Things I Get To Do During Quarantine

A lot of feelings come up when yet another conversation about Coronavirus occurs – fear, disbelief, sadness, frustration, and anxiety, to name a few. And, these feelings aren’t only about the illness (though that is more serious), but also about being potentially stuck in the house, alone or with family members, for weeks or months, if schools and work are shut down.

What I’m about to propose is certainly not to undermine the worries people have about the virus itself nor the challenges and suffering this whole situation presents. Yet, I started to think about being “stuck” in the house with my 4 young kids and my husband (I love them dearly). And I’ve decided to try an experiment. I am going to think of all of the things we get to do if we’re home from school, work, etc. for weeks. I’m going to choose to reframe the potential circumstances as opportunities. Will you join me in brainstorming?

Here’s a list I’m starting of things I might try if we’re in and around the house for a bit. This list is being edited to include your ideas as well!

Spend Time Outside

1. Use the walking trails near our house
2. Hike along the river
3. Garden. It’s Spring – we haven’t made much time for gardening, but now we could build it into our day.
4. Daily picnics
5. Research some outdoor art projects!

Learn

1. Pick a language to study as a family each day for 15-20 minutes. Practice throughout the day.
2. Find a book on our shelves that I’ve meant to read and just haven’t found the time to.
3. Pick a series or documentary that the whole family could learn from and watch it regularly.
4. While the kids are out of school, experiment with what homeschooling would look like for our family.
5. Pick some real life skills you want to work on or teach some to your kids (darning, cooking, carpentry, etc.)

Connect

1. Call those friends and family members we haven’t talked to in awhile.
2. Encourage the kids to be pen pals with their friends while they’re away from school
3. Spend time one-on-one with each person in the house.

Create

1. Bake bread or other things that take some time and supervision over time.
2. Institute drawing time as a family and choose something to draw each day (still lives, each other, etc.)
3. The biggest LEGO town/castle/world EVER

Projects

1. Clean out closets
2. Have the kids sort games and return pieces to the right box
3. Power wash everything
4. Build something together (tree fort, patio, etc.)
5. Be creative with meal planning, cooking new foods, etc.

Tasks You’ve Been Putting Off For Awhile

1. Bathe pets
2. Dust everything!
3. Sort through files and the “catch-all” drawer
4. Cleaning all the outdoor furniture/toys