For those of you lovely folks that are staying put, here's a collection of activities (aside from all that home educating you'll be doing with the kids ;) you can do as a family.
1. Plan Your Next Vacation
What better time to cheer up the family than to get excited about your next holiday destination. Encourage the kids to get involved by talking about places they want to visit or things they’d like to see. Get them to look these places up on the map and research what it’s famous for. Check out travel articles and blogs for tips and hacks for getting around the location and accommodation.
2. Take a Class or Tutorial Online
Challenge yourself to learn something new for a few hours by taking an online class or tutorial. From language classes, to DIY tutorials, writer workshops, photo editing, and tips on marketing, there are loads of things you can learn! Check out: www.khanacademy.org, www.coach.me, Memrise (APP), www.codecademy.com, www.udemy.com
3. Do Some Spring Cleaning
Take a page out of Marie Kondo’s book and declutter your home. Recycle old clothes you no longer wear and ask your children to select toys they no longer ‘need’. Four bottles of expired sunscreen and almost-empty shampoo bottles taking up space in your bathroom? Get rid! Move your furniture and vacuum those dust bunnies that are hiding in the corners. Need inspiration? Check out our sister publication article on how to declutter your home.
4. Redecorate
Moving your home around can be fun and refreshing, especially if you are into decorating. Try rearranging the furniture or hanging your pictures in different places. Get the kids involved and see what they’d like their bedroom to look like.
5. Camp Fire Indoors
Light some candles, switch the TV off, turn on some music and get comfy! You and the kids can sit together with pillows, snacks, and games or a good book. If you don’t have any board games try some traditional ones like charades, Pictionary or twenty questions. Personal favourite of mine is the Post-It game – grab a pack of post-its and have everyone write down a person (living, dead, fictional or real) then attach the note to another person’s head. Take it in turns to ask everyone questions to help you guess who you are – as soon as you get the answer NO it moves onto the next person.
6. Discover History
Ever had one of the kids ask you, “Why do we call Zhong Guo ‘China’?’ ‘When did we start wearing shoes?’ ‘How did we discover bread?’ ‘Who invented glass?’”, and not had a clue? Get online and start looking through the world’s encyclopaedias for answers. This is a great home education skill as it encourages inquisitive, investigative learning.
7. Take a Luxurious Bath
Get your bubble bath going and make it extra luxurious with nice music, candles, and perhaps a nice book or beverage. And, if you have kids, an extra fun daytime bath with plenty of toys and bubbles can be a fun change from the usual nightly routine.
8. Play Dress Up
Join the kids in a game of dress up. They’ll love the chance to raid your wardrobe and try on some of your outfits! You’ll get an excuse to try out some new combos and put together outfits for upcoming events. This can help you organise your things, recycle unused items, and discover cool outfits you never knew you had.
9. Add Value to Your Life
There are some great websites/ YouTube channels that can help you to better your life or learn some new skills. Check out some of my favourites: www.mindbodygreen.com, www.mindful.org, Yoga With Adriene (YT), Do it On a Dime (YT), Marie Kondo (YT), Flow Graphics (YT), SEWING, stayathomeeducator.com/blog, gohighbrow.com, millennialmoney.com
10. Listen to a podcast
Podcasts can be a great way to learn about different subjects and trending topics as well as offering great audio entertainment in the form of comedies/ dramas while cooking family meals.
11. Have a Tea Party
Step into the world of Alice in Wonderland by having your very own tea party complete with nice china cups, little sandwiches and sweet treats – great one to play with the kids.
12. Catch Up With Family and Friends
Get in touch with the grandparents or friends over the phone, WeChat or Skype. This is also a great way to stay in touch with family members not currently in the country like working parents/ older siblings.
13. Play Kids Master Chef
Have your children plan lunch or dinner using their super internet powers (or cookbooks if you’re old school). Help them go through your fridge and pantry and see what meal ideas that can come up with. To make it particularly challenging or interesting tell them what they must include or what style the food must be.
14. Make a Scrapbook
Even if you've never scrapbooked before, now is a great time to make a book of the kids' art, writing or accomplishments and things collected from family holidays. We’re sure you’ve got some of our old magazines kicking about the house that you could use to create funky borders or designs.
