The whole world is going through quarantine measures due to the COVID 19. It is up to the parents how to keep their kids occupied and educated. Thanks to modern technology and with some creativity it is rather easy to ensure children stay on track.
Quarantine and isolation are two terms that are often used interchangeably, but they mean different things. Quarantine means to keep healthy people inside, away from potentially infected people. While isolation applies to people who already have the virus and can pass it on to others.
According to a number of studies in psychology, children have a harder time coping with quarantine than adults. Kids ask many questions, to which parents may not always have the answers or those answers are too complicated. It is more difficult for kids to cope with emotions. They want to be active, spend time with peers. In addition, having the same people stuck in the same space for a long time can cause irritation.
Me-time, just like playing games and doing activities, is very important during quarantine.
In general, quarantine requires some kind of an established routine, that the whole family can follow.
To make it easier on parents, we have prepared a list of 7 day worth of possible activity ideas that could be done during the quarantine.
DAY 1
Wake them up in the morning and offer to make breakfast together. Show them the list of available ingredients and ask the older child to browse recipes based on those ingredients.
Then, start cooking together. Let them be active participants in the process. If appropriate, discuss fractions, proportions, percent and ratios to reinforce mathematical thinking.
Select a book and read it together. Try not to just read it to your child, but discuss the characters, pause and predict what might happen next, discuss if anything reminds the child something from their own life.
Learn another language.
DAY 2
If you have or could purchase some dry-erase markers, get your kids to do math on the windows. They will love it!
Write addition/subtraction of integers problems or some equations to solve (lots of math topic and problem ideas are offered by IntoMath – a free math learning resource for grades 5-9) on the windows and then pass the marker on to the child to write their solution. Kids appreciate the change from the regular tablet or pencil and paper methods.
Go outside if possible. Go for a walk. Play I Spy as you walk or try to find 10 adjectives to describe certain objects around. This will improve a child’s ability to express themselves.
Play with play dough or blocks.
DAY 3
Let your children build a fort using chairs, mats, blankets, pillows. Then, allow them to design the interior and encourage them to read and play inside their fort. This activity promotes creativity and understanding of structure models.
Play Kahoot.
This platform is a trivia platform on all kinds of topics. It is interactive and free.
Sign up for free and select a topic to answer the questions about (from animals to basketball to cars to math and science topics).
You can play with your children or let them play on their own – either way it is lots of fun!
Do a workout or learn some new dance moves with your kids.
DAY 4
One of the activities that kids of all ages enjoys is creating origami. You could start with some simple shapes and eventually try something more complex. Great activity to improve fine motor skills and understanding of geometric shapes.
The figures could be painted and decorated at the end.
Encourage your child to help you do some chores. The likelihood of them saying “no” is high, of course. 🙂 Thus, why not encourage them? Bring in the modified scavenger hunt. Cut out 5 stripes and paper and write 5 riddles (don’t have to be related to each other) on each one of them. Hide the stripes (not too far) around the house/apartment. The child would be wiping off the dust, for example, and looking for stripes at the same time. Once they have located all five and dusted as asked, you could reward them with something.
Learn about animals with SwitchZoo.
DAY 5
It is likely that by now you have not seen your extended family for quite some time. Why not encourage your kids to write paper letters to their grandparents or cousins. They can share the information about their life during quarantine, decorate their letters and ask how their relatives are doing.
When they are finished, take a picture of their letter and send it to the addressee, asking them to respond in a similar way. Your children will be excited to engage in this type of communication 🙂
Watch something together, a movie or an animated movie.
Make potato stamps and have some fun with them.
DAY 6
Play some tangrams. You could either print them and cut them out. This will allow the child to try to put the pieces together by hand. If you do not have much time to cut out, there is an online interactive version on Transum.
Tangrams help develop logic and geometric relationships.
Encourage your kids to improve their knowledge of the world through exploring these interactive geography resources: Into The Map and National Geographic.
Who does not have some old socks lying around the house/apartment? Rather than throwing them out, let your child discover some really cool things they could make out of those socks.
DAY 7
Kids love creating! At any age. Here is a wall decor that could be easily created at home and your kids would be proud of it. Moreover, you can introduce some math by asking them to calculate the area and perimeter of the shapes.
Try painting with your feet. It is so much fun!
This is a very interesting and unusual activity that results in a lot of funny paintings and laughs.
How about some history?
A number of museums have set up virtual tours that you could take from home
Hope you find the above list of activities helpful.
Stay healthy and try to make the best of your time during COVID19 quarantine or isolation.