People the world over are finding themselves either together a whole lot more right now OR apart and not able to see each other in person. We, like most people, are in a combination of those situations. A few of us in our family are very much together right now, and there are others we’d been looking forward to seeing this week that we can’t get together with.
How amazing is it, though, that many of us have all this technology at our hands that still keep us connected?
You might be looking at doing something as a family in real time and space together. You might be connecting from a distance. Alternatively, you might be looking for some solitary reading or games for yourself or a family member.
A couple of days ago, we included a post entitled Finding Yourself Suddenly Expected to Homeschool During a Pandemic? It’s OK if You Haven’t “Got This” – I Haven’t Either:) and if you make it to the bottom, there is a list of great resources that might be helpful while children are out of school. That list was more about school alternatives but in the post itself, I also talk about open time, collaboration and connection …
So, with those things in mind, here are some “hanging out “ ideas that I’ve either just found out about from others or that people I know (some live in this house!) are doing …
First things first – Time Sensitive Offers!!
March 22 …
Today! Film School 4 Teens is offering a very creative opportunity beginning Sunday, March 22 (6 pm Pacific time) running through March 25. This is a chance for families and friends (of all ages) to work together to put together a short film with some instructions from Film School 4 Teens itself! It’s called … Film School 4 Quaran-Teens 72 Hour Film Challenge! Your family/group will have a chance to have your film posted if you’re a finalist and there will be cash prizes for the top films! And if you’re not a finalist? You’ve likely just had a whole lot of fun, gotten some great film-making tips and connected with an amazing company! It starts today – you could be spontaneous and make decision to try something new these next three days! Go to the link below for an active, clickable version in order to learn more or register. All this for only $20 USD www.fs4t.com
March 23 and 24 …
Looking for something fresh, new and thought-provoking to fire up on your Kindle or other device? The wonderful Sue Elvis of www.
Maybe you’re curious about this idea of unschooling? In Curious Unschoolers, Sue writes in very practical, comforting ways about her family’s own experiences with a rich unschooling life. This is a book you can read all at once or dip in and out of as it suits you. In clear, manageable sections, she both ponders and offers ideas about the most common questions people have. Most of all, she makes clear that unschooling isn’t the absence of knowledge, skills and order but rather a rich, broad and deep dive into living and learning.
AND Sue has a lovely online community – supportive, interesting, creative and informative! Click on the link above to find out more.
You may also be interested in settling in with some fantasy novels by her daughter, Imogen Elvis, perfect for read aloud or independent reading:
And its sequel, The Shattering Song
Author Andrew Peterson is reading the first book of his Wingfeather Saga online nightly on Facebook! What a neat thing to look forward to. And cozy too … I just had a peek and on the first night at least, he’s reading from an armed chair in front of a fireplace beside with a stack of books in the foreground. Get set up with some popcorn around a laptop or tablet, catch up on the ones he’s already recorded and enjoy! A thought – some of us here prefer to just listen to a story being read and others prefer to have a visual to follow along with so you may want to snag a copy of the book if you have it or can buy it online.
Check out a free recorded lesson of SQUILT LIVE! Mary Prather of Homegrown Learners offers a great music appreciation lesson on Facebook as well as some information about joining her classes. SQUILT stands for Super Quiet UnInterrupted Listening Time. The listener/viewer can think about what words and images comes up for them as they listen to and watch the orchestra as well as get taste of some musical vocabulary and families of instruments.
Something you might want to do as well (this is just my own thought) is go to www.usborne-quicklinks.com, key in or locate the book Usborne Introduction to Music and dig further into some information about the different sections of the orchestra (select pages from 62-71 on the scrolling options), periods of music (pages 28-37) and whatever else you all find that’s of interest!
Some things happening at our house this weekend:
The Heads Up! app is played as a game either between two people or teams. It’s a quick-thinking game which is a sort of verbal /descriptive version of Charades or Pictionary. S remembered that we had this yesterday and we got so LOST in it this afternoon that we forgot to have lunch! Instead of acting out or drawing the word on the card, the other person or team gives verbal or descriptive hints. There is also an “acting” option which was a hoot yesterday.
WordChums is a word play app – a sort of colourful, electronic version of Scrabble (sort of) that we each play a lot. Figure out words and where to put them and if you make a word that you didn’t even realize was a word, you can click on it to the find the definition. It’s something you can play on your own, with a partner or with a group. If you’d like to connect with a friend or family that you’re needing to “socially distance” yourself from right now, bridge the gap and play. Read our little review of it here.
Kahoot was rediscovered here yesterday as well! L had a light bulb moment today when she remembered the online quiz game Kahoot. You can play the games that other people have made but what she wanted to do was make her own.
We used to develop our own quizzes and play them on the TV, each answering with a mobile device. So much fun! Even if you have only one mobile device, you could all answer together with it. My husband first introduced us to it when he put together a trivia game of children’s TV shows. We have a lot of nostalgia about children’s TV shows here and he included some funny things about lines and characters.
You can develop a trivia quiz about anything you want – food, animals, sports, music, your own family vacations! Teachers have used them in schools by developing a quiz about a specific topic. You can use them right in your own living room as well though😊.
Apparently, L has developed a 40 question quiz about …. herself. Yes, 40 questions about her. This is part of an ongoing joke between my husband and her. We’re playing it later this weekend. I wonder who will win;).
Time in the Kitchen! I’ve been off my feet on and off this week and the kids have been experimenting with different flavours of smoothies. I’ve been a thankful recipient. They’ve also been baking and we’ve been out of a couple of ingredients, so they’ve improvised and it’s worked, tasting better than the original recipe! So far we’ve been using our own recipes but you could check out www.melskitchencafe.com for a big variety of family friendly recipes.
Board or Card Games – anything you have! We played several rounds late into last evening of quite a simple board game called Name 5. You play in teams ideally, but not necessarily, and name 5 things from the categories you roll to until the sand has slipped all the way through the hourglass. Simple, simple, simple but fun, funny and a quick workout for your brain. Maybe you have some older, standard games? They might not be as flashy as the new ones coming out but some of the tried and true are the most fun sometimes.
What else do you have on your shelves that you could dust off and try out? Maybe some yarns and jars and beads and all sorts of things that could be put to use. We don’t have any sort of crafting website or channel that we watch here so if you have any recommendations, feel free to share in the comments!
Some stuff other I’ve heard people are doing?
I talked to someone this weekend who is having a Harry Potterython🙂 – a day long marathon of Harry Potter movies.
I spoke to someone else who was heading to tap trees and make maple syrup. There’s definitely been a damper put on the public maple syrup festivals but many people around here do some of their own tapping or know of places they can go. If you even just want to read or learn a bit about it, have a look at our maple post here, complete with grainy “photos of photos” of the kids and I working the sugar bush 10 years ago this week!!
If anyone at your house is into online gaming, this is a convenient time. My guys are used to having to manoeuvre a few time zones to play with people on teams with certain people in other parts of the world. Many people are a bit more available right now. Time zones still matter but not quite as much.
Someone else was heading dog-walking and scripting some fun photographs and captions from the walk.
Another person I know was getting started on a spring clean of the house with all hands on deck (or as many as they could get!)
And some of us are just going outside, with no big plans, just to hear what we can hear and see what we can see. Find out more about that idea here.
It’s a difficult time that we have to be very respectful of and take seriously but we can choose our perspective. We can challenge ourselves to find contentment in all times.
11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry,whether living in plenty or in want.13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Phillipians 11-13). Apostle Paul. This might be a time to learn more about one of the most fascinating and impactful people in history!
*There are so many ways we can use this gift of time as neccessarily and responsibly take a break from the regular! Please share anything that your family is doing in this different time, either individually or together. It might be an idea for the rest of us:).
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I love your positive energy and enthusiasm! Thanks for sharing this!
Oh thank you, Brett Ann … glad you enjoyed the post. I’m happy you stopped by and I was able to see your blog as well. I’m looking forward to having a closer read:).
Love these ideas, although time outside getting more restricted for so many. Maybe time to tidy up and appreciate the garden for those of us lucky enough to have one. Lots of time on the trampoline here and we’ve re-discovered Wii U Fit! Amazing how many steps we can get inside when we put our minds to it 🙂
We’re enjoying a Minecraft family survival. And I think Minecraft Education lessons might now be free? Not checked them out but we’ve played the Ed version before and my 7 and 15 year old had lots of fun building a lab and experimenting with the different crafting recipes available. Pen and paper games popular here too. Along with learning to knit.
Thanks for such great ideas Erin, and may all this pass soon x
Hi Hayley, yes, time outside is getting restricted for so many. We really can’t go far at this point unless it’s for necessities or essential aspects of work. I feel very blessed to have a backyard. I was thinking just that about tidying up the garden. Here in Canada, the snow just left – had one final lovely snowfall last week – and so now I get to see all the things that I left to get buried underneath, haha:). I mostly leave the stalks and dried tops in the garden alone over the winter for the smaller birds to perch on and get seeds, so this week, I’ve had some time to start cutting those down to make room for the green of spring.
And yes, to trampolining, Wii (we have Wii Sports) and Minecraft! Thanks for the heads up about Minecraft Education possibly being free. I’ll check it out and email info to a few people I’ve been sending things too. Have fun knitting and thanks so much for your comment!
Thank you, thank you! Lots of good ideas here, especially the time in the kitchen! We have been using the time to our advantage to be able to make things that take more time to prepare than we usually have.
You had asked about ideas for a craft website. I like http://www.freekidscrafts.com. They have very good recycled craft ideas. We made an Insect Hotel and we also regularly add to a nest supply center. That is actually a pretty cool thing to see the birds taking what you’ve put out and then you just keep replenishing it.
Hi Liz,
Thank you so much for that website and those ideas. I really like the idea of a nest supply centre! I had a peek at the website and that looks really fun. And yes, as for the kitchen, I am finding that having more time definitely opens up the options of meals that take longer to prepare, rather than having to make sure I can get something finished in time to get out the door for an evening activity or event. Thanks again for your idea and comment:).