No Vacation, No Zoo, No Museums!! Spring Break During Quarantine

It's been 2 weeks since schools have closed (for most of us in the Lexington area). Many business have closed down as well. Many of you have been juggling working from home while also managing your children's school work. Finally, you have a break this week!!

Or is it really a break?

Most of the schools in our area will be on spring break this week. So, no more school work, for at least a little while. But those vacation plans have most likely been cancelled. The Zoo is closed, all museums are closed, no gym time or trampoline parks, no library programs ...

So what is one to do??

Here are a few suggestions our Homeschool Association members have put together:

First and foremost, all kids need free play. All the activities listed here are great activities, but don't neglect free play. And don't forget, too, that it's okay to be bored. Kids get creative when they have free time with no activities. It's good for the brain too. 

It's finally starting to feel like spring (hopefully it'll stay that way), so don't forget to get out and take a walk. You can check nearby nature centers or parks, but those might not be a good idea at the moment, plus many may be closed. Take a walk in your neighborhood. Even if you are working from home, the break will do you good. Many neighborhoods are also doing Bear Hunts. Check your Nextdoor app/site to see if one is happening in your area. 

Speaking of good weather, get the whole family involved in washing the car. Or wash the dog, or really any outdoor activity that everyone can work on together. We may be washing our cars this week and starting our garden.

While the weather is good, encourage your kids to play outside. They may need to stay in your yard and not play with neighborhood friends, but they can still kick a soccer ball around or play catch or use their imagination with whatever is on hand. This goes back to the free play idea, let them dig in the dirt, run laps around the house, play with the hose or water balloons, or set up a tent outside. Try to stay away from screens as much as possible.

We've had so much rain this winter that it's a good bet we'll have some rainy days this week. So while you're indoors, have kids draw pictures and write notes/letters to nursing home residents. You don't have to know them, but most of them are not getting visitors and some sweet pictures or letters from kids would help lift their spirits. 

Try some art projects! We have some art projects listed in our post on Growing Creative Brains, and you can find many more on Pinterest or YouTube. Maybe you want to finally learn to knit or crochet, or sew. Dust off those needles and find a YouTube video to help you out. 

Related to the above, check out this fun website: Little Bins for Little Hands. This website is chock full of fun activities involving slime, Legos, slime, tons of STEM activities, and did I mention slime? Kids can have lots of fun with these projects. There are also several Easter related projects on the site.

Build a fort! This is not just for the kids. Get in there with them, grab some pillows and blankets and have fun. When it's all done, get some flashlights and books and have your own story time in the fort. Even older kids will have fun with this if mom and dad are involved too. 

Plan a scavenger hunt (either indoors or outdoors or both). Keep it close to home. Just do a Google search for "at home scavenger hunt" and you'll get a plethora of ideas to choose from. It could keep the kids busy for hours while you get some work done. 

Have Tea Time one afternoon. Seriously. I tried this one summer with my boys. We did it once a week and they loved it. They didn't like tea but I would get pink lemonade just for tea time and they would drink it from tea cups. We would use the opportunity to find new treats or bake something new. When we last did this each kid got a week to help me and they got to choose the snack. Our snacks included things like:

• Cheese and fruit (sometimes on kabob sticks)
• Microwave s'mores (microwave a few squares of chocolate on half a graham cracker for just a few seconds, spread marshmallow cream on the other half and put together when the chocolate is a bit melted. Don't microwave the marshmallow cream.)
• Smiles: Apple slices with almond butter (or peanut butter or whatever your nut/seed butter of choice is) and mini-marshmallows. The nut butter is just to stick things together, apple slices are the "lips," the marshmallows are the "teeth."
• Bake something like a quick bread, cookies, brownies, etc. Most important, get the kids involved.
• Buy the little brownie bites that have the indention in the top. Top with jam or whipped cream or anything else that sounds good. Easy and no baking on your part required. 

Get some exercise!! Try some new exercise videos, check out things on YouTube, get the kids involved too. Ask around, some exercise videos that were behind pay walls may currently be open for anyone to use during the quarantine period.

Don't forget about maintaining skills. I often treat spring break at home similar to summer break. My kids still have some things they have to do even when not in school. Nothing that takes a super long time, but all things that will help them to not forget too much over the course of a week. So my 3rd graders will be required to do math and Latin flashcards each day, practice piano, read for 30 minutes, and do a catechism lesson (mostly because we have gotten behind in that one subject so we're trying to catch up). My Kindergarten kid will do his math flashcards and maybe read a book with me each day. 

Finally, don't neglect the spiritual. Watch Mass, the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and much more. I know many churches and religious organizations are streaming these things. Some go up on YouTube so you can watch whenever you like. No matter how you fill your days, be sure your kids know how important it is that we continue to pray and participate in the Mass as much as is possible in the circumstances find ourselves. And FYI, I am planning a post with more spiritual enrichment ideas.

There are so many fun things you can do right in your own home. Many of the suggestions in our previous posts can also be used during this break from school. Allow your kids some free play time, take breaks from your work to enjoy some fun with them, and maybe plan one extra activity a day. We are often so busy running from activity to activity and juggling 3 or 4 or 8 schedules, that we should use this time to enjoy some simple activities with our kids.

It's a great week for making memories.