Isolation…Prep and Days 1-2

Welcome back!

Although, it has been me that has been gone from the blog.  So, welcome back to … myself?  I don’t know.  This is awkward… let’s move on.

Ok, so COVID-19.  It’s Tuesday and I got the text/email/robo-call (I like to sign up for it all to cover my bases) on Sunday in the early afternoon from my son’s school that class would not be in session for at least 2 weeks. At this point in time, we’re a couple of days into this “social isolating” thing.  I really hate the term “social distancing.”  It just seems like an unnecessary euphemism.  Can we just call it isolating?  Because really that’s what isolating is, isn’t it?  Staying away from people.  Anyhow, I’m just going to call it isolating if that’s cool with everyone.

(Refresher course #1: O is currently 7 years old and in 2nd grade, E is 2 years old and scheduled to start preschool in the fall.)

Yikes.  Ok.  No school.  Which means no office time for me and a whole lot of at-home time.

(Refresher course #2 – I’m a pastor along with my husband and I have some office hours at the church during the week).

I had a gut feeling even on Saturday that school would be shut down soon even though our county technically does not have an active confirmed case of COVID-19.  I had started mentally preparing by Sunday morning and had begun listing activities to do with the kids.

I like to create a “Summer Fun List” of activities that we would like to do during summer break.  I saw at least a couple of Facebook Friends do this over the years and decided to follow suite.  We usually don’t complete the whole list by the time school starts; but it gives me a guide to follow so we stay out of the Netflix rut.  Ahem…we TRY to stay out of the Netflix rut…but…that’s a deep, well-worn groove.

As I was saying, the “Summer Fun List” helps us claw our way out of the Netlix rut.  So, I decided to apply the same idea to this COVID-19 isolation period.  Here’s my list:

• Make Necklaces
• Reading- Hardy Boys books specifically
• Osmo- O and set up programs for E
• Outside Play
• Disney + movies & popcorn
• Work on LEGO project for county fair submission
• Tie-Dye- shirts, bags, towels
• Mario Kart tourney- whole family
• Burn Candles (I have a lot of scented ones that the kids love that I never remember to light)
• Walks
• GoNoodle
• Teach O how to make coffee
• Perler Beads
• String Art
• Make Treasure Chests- decorate with washi tape
• Paint rocks
• Chalk on driveway
• Learn how to tie shoes
• Bathtub play
• Drawing pictures and mailing to cousins and grandparents
• Book purge and visit Little Free Lending Libraries in our town and neighboring city
• Bake- oatmeal cookies, pumpkin bread, spring decorated cupcakes
• Plant Tulips
• Mail postcards to cousins and grandparents

So that seems like a lot.  And it is.  I’m not supermom and I have no intention of doing all of this in 2 weeks.  This is purely so I can divert energy from the thinking part of my brain to the surviving-at-home-with-two-kids-and-nowhere-to-go part of my brain.  That’s just science.

When I got that call on Sunday that school was closed for 2 weeks; I hustled myself into JoAnn Fabrics and wandered the aisles for a good hour looking for activities.  Not exactly isolating I know. But I needed supplies!  All of those activities are ones that I either already had materials on-hand for or was able to get ample supplies for in one quick trip/stop or were projects that I needed to get done anyway.

We finished day two of isolating today.  So far, we’ve slept in, made beds, played with Legos, had naps/quiet-time, practiced piano, had healthy lunches, written a couple postcards, read books, organized and purged the bookshelves, visited the Little Free Lending Libraries in our town, gone to Karate, checked the mail, tie dyed some shirts and tried to keep as much of our routine as possible. And Netflix.  And Disney+.  (Have you watched Bluey yet on Disney+? Do it now!) I just got O’s school work from his teacher this evening so we’re going to incorporate that into the routine tomorrow.

Since the school work will now be in play; I also implemented a prize system that will kick off tomorrow.  I did a quick Dollar Store run and got some prizes and plastic shiny coins.  We were supposed to be doing a bit of air travel this summer with the kids and in anticipation, I had been collecting small toys to bring on the plane that would be new and novel but also inexpensive in case they got lost.  I also had been collecting small items to put in Easter Baskets.  New plan.  All of those items have now been re-purposed into the prize system.  5 coins gets you a small prize of a pencil, pen, mini figurine, stamp, etc. OR you can save your coins and cash them in for a larger prize valued at 15 coins.  Some of the larger prizes include a flashing-timer toothbrush, sketch pad, Barbie, Barbie clothes, Bey Blade, Star Wars chapstick, mini-Easter Play-Dough kit, etc.  I just so happened to have little gift boxes in the shape of mailboxes (one from Christmas and one from Valentine’s Day) that the kids can stash their coins in until they are ready to use them.  Coins are earned for good behavior and getting school work done.

I should probably mention at this point that I have slight obsession with the Dollar Store.  Going there regularly has allowed me to stock up on some essentials (baby wipes, Boogie wipes, etc) over time so I did not have the pressure of trying to buy those essentials along with everyone else trying to prep for the unknown.  I already had a pretty good supply of crafts and prizes on hand thanks to the Dollar Store.  Did I spend some money at JoAnn Fabrics?  Yep.  But between my JoAnn Fabrics purchases and what I already had on hand I have enough craft supplies to do each activity a few times over so I could rotate through depending on that day’s interest.

I’ll keep you posted on how our new schedule is working tomorrow!  Maybe it all goes to heck.  I don’t know, but I’ll let you know! I hope this helps with some ideas on how to keep busy!  My aim is to help by providing ideas, never to shame a parent into thinking they should be doing more…some days we do nothing except watch Netflix or Disney+ (seriously, watch Bluey) and try to keep the sibling fighting to a minimum.

What are some of your COVID-19 isolation activities?  Please share in the comments!