Hey, hey LOVES! How are you doing with all the weirdness of the last couple weeks? Feeling like the dust is settling over here and with it a little more clarity. Not sure how serious things have gotten where you live, but in Washington state our schools have closed for the next 6 weeks and starting today all restaurants and bars will be closed along with gatherings over 50 people. Here and here are a couple really great (non-alarmist) articles that supports this decision. At this point we need to focus less on stopping COVID-19 and more on slowing down infections so our healthcare system isn’t overwhelmed and everyone can receive the proper care. The best way to do that is to limit contact with as many people as possible. Our family has personally committed to keeping our circle v. small for the next two weeks and then go from there.
I’m also doing my best to see this interruption in our daily lives as an absolute GIFT! Is it convenient? Heck no. Will it make us better, closer, more compassionate, and thankful? HECK YESSSSS, if we let it!
I’ll be sharing more about our schedule for keeping somewhat of a routine, doing school from home, getting outside and entertaining ourselves, on Instagram Stories and would love to have you join me. I also have a lot more fun and useful content coming up (because I really want to help!) this week, but today I thought I’d share a round up of activities, printables and crafts to entertain the kids with. Let’s get started!
A long list of things to do indoors — we’ve kept this on our fridge and it comes in handy all! the! time!
We’ll be making an herb garden this week!
A long list of family movies for when we all need to chilllll for a bit!
Paper plate monster “bags” — love this one so much! And you can stock up on plates for the next project…
A super simple rainbow craft for all ages.
Love these bunny masks… perfect for pretend play too.
Paper bag costumes are a favorite pastime.
It doesn’t need to be Thanksgiving to make a feather crown out of shopping bags or sailor hat out of newspaper!
Possibly my favorite paper craft is to make headbands and these fish ones are pretty cute.
Fresh air and sunshine = vitamin D and happy endorphins! All things we could use extra of about now, ha! Plan a hike or a nature walk and collect things as you go to paint or craft with later.
Add bunny ears or a fun pattern to turn these ghost pinatas into easter pinatas… another tip: use all those cardboard toilet paper rolls instead of mini cereal boxes!
Now would be a good time to try a new board-game… here’s our faves!
I’ll be sharing a long list of school resources later this week, but Bitsbox deserves an extra shoutout because my kids love it so much!
On of our favorite crafts to do together — painting sticks, leaves or rocks!
Activities you can eat? Yes please!
You might not want to worry about printing and scanning your kids’ art at the moment, but it might be un to give drawing or painting props for art you can hang on the walls once this craziness passes :)
A newer craft that we had so much fun with and I could see the tubing turning into a science experiment too!
When all else fails, decorate a few balloons with stickers and then play “don’t touch the ground”.
That’s it for now. in the meantime, stay in. Stay close. Stay proactive. Stay calm. Stay dancing. And if you’re worried about the haters thinking you’re overreacting, don’t! Listening to experts does not make you crazy/paranoid, it makes you smart + responsible. That being said, if you are feeling super anxious and like you might lose your *ish, don’t do that either :) We’re all in this together!
If there’s anything you’d like to see over the next several weeks, let me know!
xo, Rae
Dear Rae,
I live in Italy and the situation is critical. We have to stay home and we are a little bit scared.
I’ve been following you for a long time. Your blog is a breath of fresh air.
Thanks….
Simona
Ohhhhh Simona, You guys have all been in my thoughts and prayers! Love that we can connect and encourage each other in this way. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help. All my love, Rae