Thursday, March 28
05:26 PM

10 Tasks to keep the family busy

5 May 2020

Are you stuck at home with children who are also bored stiff and getting crazy with the restrictions? You could do well with a few quarantine-friendly tricks up your sleeve. There are plenty of fun activities to keep the whole family busy during the lockdown. Here are 10 suggestions by  Muscat Daily columnist Dishita Muliya:

Things to do

Bird watch

Can you identify five types of birds and then research them? This can easily be done from your balcony or window.

Bake together

Invite your little ones to be your baking assistants, and let them decorate cupcakes, cookies and cakes! There are tonnes of simply baking recipes available online, and most basic ingredients are probably already sitting in your cabinets. Baking together of course is a fun way to make delicious goodies but also a great lesson in measuring, creativity and ingredients. 

Get moving

Who says being home means you can’t stay fit with your children? Look out for Lil gym at home videos on YouTube and follow them with your toddlers. The exercises are easy to follow, so you can partner up with your children and work out together at home or maybe get into the routine of doing certain set of exercises with your older kids while you challenge them.

The ‘Thank you’ game

I personally love this game and have been practising it with my family for years. Each member of the family has to name 10 things that they would like to thank god for. With each passing day, you realise, there is so much to be grateful for each day. Furthermore, you’re teaching your kids to be grateful.

Toy washing

While hygiene should be our top priority especially during these times, make this a fun activity at home by creating a toy-washing bin for them to clean their plastic toys. Simply fill a bucket or container of water, add tear-free soap, and voila! Guide them on how to wash their plastic toys and lay them out to dry afterwards. This is definitely a productive and fun way of spending time during home quarantine.

Keep to a schedule

Having a schedule to keep things running efficiently at home can be a great idea to manage everything. Prepare a chart that states different activities for the day at different time intervals and specify tasks that each one needs to undertake. Also evaluation of performance and scores can be added at the nd of each day. Goals and targetted scores can also be mentioned to motivate everyone.

Start a travel journal

This is an awesome exercise for both kids and adults – reminisce on the last time you were allowed to travel by starting a travel journal with your children. Lots of resources available online.

Interview each other

Interviewing is an important skill. You and your child can start interviewing each other face-to-face by asking each other questions and taking notes. If your child shows interest, they can take it to another level by calling a grandparent or family member and interviewing them over the phone.Practise mindfulness

Yoga, meditation, praying… You can practice mindfulness using an app, sitting quietly, following YouTube videos etc. 

Teach how to edit videos

Use programs like iMovie or YouTube to teach kids how to edit videos. It’s a meaningful skill to have in both, school and the real world. Who knows? Maybe they’ll want to even create their own YouTube channel.

 

© 2021 Apex Press and Publishing. All Rights Reserved. Powered by Mesdac