The world has been turned upside down in the past few weeks. Our lives have changed significantly. In my town alone (a smallish town in size), we have the most cases of this horrible virus in the state. We’ve had two gentlemen pass away in the last couple of days from it. Our community has been deeply impacted. Schools, restaurants, shops, parks, events, and businesses are shut down until further notice. My husband is working from home as well.
Although we homeschool and are used to being home most of the time, it has still affected how we operate. We can’t leave our house because, well, nothing is open to begin with. We are also socially distancing ourselves to stop the spread of the virus. We are not fearful or living in panic. We are doing our part to stop this deadly disease.
Since we are homebound until further notice, I am trying my best to keep my children (and myself) busy. Not necessarily constant movement, but occupied so we don’t get bored or idol. We also have to consider my husband working from home. He takes phone calls and needs to think and work in a somewhat quiet environment. With three boys in our house, it can be a difficult task.
Boredom Busters:
- Go for long walks- we have started a routine each day of walking our dog in our neighborhood. We live across the street from an elementary school. Since it is closed until further notice, we are taking advantage of the parking lot. We do two walks a day. One right after school and lunch and one right after dinner.
- Watch old movies and shows together- I have introduced my boys to Andy Griffith, Davy Crocett, Dr. Quinn, etc. We’ve also been watching episodes of Little House and The Waltons.
- Bake something new every day- I am trying to stretch our food supply. Baking a new snack each day has helped tremendously. I have made banana bread and banana cake. I am planning to make chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin bread this week as well.
- Spend time outside- we have a nice-sized backyard and lots of trees and a trampoline. We also have a basketball hoop and bikes. We have been trying to be outside for several hours a day. God has been so good and our weather has cooperated. Soaking up as much vitamin D as we possibly can.
- Play board games- we have a ton of board games. We are putting them to good use as well as learning some new card games. We love playing games together.
- Read, read, read- this is probably my favorite thing to do. I have so many books waiting to be read. My kids and I have been reading tons of books together.
- Electronics- yup, I allow my kids to be on electronics. I limit their time but I do give them some time to decompress and play a few games on their Kindles. It also gets their minds off of the craziness going on in this world.
- Yard work- my husband loves being in the yard and working with his hands. He has passed that on to my boys. They have been outside moving plants for Spring and getting rid of leaves in the flower beds. They love to pick a flower and bring it to me each day. It’s such a blessing.
However you are enduring this time at home, just know that God is still on the throne and is still in control. We’ve had many lessons lately from the Bible about God’s sovereignty. It’s shown us just how little we are compared to how big God is. I pray you are well and you can find some of these ideas helpful for your family.
