30 Showers
8:30 Bedtime/Reading/Quiet time
Indoor Gross Motor Activities: If it is raining outside, we will do some fun gross motor activities inside to get their bodies moving. Here is a list of activities to choose from.
GoNoodle: Free site that has everything from KidsBop dance routines to exercise and yoga. I used this site when I was teaching and it’s great from kids at all different ages.
Simon Says: A simple game of Simon Says can get them moving.
Dance Party: Some days we will just turn on Alexa and have a dance party.
Special Activity: I am linking my Pinterest Board of the activities we plan to do over the next few weeks. Most of these are easy to do with supplies I already have on hand.
Quiet Time:
Puzzles
Board Games: Our favorites are Sorry, Uno, Battleship, Monopoly Junior, and card games.
Read in a fort: We use sheets and chairs and keep it simple to make forts. Hang some Christmas lights in there to make it extra special!
Draw a picture: We love artforkidshub (it does involve a screen, but it is so fun for the kids and amazing to see what they can draw).
Creative Time:
Art Lessons: We will be doing these free live lessons from McHarper Manor, which includes a supply list from Amazon Prime.
Science Activities: My kids love science experiments. Most of the time they are happy with just playing in a tub of water with test tubes and beakers. I have a few easy science experiments planned for the next few weeks.
Play-doh: This is a simple activity that most of us have on hand.
Crafts: We will also do other crafts. I have a bin full of pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, pom-poms, etc. and the kids love to get this out and create.
Cooking/Baking: My kids love to help cook and bake. We will be making a lot of smoothies and baking fun treats.
Build with Boxes: If you are like me, you always have a few Amazon Prime boxes on hand. When I give my kids free reign with the boxes it is amazing what they create. Last week they turned a box into an ATM machine complete with credit cards and play money. This can keep them busy for hours!
Learning Time:
Remote learning: Our school has provided packets and activities for the kids for do over the next few weeks, so we will be completing those and adding in some other activities.
Other Goose: This is a homeschool lesson plan resource that is free for the next 3 weeks if you are looking for some learning activities for your kids.
Fort Building: My boys love to build forts. I’m sure we will see a lot of these over the next few weeks. This is a fun way to incorporate reading into their activities. They love to read in their forts with a flashlight.
Storyline Online: I used this when I was a teacher. It is an online read aloud and is a fun way to incorporate reading in a different way.
Busy Toddler: If you have younger kids, this is a great resource for toddlers.
Organizing + House Projects:
Now is the perfect time to tackle those organizing and house projects you have been wanting to do. We are hosting a fun family organizing challenge on Instagram starting March 16th. I’ll be sharing tips and spaces to tackle with your kids over the next few weeks.
