As the outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic is affecting every corner of the globe. Most cities are now on lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus.. You are doing the right thing and practicing social distancing and staying home to help stop the virus. Kids are off of school and daycare, you are working from home, and now suddenly all the members of your family who would spend the majority of their awake hours apart from each other are locked down in your house.
As if that wasn’t stressful enough, the constant news about the COVID-19 pandemic has you feeling gloomy. During this period of self isolation, you can’t rely on friends, family, or neighbours for company or activities to keep the kids busy.
Now what about kids? They are now caged at home under some strict house rules. No playgrounds, bike rides, or hangouts. They are in a state of perpetual grounding and no school to escape to either.
What would you do to overcome this hardship? You can read some good parenting blogs and restructure your life for the next few weeks. Here are some of the ideas that every parent can apply in this lockdown situation.
Exercise for Motivation
Physical Exercise can relieve stress and boost our immune system. You feel more energetic and cut depression with skeletal moves. Not only that but it also reduces the chances of weight gain in this lockdown situation.
Being parents, it’s time to call up for some family workout competition. Let’s engage kids into push-ups, pull-ups, dips, squats and all that jazz. If you have home gym equipment like an exercise bike, elliptical machine or a treadmill then put on a cardio show to run and ramp up the positive vibes.
Binge on Movies
Sometimes a good movie can lift your spirits and make quarantine awake hours go by fast. Being parents, you can have movie nights with your kids during the f lockdown. From animated movies, classic fairy tales, to musicals to superhero adventures can elate the whole family.
The best kid additions for the holidays could be-
-Nature Cat.
-Finding Nemo.
-Frozen.
-Toy Story.
-The Aquarium.
-Old Squad.
-Adventure Time.
-Raising Dion.
-One Day At A Time.
-Wild Kratts.
-The Lion King.
-Miracle on 34th Street.
-Moana.
-Shrek.
To explore more, you can check out Netflix and also check IDM ratings for the best movie time with kids.
Don’t forget to get some snacks at movie time. Try pop-corn, chips, pizzas, cookies to get more of a theater experience. That will double your kids’ excitement. Avoid news updates or social media filled with COVID news during movie times. Dim the lights so kids can have a social media free time and enjoy the movie.
Let’s Cook
Cooking with kids can make for a fun day activity. You can try some of the best kid’s recipes during this lockdown season. Importantly, it will help your kids learn new cooking skills and learn more about nutrition as well. Here are some of the recipes that you can try with your kids.
- Chicken-Shrimp Taco
Ingredients– three 6 inches corn tortilla, ½ of a cooked chicken cut into pieces, 4 regular size shrimps cooked and cut into pieces, 1 mashed ripe avocado, lime juice, a pinch of salt, lettuce and tomatoes.
Cooking Steps
– Warm three tortillas either on a grill or in an oven.
– Now mix mashed avocado, lime juice and salt.
– Now put these mixtures on warm tortillas.
– It’s time to add pieces of chicken and shrimps over the avocado.
– Finally, garnish it with lettuce and tomatoes.
- Jello Popsicles
Ingredients– kool-aid, jello, sugar and water.
Cooking Procedures
– Pour pops to dixie cups. You can also use ice cube trays, muffin tins, or even clean yogurt containers.
– Freeze it for 20 to 30 minutes.
– Now add popsicle sticks and freeze to solid.
– To get the popsicle out, dip the mold in hot water for 20 seconds.
– You can now enjoy the easy jello popsicles for a taste of summer.
- Mini Pepper Pizza
Ingredients– 3 bell peppers halved and cored, kosher salt, 2 cups of shredded mozzarella, ½ cup finely grated parmesan, ½ cup pizza sauce, ⅓ cup of mini pepperoni, freshly ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley.
Cooking Procedures
-Preheat the oven with 350 degrees celsius.
-On a sheet tray, drizzle peppers with extra virgin olive oils. Now, season it with pepper and salt.
-Pour pizza sauce on each pepper half. Now sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
-Top it with pepperoni and bake it for 15 minutes.
– After 15 minutes, you will have the ooey gooey cheesy pizza peppers.
-Finally, garnish with parsley to serve.
For more recipes we can search the internet or buy an e-book from amazon.com.
Board Games for Kids
During the daytime of the quarantine, you can try some exciting board games to engage your kids. Not only board games are entertaining but also they can develop kids’ problem-solving capacity. Some of the common board games are-
-Scrabble.
-Chinese Checkers.
-Chutes and ladders.
-The game of life.
-Sorry.
-Clue.
-Chess.
-Candy land.
-Monopoly.
-Twisters.
– Jigsaw puzzles, and many more.
Board games are an excellent way to engage the entire family for hours! Just like movies, add snacks to double the fun on board games.
Try online Teaching Platforms
Lockdown days are not absolute holidays. So, you must encourage your kids to continue learning and keeping up with their school lessons. For that digital platforms can play some big roles. You can try scholastic learning at home, khan academy videos, Youtube educational channels or apps like byjus.com.
Don’t push your kids too hard; instead maintain a regular rhythm to cover the syllabus. Also, schools could have some online curriculum available for students to continue learning through online learning during the lockdown..
Science Experiments for Kids
You can try some easy science experiments to fascinate your kids and build on curiosity in science. Some of the common experiments include-
- Stab a potato with a straw.
- Egg bubbles.
- Jello lenses.
- Surface tension art.
- Invisible ink.
- Bending water.
- Massing expanding soap.
- Marbled gift wrap.
- Vinegar pops.
- Solar eclipse.
- Making a volcano.
- Orange fizz.
- Lava lamp.
- Storm in the glass.
- Sun dial.
- Water fireworks.
- Make it rain.
- Ballon speakers.
- Steel wool and vinegar.
- Rain clouds in a jar.
You can find some more fun safe science projects on Youtube videos or buy an e-book for more exciting kids science projects.
Whether you have been ordered to be in a lockdown or in quarantine, this isolation period is tough for everyone. Kids are more sensitive to these sudden changes to their lifestyles.
Try some of the ideas we mentioned and make the most of these quarantine days. Afterall, this is an opportunity to bond with the kids. Let’s all stay safe and come out of this pandemic stronger than ever!.