How did we suddenly all become homeschooling parents?
How do you keep your child engaged and what can you do to help them cope?
Here are a few more tips to help you manage while you also are helping your children handle being home all day.
1) Get Outside!
Physical activity – play in the back yard, engage in sports that are non-contact: basketball hoops, bean bags, horseshoes, croquet? Keep your teams small, of course, but get them outside and playing. This is good for them and for their and your physical and mental health!
2) Get Creative!
Play with crafting sets, look up new craft ideas, teach them to sew or knit or crochet – something you know how to do. Some suggested apps: ABCMouse has early learning games that include art and music, etc. Teach them to play a musical instrument if you have one around. Here is a list of the “Best arts, crafts & creativity apps for kids/ 2020 update.” Please check it out as there are many resources listed for encouraging kids’ creativity!
3) Get Closer!
Use this as an opportunity to get closer to your kids; ask them about what they have heard about the virus; what are they worried about? Reassure them and maintain a very positive outlook. They are likely to be worried too. You need to be the grown-up here and make sure they know that this is a temporary condition and it will end and everyone should be fine.
Take this time to get in better communication with your child/children. Use this time to strengthen your family relationships. Take a few moments every day to do something alone with each child – you can make it “their time.” Do whatever they want to do (within reason) for a period of time. It can be an hour or ten minutes, as you can fit it into your day, but this will be time well-spent. During that time, you can ask them if they have any questions about what is going on. Really listen to them and don’t invalidate any of their concerns. Remember, they are seeing the world through a different lens than yours. This very recent article may help to get a bit better perspective on how a child views a disaster and how you can help your child through this experience.
And keep calm and carry on. We will get through this.