This year our Spring is not what it normally would be. This COVID-19 crisis requiring sheltering in place in most locations across the United States has families unable to participate in what would be our usual Spring activities at school and in the community. The good news is that this is a time when parents and children do have an opportunity to spend a lot of quality time together. During this global time of high anxiety, children find comfort and solace in the connections they have with their parents and siblings.
Finding ways to come together that are fun to enhance connection during this pandemic may be more challenging than usual because the family is likely all together under one roof with parents working from home and online- school for the children. It’s all too easy to fall prey to the stress of these circumstances that cause parents to have to juggle so many roles all at the same time.
Springtime Family Activities You Can Do At Home
Consciously creating spring family fun for bonding and connecting during Covid-19 requires a little forethought and planning and today I want to provide you some inspiration and some tips.
- Create a Sidewalk Chalk Gallery. If you have a concrete patio or walk way or maybe a driveway or sidewalk you can turn it into a giant gallery of chalk art. Invite your child to join you in creating a magical world on the ground with the chalk. You may be surprised to see how much fun and creativity flows with this activity.
- Hide and Find Hunt. You can do this activity again and again in myriad ways indoors or outdoors. Take pictures of various items, print the pictures and hide the items all over the house or out in the yard. If there are siblings, you might challenge them to work together as a team or you can divide the family into teams with one parent on each team. The winning team gets to have the other team make dinner and clean up the kitchen.
- Have a Dance Party. Take your blue tooth speaker outdoors and turn up the lively tunes! Dance around in as silly and funny a manner as you can! This will most definitely have your child joining in with lots of giggles. The physical movement and fun time together is good for your health and your bond with your child.
- Make Yard Work Yard Fun. Whether you have plants that need repotting or a garden that needs weeding, you can invite your child to join you in some dirt digging or weed pulling together. You might experiment with planting some seeds and nurturing the seedlings this spring until they grow bigger and taller into the summer.
- Backyard Picnics. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, snack time or dinner, picknicking in your yard or on the porch can be a fun activity you can organize with your child’s help. These are the kinds of bonding activities that are so simple and yet they provide wonderful memories your child will always remember.
- Storytime Under the Stars. After the sun sets, take a blanket out to the back yard with a flashlight and enjoy a bedtime story together under the nighttime sky.
- Take Regular Fun Breaks. Don’t allow the pressures of work and school from home get in the way of connecting in fun ways with your child. Set the timer on your smart phone and take regular breaks to get outside with your child in the sunshine and fresh air where you can play a hand clapping game or a round of I Spy.
- Make Puppets Together. You don’t need fancy supplies! Gather empty toilet paper rolls, drinking straws, yarn, glue, markers, scissors, paper, lunch sacks or any other craft items you may have and get creative! You make stick puppets or hand puppets out of all kinds of household objects.
This year our Springtime does not allow us to gather with groups of friends and extended family as we normally would but we can still find ways to enjoy the nice weather together in ways that are fun and connecting. I encourage you to bring on the creativity!
If you are finding you are unable to escape the stress and anxiety or if your child is really struggling with fears, I am available for tele-health counseling sessions through my online therapy platform. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of support for you and your child.