I know we are in a pandemic and we are making history too. We are part of a tale we would tell our generations yet unborn. I know we do not need a prophet to tell us that everyone is going through tough time right now in varying degrees. Especially if you have to go through this phase with little children. That is a lot of work. Believe me, I feel your pain. It calls for a lot of added responsibilities considering that they have to stay at home since most schools and day cares are closed and for those opened, many are quite reluctant to send their children back just yet. Therefore, the purpose of this post is to share with you some of the things I do with my little ones. This is not the ideal situation but what can we do? As the saying goes, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Moreover, based on my experiences, I have imbibed a philosophy that I really should not wait for the storm to pass , but rather learn to dance in the storm. Therefore, I came up with a list of fun things I do with my little ones during these precarious times which you can try if you like.
Painting
This is one on the most favorite things for my young ones to do in the world. It makes them so happy and they derive so much joy from just creating whatever they decipher from figments of their own imagination. Here are some of the “picasso standard” paintings they did.
Art and crafts
This is something that usually cost me a lot because I have to guide and guard the process otherwise we would not have the expected result or worse still there would be a grand mess. Here are a few of the crafts they did to exhibit only a few of the numerous crafts they have done in the last few months.
Making inventions from recycled products
I am a very strong advocate that nothing in this world should ever go to waste so I recycle and teach my children to recycle too. From recycled “raw materials” my son built a space rocket from cut card-boards, an empty carton, kitchen towel brown cylindrical rolls and glue. I give him full credit for this. He did that all by himself. I came home from work one day and he excitedly showed me his invention which would be pictured below. He also built a tower from left over tin cans.
Reading
One of the precious virtues I instilled in my little ones is the love of reading and an affinity for books. So any store we enter, we must visit the book aisle. Before, covid happened , we had borrowed about twenty books from the local library -ten for each child, so we had no choice but to read those books over and over again. They loved it.
Fixing Puzzles
Don’t we all wish sometimes that life is that simple such that you find the related pieces, connect them together and it’s done, it’s perfect. Unfortunately, life is not that easy. For Christ’s sake, we are in a pandemic. Anyway, here are some of the puzzles they did. Words could not do justice to their joy when they put them together.
Homemade lemonade
They tried hands on their own special lemonade with an orange twist that we called the “orangeade”. It tasted good too.
Bubbles
I still do not know why children get mesmerized by bubbles. Our little ones got to play with bubbles a lot but there was an instant when they made this particularly giant bubble and I had to take a picture of it.
Science Experiments
We usually do a lot of experiments especially since we have little people who want to become scientists. I will have to do another blog for that, but here is a picture of our latest experiment on appreciating colors using food coloring, milk, jello and an empty egg carton.
Watching the Sunset and Stars
What can be more fun and relaxing than that watching beautiful sunsets? It is like a free film show offered by nature. Also, my son got a telescope for his third birthday and ever since has been curious about see stars.
Nature walks
We took several nature walks in our neighbourhood. My goal is that my children have an appreciation and a love for nature. I got them plants to care for and they love taking care of them. This also help to teach responsibility.
Nothing
There were times when we simply did nothing. We just laid there on the floor and just did breathe. There is a peace that comes from just staying still. Let your children breathe !
These are some of the things we did in this season. Please feel free to share some of the fun things you do with your children to keep them entertained and engaged at such a time as this. Continue to wash your hands, use hand sanitizer, cover your sneezes, avoid crowded gatherings, maintain social distancing and be safe.
“Children see magic because they look for it.” – Christopher Moore
Very cool ideas Funmi… Thanks for the write up.