15. Have a Bake Off!
Get ready, get set, BAKE! Have your mini Delia Smiths look up some recipes they want to try and see what creations they can whisk up. When working with toddlers, put ingredients into small bowls and have them help pour these ingredients into the mixing bowl or press the cookie shapers into the dough. WARNING we take no responsibility for any weight gain.
16. Create Your Dream Playlist
Enjoy all that music you have been collecting and not listening to by creating some new playlists. It’s also a good excuse to organise your collection once and for all. Have your teens put together their top hits, and vice versa; you may even find you like some of these tracks!
17. Get Crafty
Crafts can be super simple, like origami to more skilled things like knitting, sewing, and jewellery making. Here are my all time favourites (be prepared you may fall into a YT/ website black hole): 5-Minute Crafts (YT), easypeasyandfun.com, thesprucecrafts.com
18. Workout
If working out is your thing, don't despair if you can't get to the gym or run outdoors. Plan a mini at-home workout using weights or a programme online; there are some fantastic 10/20-minute HIIT workouts, and yoga videos for beginners/ back pain/ relaxation etc. on YT.
19. Brain Teasers
Games like Sudoku, crosswords, and wordsearches are great ways to relax and enjoy your time. Get cosy with a warm blanket and do some games from magazines, websites, or any collections you may have. Your little ones can even create their own wordsearches – all they need is a pencil, a ruler and some creativity!
20. Homemade Hot Chocolate
Try adding things like cinnamon, nutmeg, mint, or a dollop of ice cream to shake up your hot chocolates. For diehard chocolate lovers, skip the instant mixes and make your own cocoa recipe using real chocolate.
21. Write a Letter
When was the last time you put pen to paper? Why not spend this time as a family writing letters to loved ones and dear friends abroad - everyone loves to get a handwritten note that and it will make for a nice surprise.
22. Read
There must be a book or two you started or were halfway through that you gave up on. Start putting a dent in that pile! Encourage your children to choose a few books they want to read and then challenge them to write a book review – this can then later go in their scrapbook. For older kids, challenge them to write an assignment (word count of 500+) based on a novel you have both read/ debated about.
e.g. Look at the various examples of discrimination in Of Mice in Men. How do these examples a) impact the characters b) affect their lives and c) alter the outcome of the story?
23. Beauty Treatments
Treat yourself and the kids to a mini spa day with a variety of DIY beauty therapies. Think manicure/pedicure, a relaxing scrub, DIY face mask or facial sauna. Click here for some of our favourite DIY cosmetics.
(Hint: fill a bowl with hot water, hover your face over the bowl, then put a tea towel over your head – NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 12.)
24. Create a Photo Album
Sit together as a family and go through all those photos you have taken. There are some great websites/ apps that can help you turn these into an album. Alternatively, you could select ones you wish to print at a later date.
25. Embrace Your Inner Artist
Try a family art class by grabbing some interesting objects from around the house and simultaneously painting them. Swap your paper for jam jars or boxes.
26. Plan a Get-Together
Start planning some upcoming events/ play dates with friends by thinking up a theme (go-karting, rock-climbing, house party etc.), lunch/ dinner party menus, party games and more.
27. Scour for Board Games
Sneak to Toys R Us and buy a few board games/ pack of cards – classic games include Monopoly, Scrabble, Risk, Cluedo, Trivial Pursuit, Battleships etc.
28. Organise Your Family Planner
Pull the calendar out and jot down all upcoming football tournaments, holidays, exam days, and birthdays. Research for any upcoming events and movie releases in the city and be sure to add these in.
29. Plan an Indoor Garden
Living in a city means a lot of us miss out on having a garden, but that doesn't mean your home can't have a little greenery. Bringing plants into the home instantly brightens your space and has been proven to improve your mental health. Look online for inspiration on the best plants to have and how to take care of them. If you have a balcony, check out container gardening.
30. Make a Home Movie
Thanks to mobile phones, we’re all Steven Spielbergs in the making! Collect all those family clips and create some cool home movies. There are loads of free movie editing apps and softwares for PC, Mac, Android and iPhone. You can then share these films with loved ones. It’s also a great chance to reminisce and recall lost memories.
Don't forget to let us know what you and the family have been up to in comments box below.
ENJOY!
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