I am not sure about you, but the last couple weeks have been a whirlwind for my family. As ⅔ of our family is immunocompromised the last couple of weeks have seen my husband, and only my husband, doing a lot of the running around. (Which explains why there are so many packages of oreos in my house and not enough broccoli.) This means my 17 year old hasn’t been out of the house in almost two weeks and is going a bit stir crazy. I am sure you can relate no matter the age of your child. So, when my husband and I get home from work we have been testing some ideas to give her as much social interaction as we can before bedtime. I would love to share our ideas so that when your children are done with school work, you can do things as a family to help decompress and get that very important time in together.
One of the most fun activities we’ve done together as a family is to take quizzes on Kahoot.com. This is a website that lets you make your own quizzes, as well as having pre-made quizzes. There are quizzes on Disney Movies, General Knowledge, Riddles, Capital Cities of the world and many more. My child made a “ Who Knows Me Best” quiz, and we did a big group chat on google hangouts with her cousins and aunts and ‘shared the screen’ so everyone could see. With this website you use your phone, tablet, computer, or any other smart device as your answer ‘clicker.’ We had a blast playing! The conversation we had during the quizzes was full of laughs and we highly enjoyed the time #AloneTogether.
Another suggestion I have is go on a walk. Seems pretty obvious and you’ve probably heard it said to you one hundred times already but, only because it is that important. Could be just a quick walk, or you could try for three miles. It is totally up to your family and your exercise level. We have left our headphones at home and walked around the block just to enjoy each other and the fresh air. According to the Mayo Clinic physical activity helps boost endorphins. They call it meditation in motion and say it improves your mood. As an avid walker and runner I believe that completely. Slow walks just enjoying the sunshine and not rushing to do anything are my favorite. Especially when you’ve been cooped up in the house all day.
Another suggestion I have is to look up ‘how to draw’ videos on youtube. These are fun no matter the age. Most of these tutorials walk you step by step through the instructions, and you can always rewind if need be. Because my family would not call ourselves super artistic, most of these did not look exactly like what we had pictured. The laughs they brought out were most definitely worth it. These would be good for when you have maybe a 20 minute break in between working or studying, as they dont take very long.
Hopefully these ideas help with some together time. No matter what, I hope you give yourself Grace. Give all the people in your life Grace. None of us know how or what to feel during these times. I personally feel the only way we are going to all get though this is together. Text your elderly neighbor to ask if there is something you can do for them. If someone in your household is on your last nerve just because you’ve looked at no other face but theirs for the last 12 hours, get out and take a walk. We are all in this together. Stay well, everyone.