COVID-19 has forced us into our homes. The world is experiencing a lock-down due to the Coronavirus pandemic. People are not going to their work, jobs, and all the educational institutions are closed as well. Lately, our lives have been digitalized, and staying at home with nothing new to do is difficult.
You can’t just spend the entire day scrolling down the screens of your smartphones and tablets. It gets boring; also, it is not healthy for your physical and mental health to be struck in front of a screen. Here are some activities for children and adults to help you in self-quarantine times.
Activities for Children
Children want to try new things are their brains are always exploring novel ideas. The lock-down is the perfect time to learn and try all those things which couldn’t be done because of school and homework. Here are the activities which will lead to the development of the brain, mental and physical strength in children.
1. Lego Games
The Lego games today are not just confined to building blocks; instead, they have a complete package of learning activities. Children can learn to build homes and buildings. The lego game is not limited to building blocks now; in fact, they have miniature figures which are of different professions. The children can create stories around their favorite characters, and they can play with siblings and playmates.
They can utilize lego for STEM learning, math activities like fractions and multiplication, and learning the alphabets. Preschoolers can not only have fun, but also their brains will function to perform out of the box. Lego games provide an opportunity to learn new skills and strategies that give a stimulated response to the brain and improve its functioning.
2. Puzzles
Young children get bored with the same routine, and puzzles can make them involved at all times. They enable toddlers and preschool children can learn problem-solving skills. Their cognitive skills and fine motor skills develop.
Moreover, children develop social relationships while playing with their siblings, peers, and parents. The hand and eye movements are coordinated. When they accomplish and achieve their goal, they develop self-esteem.
Puzzles can be made at home with paper, where children have drawings of different food items with the alphabets or colors. They can match each with the respective color or their initial alphabet to learn that A is for Apple and an apple is red.
3. Learn Origami
Origami is an art of folding paper that originated in Japan. It is a fun and learning activity for children. Art therapy is effective in helping children develop and learn new skills. The hand-eye movements, spatial, and memory skills are developed with origami art.
Preschoolers develop an undivided attention span and can have a well-co-ordinated mind and body.
Budinski and Milinkovic (University of East Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina), Lavicza (Johannes Kepler University, Austria), and Fenyvesi (University of Jyvaskyla, Finland) utilized origami and technology to help children learn the geometric principles in mathematics.
4. Start Painting
Children are fond of colors and are fascinated by getting their hands and brushes on white paper to make it all colorful. Coloring and painting is a healthy activity that helps them to identify new colors and brings out the artist in them.
Muscle control, visual and verbal skills are developed while painting. They can express themselves with their art attacks. Plus, they can use a variety of items in the home like vegetables (onions, cauliflower), leaves, and finger painting to learn about textures and shapes.
5. Read and Write Stories
In schools, children have reading material and books, but the child reads them to obtain a grade. Mostly, the study in educational institutes focuses on passing a grade level rather than learning. It minimizes their abilities to plan and think of new schemes to play and experiment with.
Reading stories of different characters and plots, children are able to think of solutions. They can take the help of these stories when they face a similar situation like their favourite character.
When children develop a habit of reading the stories they like, they learn from the morals and characters of the stories. Moreover, in their plays with siblings and parents, they make stories generating a pool of ideas. And that is how the creative artist child is born!!
6. It’s Time to Learn Baking
While everyone is occupied in their routines, it is often less time for extraordinary things like cooking and baking. Children have loads of homework from school, and parents are tired after work during the day.
Baking can help the children to learn basic kitchen manners and the most fearful concepts of maths. When they measure items for their recipe, they learn while having fun. They develop confidence in themselves to help around the home and consider themselves useful.
Activities for Adults
1. Focus on Self-Care
In all the hassle of work-life in the offices, institutions, hospitals, and homes, it becomes challenging to take out time for oneself. Parents get occupied with their work and bringing up the children. Although these hassles are a part of life and they give a sense of relief too. But you can only take care of those you care about when you take measures to maintain your sanity.
