This COVID-19 pandemic has recreated family time like it has not been for many parents since the first six weeks of our children’s lives. The main differences are that they cost more to feed and demand more intentional planning time to engage. So, the From the Heart of Atlanta Children’s Church Ministry has gathered a few useful resources to help parents during this time of “home alone” with the children.
Consider planning the following throughout the final weeks of school and the upcoming summer months:
- Search for and collect cooking recipes together online or in recipe books. Swap recipes with family, friends and church members. Be sure to think of recipes that will excite your male child as well. File them electronically or low-tech on index cards that can be stored in an index card holder. Here are some websites to get you started:
www.allrecipes.com; www.foodnetwork.com; www.yummly.com. - Create a schedule for cook time together by selecting from your collected recipes. Consider breakfast, lunch or dinner meals; as well as desserts. Have one of the children or parent, video the preparation and cooking. (Oh yeah…clean up too). Once completed, contact your newly found recipe swap buddies and share your video and pictures of the final food cooked.
- Get moving with a family game of basketball, soccer, kickball or other favorite mobile activity. Think of age-appropriate activities to keep your children engaged. Start by asking them to help create a list of family activities that will get the family moving together.
- Bring in the cultural opportunities available within the city through the Center for Puppetry Arts (www.puppet.org) and the Children’s Museum of Atlanta (www.childrensmuseumatlanta.org). The first offers free and paid digital programs. The second has educational blogs with stories, recipes, vocabulary lists and more. Then, schedule a virtual family field trip around the world every week with Google Arts and Culture (https://artsandculture.google.com/) which has virtual tours of more than 2,000 Museum galleries from 80 countries around the world. Mazes, coloring and more within the Google Arts & Culture Activity Book.
- Dive into the deep at the Georgia Aquarium (www.georgiaaquarium.org) and explore marine life via several Live Animal-Cams. See what the animals are doing when they have no visitors present to keep them amazed.
- Parent Resources:
- https://www.nctsn.org/resources/supporting-children-during-coronavirus-covid19
- https://www.nctsn.org/resources/simple-activities-children-and-adolescents
- https://nctsn.org/resources/parent-caregiver-guide-to-helping-families-cope-with-the-coronavirus-disease-2019
- http://www.k5learning.com/
- http://www.education.com/
If you have additional fun family ideas that keeps the time together enjoyable and memorable, please share them on our contact page. Enter “Children’s Activities” in the Message box.