Thanks so much to the wonderful teachers who contributed these ideas, which gives you some simple, engaging ideas for connecting with your child during times away from school or anytime they are with you! You may wish to read the ideas for the groups just younger and older than your child as well, as many of the suggestions can easily be adapted.
Get outside!
Tackle a job and listen to a book
Read a book as a family and watch a movie.
Find a challenge for your family that requires coordination, teamwork, planning and some kind of physical engagement
Turn over logs, rocks, or anything laying on the ground and look for worms. Put them into a container and watch them wiggle around for a while. Return worms to the soil and watch them work their way back into the soil.
Yardwork: weeding, raking, mulching, cleaning outdoor furniture, sweeping, etc.
Get outside!
- Even if you believe isolating yourself for a few days will benefit your family's health, remember that the great outdoors are still great!
Tackle a job and listen to a book
- Pick a tedious project in your home that still needs to get done. Get started and listen to a book. If your child doesn't usually listen to audiobooks, choose a favorite book from a few years back. This way, your child won't feel compelled to hear every detail of the story, and time will pass while you're sorting which clothes don't fit anymore, or sorting your blocks from your Legos, or finding all the lids to match your lunch containers.
Read a book as a family and watch a movie.
- Reading out loud with young people is always a good idea. And allowing your child to "regress" a little to visit an "easier" book has benefits too. Find a book that you always meant to read. Read it together out loud, or separately and then watch the movie as a family - complete with popcorn and root beer. Some classics include Charlotte's Web, Holes, Bridge to Terabithia, Enders Game, Ink Heart.
Find a challenge for your family that requires coordination, teamwork, planning and some kind of physical engagement
- Build a Lego structure from beginning to end, fold 20 origami shapes and create a banner with them, have a live action role play (LARP) competition, make a cooking video. Can your family do this? https://www.facebook.com/bauhaus.movement/videos/1083680028506093/
Turn over logs, rocks, or anything laying on the ground and look for worms. Put them into a container and watch them wiggle around for a while. Return worms to the soil and watch them work their way back into the soil.
Yardwork: weeding, raking, mulching, cleaning outdoor furniture, sweeping, etc.