Taking care of your skin and physical health is very important. In these times of self-quarantine, try home remedies to keep your skin healthy. Consume a healthy, nutritious, and balanced diet by taking special care of your immune system.
2. Start Meditation
This one word has a solution to all the stress, anxiety, emotional problems, and physical complaints of muscle tension. It helps you to relieve all the negatives that are accumulated in your mind and lets you focus on the positive side.
Your body and mind will feel relaxed, with all the stress and anxiety relieved. And it will help you sleep instead of being restless and losing attention span. During the day, when you have time to yourself, practice meditation, and you’ll see wonders.
3. Start Book Reading/Journaling
Adults are burdened with chores, responsibilities, and to-do lists. Therefore, it is important to practice catharsis and stress relief techniques. It makes you feel like a feather. You can read books which you have been keeping aside or write about your day, your feelings to express and take out all that you have to say.
When you write or start to plan a few things, it increases the blood flow in the body. You start to explore and experiment with new ideas regarding the planning of your tasks.
4. Start Learning from Online Classes and Tutorials
In these times of the pandemic outbreak, many online platforms are providing free and discounted online courses. You can simply opt for the course which is of interest to you and begin learning. Learn to write, listen to audiobooks, painting, sculpting, doodle, and open the creative mind of yours.
Even more, you can try to learn a new language, or add words to your vocabulary, learn a new skill to refresh your mind and body.
5. Brain Teasers
Adults have problems and stressors like earning, focusing on careers, taking care of family and children. In these, they lose focus, and their brain starts to work in an optimized manner. They have difficulty thinking out of the box and coming up with innovative ideas.
Brain teasers can help them to pay attention to essential aspects. There are adult puzzles and board games which stimulate brain activities.
6. Organize your Mess
Decluttering and making space can make you feel relieved. It helps you to let go of unwanted and unrequired items around your home. You can organize your cupboard, wardrobes, drawers, and kitchen utensils and even find innovation in those ideas.
Family Union Activities
Self-Quarantine has allowed families to be together and get close to one another. Now here are some activities that parents and children can do together and build a healthy relationship.
1. Picnic in Lawn
Now that you can not go out, grab a picnic basket with sandwiches, fresh fruits, and juices, and your children too!!
Take out time to communicate with your children, talk about ideas, and help them explore around. Help them learn new things, and talk about your life as well. You and your children will find a healthy way to express themselves, and it will lead to a healthy family bond.
2. Re-decorate Your Place
You can do several arts and crafts with your children and re-decorate your and their rooms and living space. It is not necessary that you have to be significant about the changes. You can paint, draw, and make paper and felt decorations to give your living spaces a new life.
These will help your mind and body to relax and have a positive direction towards the future.
3. Family Scrap-book
We have all those pictures of our children lying here and there. You can make a family scrap-book starting from your early years, your love life, marriage, and your kids. It will help you re-live all those happy memories.
Attach stickers and love notes to remind yourself of the good memories. You can learn to make personalized stickers from online tutorials. Take a walk back to memory lane and tell your children stories of your childhood, and then share about what they used to do in their toddler years. Make this scrapbook a lived and loved memory for the family.
4. Family Recipes
Now that you have time to make dinner for the family to create a collection of them. There are some recipes that you have and some of your partners and even children.
You can ask your children to make or draw their versions of a family favorite recipe. You can use those creative, colorful pictures to attach to your personalized family recipe book. Write them down innovatively and decoratively with the help of your children. Have them around for all the positives vibes.
5. Scavenger Hunt
Parents can keep the children occupied in scavenger and treasure hunt. A combination of puzzles, brainteasers, and word associations in a scavenger/ treasure hunt will help them find solutions to problems.
You will also be guiding and helping them along the way. It is a fun and even healthier activity to do with your family.
In these challenging times, try to attract positive energy and focus on your present with hope for the future.
What are you guys doing with your family and children? Let us know your activities in the comments below.
Also, share more quarantine activities so that others can take advantage as well.
