OK, some of us are locked in isolation at home with our kids during #socialdistancing and COVID-19. We’re bored. And it’s only day 2. We feel like a bored parvo puppy chewing their IV catheter out.

As a working parent, I get it. Here, a few ideas to help you survive the next few weeks (or months).

1. Splurge on a bouncy house. It’s worth it, especially if you’ve been cooped up at home inside during a long Minnesota winter, and finally get to get outside. With all the zoos, libraries, public recreation centers, and museums closed, my kid needs to jump around and burn out some energy.

2. Buy an Elmer’s glue slime Kit. Yup, you can make these at home. But who’s got time? Everything you need in one box, yo.

3. Kid like to color? Buy the world’s largest coloring poster and get your kid coloring on. Check out these 2 huge ones by Debbie Lynn that are 48″X63″ and just make sure they don’t color on the wall.

4. Make your kid learn with Khan Academy. Free, amazing courses for learning any topic out there! Want some free non-veterinary MOOCs for you to learn? Check out these free Ivy League ones HERE. Some other sources include the following (I haven’t vetted any of these!) below. You can also find some at Amazing Education Resources. Stagger them to get you through the next few weeks:

https://www.zearn.org/
https://www.teachyourmonstertoread.com/
https://www.khanacademy.org/
https://dragonbox.com/ (Supposedly worth the $$)
https://readingeggs.com/
https://www.generationgenius.com/
https://www.nightzookeeper.com/
https://www.prodigygame.com/ (Math)
https://www.brainpop.com/
https://beastacademy.com/
Highlights




5. More free learning for kids, thanks to Scholastic.com. You can go on virtual field trips, and get 3-hours worth of learning experiences free HERE.

6. 49 Montessori-inspired ideas for indoor activities with your kids.

7. Take some virtual field trips.

8. Online story time

9. Get outside! Taking a walk, walking your dog, going to a park and getting out in nature is ok! Plus, your dog will love it.

10. Make snow slime (OK, you know I’m in Minnesota, right?).

  • Add 3 cups of shaving cream into a mixing bowl.
    Add 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 a cup of glue and mix together.
    Add 1 tablespoon of saline solution into the mix. Stir and watch and GOOOO, slime!
    Seal it in a sealed container for a few days.

11. Have a dance party. Party Freeze Dance!

12. Make homemade play dough. Lots of recipes online, but keep in mind it’s super toxic to dogs (it causes hypernatremia). That’s my free ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center advice for you today.

13. Bake. Make a mess, let the kid lick the KitchenAid bowl and utensils. Freeze the extra baked goods for the rest of the year, so you’re stocked.

14. Make paint (Food coloring, 1/2 shaving cream, 1/2 glue) and go crazy. I prefer in the bathtub on the walls for easy cleanup.

15. Buy a plastic storage bins and fill it with dried beans and scoops. Or ridiculously expensive kinetic sand. And no, the homemade kinetic sand doesn’t work as well.

16. Have a neighborhood scavenger hunt. Pine cones, dog poop (for real, my 3-year old is excellent at spotting this to help me when I’m poop scooping), a red leaf, a stick, people’s trash, and more!

17. Explore the neighborhood for free little libraries. Donate some books or grab some books (and disinfect the crap out of them first).

18. Make popcorn and watch a movie together.

19. Make a bird feeder with pine cones, peanut butter (or seomthing sticky) and bird seed.

20. Enjoy the forced quality time with your partner or spouse. In 9 months, we can create the next generation of “Quaranteens.”

via MEME

21. Build an indoor fort or put up a tent!

22. Do puzzles. Lots and lots of puzzles.

23. Play board games. Or I spy. Or checkers. Or teach your kid chess.

24. Implement some fitness. Make your kid do pushups. Or yoga. Or make them run laps in the backyard.

25. Get off the screens and use this time to spend time safely with your loved ones. This pandemic has been a great reminder for me to prioritize the things important in your life. But also, this is ok too to survive:

Kid screentime COVID19 coronavirus VETgirll online blog

Now go wash your hands and enjoy your family.

What tips do you have?

(#ad)

  1. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY EXTRAORDINARY! Thank you so much! I am sharing like crazy with all of my co-workers, parents and caregivers!
    Keep Calm and Wash Your Paws 🙂
    Kind regards,
    Karen Seehafer

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