I’m Not Homeschooling My Kids Because of Coronavirus: Fun Things to Do with Kids Instead

Stuck at home?

You and everyone else.

Since COVID-19 (Coronavirus) hit and nations and states around the world have begun to address this pandemic with closures and quaratines, we’ve all got an abundance of unplanned family time on our hands.

As exciting as that is for some of us (raises hand!), it can also be challenging and anxiety indusing when you have also suddenly found yourself a remote employee at the same time.

For me, finding things to do with kids during Coronavirus is easy – I’m not homing schooling my kids and I am not bothered by them having free schedules for a couple of weeks (we may need to reevaluate if this drags on for several weeks). They are pretty heavily scheduled student athletes during the school year so a break to play outside, catch up on shows they love, and even grind on their video games is not the end of the world for me.

Skipping School: Things to Do with Kids During Coronavirus Quarantine Other Than School Work

Have a movie marathon.

Maybe you want to catch up on all of the Netflix shows you’ve been meaning to binge, or maybe you want to be more strategic about it. The good things is, thanks to how far our streaming services have come, there are plenty of things to watch while you’re stuck at home.

Here are some awesome ideas:

Get your build on.

I love this 30 Day Lego Play Calendar from That Brick Life that is sure to be a hit for all of you with Lego lovers at home.

Read a book.

Or twenty.

And think about reading together. Even in my house with teenagers we have story time before bed and all three of my sons come in to listen to our book. Right now we’re reading Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky and lemme just tell you… SO GOOD!

For those new to parenting or with an expectant or new mom friend at home, I 100% recommend this gem, 50 Things to Do in Baby’s First Year, and I’m not just saying that because I wrote it. :)

Play a game.

Personally video games are a family affair here – we love a good Super Mario family showdown.

That said, board games are a great way to get the family around the table doing something we usually don’t have time to do.

Here, we are big fans of old favorites like Monopoly and Uno, but we’ve also found a new fun with Bears vs Babies and Unstable Unicorns .

If you’re a mom to tweens and teens like I am, this is a helpful list: Top Games for Tweens

We even made up one of our own using the weather app on our phones. To play, each person gets 30 seconds to try and find the hottest (or coldest) city they can anywhere in the world. Google the winning city to city what it looks like and learn all about it. We do it every night before bed and we all love it!

Work out.

Kids need exercise too and there’s no reason you shouldn’t get active with them.

I like to spend at least an hour learning Tiktok dances with mine, but everyone isn’t down with that. If you do, be sure to follow me on TikTok and, if you want to learn some fun TikTok dance challenges to try, check out this link: Best Tiktok Dances 2020

If you’re looking for things to do with kids to keep them active with more traditional workouts here’s a great list you can get sweaty to for free: Top 10 Fitness Channels on YouTube

Build a fort.

Chairs, blankets, the whole thing. And then make it into a tent and have a sleepover in it.

Visit a national or state park.

Health officials say getting some fresh air is definitely recommended during this time. Just make sure you stay away from other people while you do it.

Walking your dog around the neighborhood might get old quick, so think about heading to a nearby state or national park. The admission fee you pay to get in goes to support these beautiful lands and they tend to be large enough to avoid others while you’re there.

Find one nearby here: National Park Finder

Here are some other ideas for getting out of the house but still avoiding crowds: 10 Ideas to Get Out of the House But Still Avoid Crowds

Fire up the oven.

And do some baking.

We’ve already done a couple of batches of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies because we can’t live without it.

Here are some of our favorite easy recipes to bake:

Facetime Friends and Family

Even if you can’t see your friends and family, modern technology provides so many ways to stay connected. Set up a time to do a Google Hangout with a group or Facetime your family and friends.

You can even have grandma read a bedtime story or live stream your kids practicing their piano performance so your loved ones can see and hear it even though they can’t be with you.

Here’s another fun idea: play a game with your family/friend over Facetime. Charades works great or you can use the Heads Up app for some interactive fun.

Take a Tour

Without even leaving your couch! Countless zoos and museums across the nation offer virtual tours and animal webcams that are super informative and ridiculously entertaining.

Here are some you’re sure to enjoy: 12 Famous Museum Tours to Take

Write a Captain’s Log

Some call it journaling, but at our house, we call it the Captain’s Log and we use one journal that we just pass around to each other and include entries. They can draw pictures, right what they’re feeling/thinking, or talk about what is going on right now.

I love that it will make an awesome keepsake when this is all over.

Scrapbook

If you’re like us you probably have boxes of photos just laying around wishing for a chance to get put in an album and enjoyed. Now’s that chance.

Enlist the kids to go through the photos with you, sort them, and find a happy place for them in a new album. You can do traditional scrapbooking type stuff with descriptions and accessories, or you can just make themed albums.

We did some for my mom who passed away last year and we are all happy to own a personal photo album featuring images of us with her now.

Write some letters.

And send them to relatives.

Grandparents would love to get a good old fashion letter in the mail and now is the time to write one.

Looking for other ways to make it through this uncertain time? Check out one of these inspiring posts: