Kids activities stuck at home with parents working

[Anonymous]

Great time for them to clean out their closets and toys. Put aside anything too small, too young, broken, stained, not played with, etc., for you to look at and approve.

Why aren't they reading? Do you live in a safe enough place where they can go outside to play in the snow?

Let them be bored and make up plays, dances, games, etc. Let them forage around with the art supplies on hand and come up with their own art projects. When you give them a kit, it leaves little room for creativity.

I'd tell them they collectively have two hours of screen time each day, use it wisely.

[Anonymous]

Legos? Board games? Puzzles?

I’m planning to take a sick day when school is out and I have to take care of my kids (but they’re younger than yours.)

[Anonymous]

Send them outside for as long as possible. Other than that, lower expectations and allow screens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Send them outside for as long as possible. Other than that, lower expectations and allow screens.

+1

[Anonymous]

I have a three year old. On Sunday we are going to make playdough so he will thing that is new and exciting. We are also going to clean out his closet with the hope of finding toys he hasnt seen in awhile... so that might get us through 1/2 the work day on Monday. Good luck everyone!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Send them outside for as long as possible. Other than that, lower expectations and allow screens.

IME the people who say this already have a pretty low bar re:screens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I and SH expect kids stuck at home for a few snow days when I and DH work from home. Anything they can do except screentime at home? DD is 7 and DS is 10. I could go to Michael's or department stock buy some kits.

Ugh!
I’m an sooo dreading this weekend

[Anonymous]

At those ages they can entertain themselves. Mine are 6 and 9. They make a plan for the day. Including breaks for snack. Design Menus for their lunch. I make sure they have table space for a Lego set or puzzle and crafts and card games. They also get to read all the things they never get to with weekday activities. No screens. Mostly because the iPads broke and they don't like sitting through a movie in the basement and don't have phones.
It was harder when they were under 5 and needed parental involvement. Now they know how to read they figure it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hobby Lobby, Michael's, and TESO Life (they just opened a location in Centreville! It's fabulous!) have an enormous number of crafty things to make or do.

Also, thrift stores will have games/toys/crafts/books. And the library is probably going to be open as late as Saturday morning.

Hoverboard and/or pogo hopper.

Do they do puzzles? (Mine went off them years ago and I still have a shelf full, unfortunately.)

Get a sled, have them build snow forts/snow men, make snow cream (mine have already been talking about the latter and we've laid in an extra quart of heavy cream for the purpose.)

How many kids do you have and if more than one, what do they do together? One of mine likes to organize her siblings to produce their own short plays. Sometimes they'll play board or card games together, too.

Not Hobby Lobby ever! For god's sake who the hell shops at the place litigating the removal of all civil rights for women!

Benefit of low screentime family is that also I can declare e.g. a Movie Time if I am absolutely desperate for quiet, and this can be stretched out with pre-activities that they can get on with in relative silence -- 10yo, you make popcorn, 12yo, make cookies for afterwards, 8yo, get things cleaned up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I and SH expect kids stuck at home for a few snow days when I and DH work from home. Anything they can do except screentime at home? DD is 7 and DS is 10. I could go to Michael's or department stock buy some kits.

Ugh!
I’m an sooo dreading this weekend

Why? Saturday will be fine and Sunday will be the first day of snow so it will be exciting. What are you dreading?

[Anonymous]

OMG just let them have a couple of days of leisure!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I and SH expect kids stuck at home for a few snow days when I and DH work from home. Anything they can do except screentime at home? DD is 7 and DS is 10. I could go to Michael's or department stock buy some kits.

Good lord. Your children are incapable of entertaining themselves?! Presumably, the ten year old can read for pleasure. Art with just a sheet of paper and a pencil? Playing in the snow?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG just let them have a couple of days of leisure!

Kids who are addicted to screens don’t know how to do that.

[Anonymous]

books, puzzles, games, go outside and build a snowman, go sledding, play with neighbors, do art projects, build legos, and yes, of course, watch tv.