Fun Activities To Do During Social Distancing
Fun Activities To Do During Social Distancing | Things To Do With Kids
So most of us are in a situation where we are at home, doing our part to keep others safe by social distancing. For some of us, that means our kids are home all day. Last week, the governor of Virginia announced that schools would remain closed through the end of academic year. I'll be honest, this was really hard for me, for a number of reasons. We went through the evaluation process for Jackie last year and she started school in January because she NEEDS it. I am not trained to help her in the ways that she needs. While I know that I can't be her teacher, we still need to maintain a schedule a routine so that Jackie doesn't regress. I have now become a special needs preschool teacher and mom in just a few days.
We will start getting direction on how we will do distance learning in the next few weeks. But life isn't all about school. There are things that aren't learned in school that I wanted to bring to our daily routines that were fun but great ways to learn new skills! So today, let's talk about fun activities to do during social distancing that can also be learning experiences.
Fun Activities To Do During Social Distancing | Cardboard Fort/Castle
During our first week of social distancing, we participated in #amyscardboardboxchallenge on Instagram, started by Amy Lou Hawthorne from The Ever Co. We gathered up a bunch of boxes and spent an entire day creating a castle that the girls designed. I decided this was an easy way for the older girls (my cousins) to apply life skills to a fun project.
I gave the girls some rules. They had to brainstorm, design and construct the entire thing. The only involvement I would have was to use the box cutter, where they told me, and to be a sounding board when they were stuck. They ended up brainstorming, creating a supply list, designing, problem solving, using math, and being artistic in just one project.
Fun Activities To Do During Social Distancing | Obstacle Course
In December, I ordered a Nugget when they were on a 14 week backorder. I thought the timing would be perfect as a birthday present for Jackie. It turns out, it was the best thing I could have gotten for our time social distancing. It came 3 weeks ago, just before social distancing started.
We have been using it as a sleeping mat, yoga mat, fort, reading area, and an obstacle course, mostly a slide. Right now, Nugget has shut down their factory in order to comply with social distancing but they do have a preorder open right now! You will have to wait until they reopen their facilities but you can get one.
Since you can't get your hands on a Nugget right now, you can use anything to create a fun obstacle course. Pillows, foot stools, padded chairs, floor poofs, blankets. Anything to make it fun. And just let the kids go. I did try to supervise the creation of the obstacle course but when I stepped back and let them just play, it was so much more fun and they were much more creative! I did link a few options similar to the Nugget that you can find on Amazon at the bottom of this post!
Fun Activities To Do During Social Distancing | Sewing Projects
This is a great time to tackle those sewing projects you have been wanting to do or to teach the kids how to sew. I have very fond memories as a kid of going to a friend's house and having her step mom teach us how to sew. We made teddy bears, pillows, blankets, and all sorts of other things. Ever since, I have tried to tackle a new project every few years.
When I was pregnant with Jackie, I wanted to make a felt advent Christmas tree with felt ornaments. I gathered a lot of felt, but it never happened. I decided this was a great time to use all of that felt. Instead of an advent Christmas tree, I found a bunch of designs on Pinterest and let the kids decide what they wanted to make. I am so proud of how much work they have put into their projects! We did get donation of supplies from a family friend which allowed us more options. You can check out my Pinterest board with ideas here.
Fun Activities To Do During Social Distancing | Upcoming Projects
So far, we have done 1-2 big activities every week. The older girls only come over a few days a week so we don't need to do more than that. I do other things with Jackie on those other days. But I do have some fun projects planned out for us to do since school is out for the rest of the year. If you are looking for supplies, you can do curbside pickup from Michaels! I have linked a bunch of our supplies at the bottom of the post.
Pillows
Tie Dye T Shirts
Canvas Painting
Create BINGO Cards
Friendship bracelets
Jewelry Dishes
I come up with ideas pretty much every week so I will come back and add to this list so you can find more inspiration.
Fun Activities To Do During Social Distancing | Shop
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