What Should I Do With My Kids During Quarantine?
Schools are closed and families are sheltering in place in an effort to “flatten the curve” and defeat COVID-19, the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020. Kids are cooped up inside. Parents are out of work, sick, or trying desperately to work from home while managing sick family members and unruly children.
A lot of adults are in survival mode, but it’s important to remember that children are feeling the stress of these changes as well. Their parents are stressed, their schedules have been flipped upside down, and they’re no longer spending time with their typical outside support systems such as grandparents, teachers, and friends.
Parents of young children don’t need to stress about academics and school work, but they should carve out some time each day for play. Even if it’s just 10 minutes, that one-on-one time with your children will give you a mental break, and give your kids the attention, love, and natural learning opportunities that they need to cope with this strange new world.
Here are a few of our favorite play ideas that require little to no preparation or extra materials. They’re simple, fun, and will help everyone keep their sanity at a time when everyone is tightly wound.
Go Camping! Pretend to go on a camping adventure, inside! Draw a map, “pack” your bags, and begin your adventure by rowing down a river, hiking through the mountains, and pitching a tent in your living room! You don’t even need to make a mess, all you need is a paper and pencil if you want to make a map. But you don’t even need to do that! Just hop in your imaginary row boat, roast an imaginary dinner over your imaginary campfire, and make up silly stories.
Make a Special Dinner! Pretend to go to the store to buy groceries, then cook up a delicious pretend meal! Want to make it extra special? Play pretend restaurant too! Someone can be the chef and server, and the other person can be the customer and place their order. Don’t worry if you don’t have a kid-sized kitchen or pretend play food, just use your imagination or spend time doodling whatever foods you want! Not only will it make play time more creative, but it will give your child a chance to practice a ton of other skills, such as colors, shapes, and counting, all through play!
Fly Away! Play pilot and pretend to go on a flying adventure! Set up some chairs or pillows to plop down on, pick a destination, and prepare for take off! Jet off to the beach, to visit a loved one, or to a magical imaginary location. Then act out what you would do once you get there. If you go to the beach, play ice cream truck to cool down! Practice counting ice scream scoops and learn about money using strips of paper for dollars (but only if you and your child are up to it).
Put out Fires! Pretend to be firefighters and rescue a toy or stuffed animal! When you hear the emergency call, spring into action by pretending to put on your uniform, sliding down the poll, and driving the fire truck (I like to pretend the couch is the truck)! Then climb the ladder, get out your hose, and rescue that toy!
The Classics! Hide-and-Seek, Red Light-Green Light, and Simon Says. Don’t underestimate these...they’re classics for a reason. Kids love them and parent’s love them because they teach following directions, listening to others, and positive social interactions.
Build a Fort! Take those couch cushions off the couch - they’re about to be walls on your kid's castle! Use cushions, blankets, chairs, and make a big fort to play in. Help them, or let them figure it out...building the fort is half the fun!
Ready...Set...Go! Make a racetrack for all those toy cars your kids have laying around. Use tape for roads, cardboard boxes for ramps, and paper towel tubes for tunnels. The kids will love building and racing the cars all around.
Balloons! Not helium balloons, plain ole’ 10-for-a-dollar balloons. You can play “Keep It Up” (you keep hitting the balloon in the air and don’t let it touch the floor). When the balloon does touch the floor you can make up a silly rule like, “the last one who touched it does 10 jumping jacks” or “the last one who touched it has to find something blue” etc. You can draw faces on the balloons. Or a personal favorite: balloon tennis. Break out the spatulas or tape some paper plates onto the end of paint sticks for rackets. For older kids, make it harder so the game will last longer! Perhaps you can only use one hand, or every time a player hits the balloon they need to name a food, color, etc., or simply have them count and see how high they can get!
Scavenger hunt! Make a list of clues and send your kids around the house. This one takes a little prep time, but it’s so worth it! Have a little surprise ready at the end of the hunt for them to find...or maybe the materials they’ll need for the next activity (like the balloon game previously mentioned!).
Your children will love these activities, but they would also love simply spending time with you. If you don’t have time to make a racetrack on your living room floor, then just read a book with them. Use silly voices for different characters or talk about what you see in the pictures.
You don’t have to stress yourself out by going over the top to entertain your kids. You don’t have to stress them out by making them spend hours doing worksheets. It’s ok to be in survival mode. But remember to have a little fun with your kids if you can.
Tara Montemurro, MA, LBA, BCBA
Tara is an expert teacher and behavior analyst. As a lifelong educator, she is passionate about using ABA therapy to teach toddlers and preschoolers with autism how to be more independent and communicate more effectively, and giving parents strategies to help prevent tantrums at home.