In These Stilettos

Its official, South Africa has declared a state of natural disaster and with that our President has released some pretty hardcore regulations for us all to follow to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Schools will be closed for more then a month to see how things pan out and most families will be practising voluntary self-isolation. Queue LOTS of home time and kids climbing up the walls. I don’t think there has ever been a more apt post then this. Save it to your bookmarks and refer back to it, whenever you need quick easy activities to entertain the kids.

One of the central recommendations experts make in order to maintain some sense of security for your kids is to create a schedule. Focus on educational activities for the morning, or arts and crafts for the afternoon. Make sure your kids are getting enough outdoor time.

Start compiling items like sensory activities for younger children and put together baskets full of activity books and games for older kids. Take an afternoon and head to the crazy store and grab a bunch of items to store together.

Create a Scavenger Hunt – hide things around the house or garden and write down a list for the kids to go and find (draw pictures of the objects if they are too young to read)

Create an Obstacle course – a friend did this with the kids when we went around for a visit and they absolutely LOVED it. Send the kids to race to the wall, then hop across the yard on one foot, then skip to the tree etc, you get the picture.

Paint Outdoors

Go on a bug hunt

Make your own bath bombs

Wash the car – never underestimate how much the kids love this.

Build a bird house or make a bird feeder

Have a Pyjama party

Watch the clouds

Play with water balloons

Make a batch of home made playdough

Play Charades

Play Hide and Seek

Build Engineering structures

Good old colouring in

Make a sculpture out of cardboard

Paint on Cardboard

Play some board games

Set up a mini library at home and read books

Do some science experiments

Play Cards

Create something with Beads

Make some story stones – the images on the stones become characters in a story that everyone can tell

Play I-Spy

Plant a garden

Build some lego

Create some some salt art

Download and print some worksheets from the internet

Play catch with your kids – seriously, the power this simple game has is extreme

Have a puzzle morning

Stick some numbers or objects into plastic eggs and hide them around the house. As they open up the eggs they can tick things off the list

Grow some veggies

Play a round of bingo

Grab some paper and crayons and do some leaf and bark rubbings

Create your own stress balls – these are great for fidgety fingers!

Host a pretend cooking show (with the kids of course)

Bake some treats

Build a Fort

Make a Marble Run

Do some crosswords

Do some sensory play

Make your own DIY Jellyfish (arts and crafts)

Make your own musical instruments

Create a suncatcher

Create something with air drying clay

Create a nature weave

Make some paper planes and have a competition to see who can get them the furthest

Make some finger puppets

Play with Foam Paint

Create some egg cartoon creations

Draw on the bricks with sidewalk chalk

Make some slime

Make some science crystals

Try some origami

Make a fairy garden (yes even boys will love this)

Make your own “wizard wands” out of sticks

Paint with bubble wrap

Make your own DIY Flip book

Make some chickpea foam

Make your own fridge magnets

Set up some tin can, carnival style throw games

Make your own water wall

Create a town with a cardboard box

Make some lemonade

Play a memory game

Paint with vegetables – potato or apple printing

Create a Dino Dig

Do some mazes

Do some sticker art

Set up some “bath” stations for your toys

Decorate some T-Shirts

I know its going to be hard for people to feel “trapped” at home. Sometimes I get into a space and cant think of anything to do with the kids and I often end up succumbing to TV if it weren’t for lists like this. So save this, print it out and whenever you need to try to stick to the game plan and turn to something more constructive.

We will get through this, one day at a time. Lets cherish this quality time, it’s the worlds way of telling us to slow down a little. Appreciate the small things xx