Quarantine Activity Ideas

Many are in quarantine these days.

Many have kids at home and may be wondering how to fill all that time.

Here are a variety of ideas for all ages.

Schedule your quarantine day

What may seem like long hours stretching before you can benefit from a schedule.

• Kids follow a schedule at school. Have them work out a schedule for their at-home school time. Pay attention to what they think is important and make sure you include hourly physical activity and a glass of water.
• If you work from home, consider setting a timer to get up every hour to move and drink a glass of water.
• If you’re working and managing children, consider flex-time–working your job during kid “off hours.” Consider “done that” advice-givers: Buffer and Money Crashers.

Encourage spiritual life

While your usual house of worship probably is closed, that doesn’t mean you can’t nurture your spiritual life.

• Incorporate prayer, gratitude, positive thoughts and singing into your schedule to set a positive tone. Encourage one another.
• Keep doing your readings, Bible study classes, listening to teachings, and practice loving each other in practical ways.
• Consider watching all the Bible Project videos (8-12 minutes each) from Genesis to Revelation! Great for all ages.
• Reach out to those in need as much as quarantine allows. Call, write, text, email encouragement to those in need and whom you love.

Get exercise and drink water

Of course, I said that before. It’s important.

• If you have a fenced yard, make the best of it. Send children outside to play. You may need to provide toys, chalk, balls, Nerf guns, whatever.
• If quarantine rules allow, take a walk. Consider a photo scavenger hunt with your camera. Walking at night might be an answer to mitigate social distancing.
• If you have stairs, set the timer and walk up and down them for a given period of time. I usually turn on music or listen to a podcast.
• Make sure you stretch. No matter your age, stretching is always a good idea. Youtube has plenty of examples and websites.

Be careful with screen time

It’s way too easy to overdo the amount of time we sit in front of a screen and don’t move. Limit your time with the news so as to not feel overwhelmed.

• Consider using screen time as a reward and decide how much time you want family members to spend with a screen. (This would not include work or school, of course).
• Consider listening rather than watching; use audiobooks, podcasts, music to entertain and distract. You can do chores while you’re listening as an added bonus.
• Several posts about how to do it: Children, Teens, Workers.
• If they MUST be on a screen, consider having them learn something: present a verbal report on the Youtube video during lunch, make a graphic on Canva, practice typing, make a video and then edit it.

Filling quarantine off-hours

Work and school will take up most of your time, along with household chores. But some downtime and off-hours will occur!

• Be creative with cooking. Involve the kids.
• Savor your hobbies–or work on them.
• Finish your taxes (!), plan your garden, catch up on your laundry, teach the kids how to iron (!), declutter!
• Engage your kids: Declutter, teach life skills, weed your yard, train the dog, sing together, sew, wash windows, use your imagination!

Converse and work together

If you live with anyone, now’s the time to actually talk with them about subjects beyond everyday life conversations. This is especially true if you have children or older adults in the household.

• Sort, scan, label and organize your photos. If they’re all on the phone, download them to your computer and save them in the cloud. You’ll be glad you did.
• Work on your family tree. Record stories from older family members. Tell your kids about your childhood. Put together a list of family health issues for future use.
• Make up a family cookbook of all your children’s favorite recipes. You may be surprised at what they like. My children all took a family cookbook to college with them and used it!

Quarantine entertainment

Consider being proactive about entertainment when you’re in quarantine.

• Use news for information but do not dwell there.
• Read through your “to be read” pile of books. I have three piles . . .
• Be deliberate in movie choices and then discuss them. Limit them, say, to one Harry Potter movie per night. (Bonus points if you insist the children read the books before they see the movie again!)
• Work a jigsaw puzzle together, have someone read aloud (you can do it at the same time), sort the Lego, act out stories, sing together, cook, dream, plan, work in your garden. Write letters to folks in nursing homes, call the grandparents, make a video, Facetime, play musical instruments, write a book.

Look for the positive

Focus on what is good, right, and salutary (good = excellent; right = appropriate; salutary = bringing glory to God and not to ourselves).

Many of us live very busy lives; perhaps staying home can help us reconnect with our families, our souls, our dreams and desires.

I plan to use this opportunity–there’s nothing on my calendar–for the good.

Tweetables

Quarantine activities ideas for home. Click to Tweet

What to do while stuck at home. Tips and ideas. Click to Tweet