MORE of our best activities to keep kids entertained (and educated) during Covid-19 PART 2
Tomorrow marks another Monday and another week of this "new normal". At our home, the days are constantly evolving to meet the needs of online learning, work demands, and the energy and patience levels of kids and adults alike! Some days are smooth and others drag on with challenge after challenge. Also the new normal. But one thing I've seen, as our "schedule" and expectations evolve, is that some planned activities that both my kiddos can get into make the days a little easier. Although they may take some (easy) prep, having activities that hold everyone's attention and get us laughing and working as a team works for our family and makes for fun and easier moments. amidst the chaos.
If you're looking for some stay-at-home fun to do with your kiddos, here are our top picks, as shared on Insta stories, from the past few weeks. Enjoy!
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💚 Bath Bombs (Art & Science): Because who doesn't need a little bit of self-care right now? This was so easy and fun. Mix 1 C baking soda, 1/2 C of each of cornstarch, citric acid and epsom salts, 4 tbsp. of coconut oil, melted and mixed with food colouring and essential oils. We had lots of fun mixing colours and seeing how different shades are made. Once the mixture's combined, pack it into moulds (we used silicon ice cube trays) and freeze for 20 minutes. And then the kids actually LOOK FORWARD to bath time... how is that for a win win? Check out this HelloGlow post for the wonderful recipe we used.
💙 Bottle Rockets (Science): WARNING - this one can get messy and even a little bit dangerous! With the sun out more now, we're trying to get outside when we can, and this was a great excuse! This was an amazing activity on Space & Rockets Day and worked better than I could have imagined. Take a small plastic water bottle and fill with 2 inches of vinegar. Take a square of toilet paper (can you spare 1 square??) and fill with a spoonful of baking soda - wrap it up to make a time release packet that you'll put in the bottle of vinegar before securing it with a wine cork. Once corked, turn it over and...BOOM! Our rockets flew super high, so get outta the way asap and do this in an area where you have space. The magic of science!
💛 Flip Books (Arts): This was a fun activity on Movies Day, after watching a few online clips about how movies were invented and the history of the moving picture. There are lots of flip book templates online which we printed and coloured. Honestly, an 8 frame flip book doesn't work too well, so we ended up taking photos of our drawings and putting them in iMovie to see the frame by frame action at a higher speed. A great creative activity for older kids who can draw their own flip books too.
💜 Invention Convention (Science): There are so many great movies and books that talk about failure and growth mindset, and how making mistakes is an opportunity to learn. After watching Big Hero 6 and reading Rosie Revere, Engineer this week (two great choices!), we decided to do an Inventors Day. We watched some kid-friendly clips on different inventions and how they were made (check out The Dr. Binocs Show on YouTube), then decided to make our own from a collection of random materials and loose parts - cardboard boxes, empty containers, clothes pins, tapes, string, sticks, and more. The kids had a great time getting creative and trying to solve the world's great problems.. including forgetting to feed our cat on busy days, hence the automatic cat food dispenser that was created!
💙 Painted Eggs (Art): While this is a typical Easter activity, no reason you can't do this, or use the technique, year round! I grew up painting Ukranian Pysanka with my mom, using dyes and hot wax. My kids are still too young for this so I'm always looking for fun ways to paint eggs. This year's was a hit! Using white oil pastels, we made designs on our eggs and dipped them in dyes. The oil pastel creates a barrier just like the wax and allows you to do design after design holding the colours underneath. Great kid-friendly way to continue this lovely tradition!
We're still busy posting our daily fun to Instagram and Instagram Stories, so feel free to follow along and share how you're getting through the days too.