It’s me, Deanna, the teacher with 20+ years experience who, like you, is practicing social distancing at home with my child. I have decided to use my training and experience to develop a daily list of activities for you to do at home with your kids.
Note: I have been doing more to support teachers in my board as they are supporting their own students. This means I have less time to work on these posts, so this one is shorter than most. But feel free to look at previous ones for inspiration.
Reminder: The neighbourhood walk is coming up tomorrow, March 29th, and the theme is flowers. Make one for your window so families going for walks can see the flowers.
Today is Saturday, so I hope you are taking a day off with your kids to relax and recharge. It’s okay to take a breath now and then. I have some suggestions for your breaks today.
Boardgames – Play some boardgames with your kids. Drag them out of the cupboard and just play. Or get a deck of cards and play crazy 8s. The point is to relax and bond over something that could become a family tradition. It is also really beneficial for your kids.
Bake – Make cookies, cupcakes or bread. You will make a delicious treat, which will get you buy in from your kids. It is also bonding time.
Chores – Have your kids do some chores around the house. Change the sheets on their beds. Clean their rooms. Something, anything to contribute to the family environment. You’re helping them develop into responsible adults. Little kids can help too. My son helped me unload the dishwasher at 15 months old. He could stand and reach the lower rack, so he helped. Admittedly, there were times he thought trying to drop things before I could grab them was hilarious, but the dishwasher got unloaded and he helped.
Go For a Walk – Get the kids dressed and go for a walk. Getting outside with kids has a lot of benefits.
One last thing – Earth Hour is tonight. In the lead up to this, most schools have activities and lessons about the environment. What I would do if I were you instead is observe Earth Hour by turning off all unneeded electronics for an hour and have a talk with your kids during that hour about Climate Change and what you as a family can do to lessen your impact.
Deanna Toxopeus is a teacher with 20+ years of experience teaching students from Grade 1 to Grade 8. She is currently an Itinerant Teacher of Assistive with the OCDSB. The opinions she expresses in this blog are wholly her own.