How to make sure your plans at home are successful during these no school days.
The key is in the variety, the quality of plans and in listening to them.
How would you confront 15, 20 or 30 days with the kids at home without teachers, family or friends to help, and with nowhere to go?
Some of us parents will be able to get through these days with natural ease, others will have a few difficulties, and for some it might turn into a mini nightmare. It all depends on our characters (both ours and our kids’), our attitude, and what we are used to. We love our kids to bits, but how equipped are we to keep them entertained in a healthy way, while we enjoy their company and manage to get anything done around the house?
We can look up a million and one ways to keep kids entertained, and there are tonnes to choose from online, but the keys to getting through these days happily lie more in our attitude, our patience ,and the way we interact. Here are a few key things to consider, they might need a little initial effort, but it’s totally worth it!!
Stick to the basic routine but with a bit of a spark.
As a family we tend to stray from routine super easily and this might be true for many. It is important when we have to stay at home and have no real structure to try and maintain a semblance of everyday life. Instead of leaving routines behind, when we aren’t in a hurry or have deadlines, we can take the opportunity to enjoy them.
For example, each morning prepare pancakes, crepes, toast, and fill up a tray with spreads and condiments for the little ones to dip and spread. Make breakfast last longer and teach the young ones to prepare their own.
Manage your toys in a smart way.
It’s normal for your house to become a total chaos each and every day the little ones remain stuck inside. They are going to want to take every toy out, play with it for a few minutes and then demand a new one. Our best recommendation is to apply the concept of toy rotation. Clear a space to play, offer one or two toys they want at a time and help them clear their mind and concentrate their focus on these. Finally, if possible take the chance to choose a variety of toys that focus on developing different abilities. Here are a couple of resources to help you with this:
Involve the little ones in your day to day activities.
Offer them to help you out in your day to day chores, whatever these may be and you will find out that in most cases they will like one or more of these chores, and if you are lucky they will want to help every day. Kids love spending time with us, and if they realise that by helping us this is possible, they will want to do it more often and it’s a win-win. My little one loves to cook and she can spend 30 minutes or more helping us out in the kitchen.
My daughter loves to cook and I discovered she is really good at food prep and she enjoys it a lot more than I do.
Reconnect with your personal objects, clothes, toys…
Being stuck at home with the children can quickly turn into a chaotic mess, however with a little patience and imagination we can turn this completely around. This morning we reorganised all the kids wardrobe together. Normally, this task would take me an hour or so but with their keen participation it took around 3 :) The littlest one at home, who is two, liked to bring over the clothes and toss them into the air, while the more responsible one, my 5 year old, took a keen interest in trying things on, saying yes or no to them and then carefully folding each piece.
We have already done the same with toys, and in an upcoming blog post we will share our criteria for toy selection “which we keep and which we don’t”
Do some DIY, think big, think reuse and definitely let them guide you.
I discovered recently that when I give them a piece of paper and some colours they enjoy themselves for a little, but they quickly lose interest. I have decided that every day we will do a mini project, but in style. We will try to make a huge canvas every time we draw. We can reuse our household boxes, textiles and containers to create something together. We don’t need to follow instructions or have a clear plan to have fun. I have to admit I am usually one of those mommies who likes to intervene and create “perfect” crafts, but if I am only involved when they ask me too, they will last longer in the activity and we might even see cooler results!
Let there be dancing, camping and dinner parties but all at home!
Kids are going to get bored stuck at home specially if your house is tiny, but with a bit of creativity and everything we have at home, we can create the magical events and parties they have always asked us for. We don’t need an excuse to get dressed up, put on some music and dance or pack our bags and go camping. Even small events or changes to the environment can have a great effect on a kid’s mood.
She got her own private reading and play area that sits nicely in her bedroom.
The situation that we are in with COVID-19 is not easy, however if we think positively, we can realise that all that is required from us is to spend some time at home with our family to try and stay safe.