Ideas for you and your kids while it feels like summer but it’s colder, there’s no camp, and you can’t play with friends

Posted on by peeinpeace

As an extreme extrovert, staying at home for days-on-end is not typically something that sounds like a good time to me. But we’ve so far been making this coronavirus quarantine work. (I mean, I’m at the start of day four, so if you ask me again in a week, I might change my tune.) I’m curious for more ideas on things to do, so PLEASE share yours in the comments!

  • CRAFT A DAILY CHORES CHART OR SCHOOL SCHEDULE – Put your home craft supplies to work and have your kids make their own schedules (or do it for them if they’re too little).
  • TEACH YOUR KIDS TO TYPE AND WRITE – I’ve harped on how much our kids need to learn to type without doing a good job helping them along. My older two are enjoying typingclub.com – which is free – and they will be working on it during this “homeschool” break. My youngest needs to work on his handwriting, so I’m doing that with him. If you have ZERO teaching skills, you can still help a child learn to write letters.
  • MO WILLEMS DOODLE HOUR – When Greg sent me this link yesterday, I knew we’d tune in. At 1 p.m. Eastern every day, Mo Willems will be offering FREE online doodle drawing classes to the world. He will also be posting them on YouTube so you can watch at your leisure.
  • COOKING AND BAKING – Now is a great time to peruse your cookbooks, food magazines and the Internet for recipes you’ve forgotten about, always wanted to make, or want to teach your kids. It’s also a lot of fun to try to make things completely from your pantry if you just can’t get your hands on fresh items you might need. Here’s a list of baking substitutions that has saved me before.
  • FAMOUS MUSEUM TOURS – Want to watch something educational? A friend of mine asked for suggestions on Facebook and this was by far my favorite one (and we will be watching!)
  • THE MOST DANGEROUS WAYS TO SCHOOL – That same friend (thanks, Chelsea!) found this while searching Amazon Prime. What better way to educate our kids on how blessed they are to have access to great schools than to show them what it’s like for kids in other parts of the world?
  • CLEAN OUT TOYS, CLOTHES, AND BOOKS – Whenever I empty our bookshelf and ask the kids to go through it, the most amazing thing happens: they rediscover all sorts of books they haven’t read in a while. With many libraries closed, this is a great way to both clear out the old and get your kids reading. We also began cleaning out our playroom yesterday. My boys rediscovered their Magic Tracks.
  • ASK THE NEIGHBORS IF THE KIDS CAN HELP WITH SPRING CLEAN UP – If you have some rakes, your kids can stay six feet away from their elderly neighbors, make a few bucks, and help others.
  • GARDENING – Yesterday I went to a family-owned, local garden center and bought a few things for the kids and I to plant. Not only that, but if you can get your hands on some fruit or veggie seeds and starter kits (or you have tiny pots and soil), you can start growing them in your house near the window – now is the perfect time to start! You can buy almost anything you need online on Amazon.
  • CONNECT WITH ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE FEEDING HUNGRY CHILDREN DURING THIS TIME – Check out these websites with your kids and find ways you can comfortably and safely help together.

Be sure to video chat with family and friends daily as well, because that helps with feeling connected to others. Now it’s your turn – send me more ideas!!!

Parenting lesson #35: We’re all hypocrites.

Posted on by peeinpeace

“Mom, where’s the whoop cream? I can’t find it!” rang out as the bathroom door swung open.

The voice in my head responded with, “Whyyyyyyy? Didn’t I JUST tell you I was going to use the bathroom and then come to the kitchen? You couldn’t wait another 30 seconds?”

But out of my mouth came, “Sweetie, it’s there, I’ll help you in just a minute.”

Hundreds of similar questions have rung out as my children have barged into the bathroom over the years. “I can’t find XYZ” is a top offense. So are interruptions about so-and-so not doing such-and-such, along with requests for screen time, food, candy and any other thing they think I might acquiesce to simply because I’m indisposed and want them to go away quickly.

This time, though, the real issue for me was not the interruption itself. Nor was it my impatient child. The real frustration in that moment was my befuddlement at why my son couldn’t see the “whoop cream.” It was in PLAIN SIGHT on the fridge shelf exactly where I had explained it would be.

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Years ago, a friend of mine gave me a “pat the bunny” parody book called “pat the husband.” One of the pages details how the husband thinks there is a conspiracy to hide things from him. Then it instructs you to help him find the ketchup in the refrigerator, which is in plain view but also slightly hidden by the milk. I couldn’t help but wonder, “Is there more to this? Is there science to males not being able to see things that are clearly in front of them?”

The journalist in me took over and I was overcome by an insatiable need to find research that supported my theory. I wanted hard facts and was willing to go eight pages deep in Google search results to find what I knew had to be out there somewhere. My hypothesis: women can see things better than men can. If I had a nickel for every time I told a male in my household exactly where to find something, was told “It’s not there, I looked,” only to physically point out that it was indeed right where I said it would be, I’d … well, I’d probably have a dollar. Maybe even two.

My research validated my feelings rather quickly. It turns out that this has been studied, and *generally speaking* there is some evidence to back up that men can see movement at a distance better than women, while women can differentiate colors and items right in front of them better than men can.

Armed with my new evidence, I had every intention of sitting down and writing this blog post to prove my point, not necessarily to win, per se (which I love to do), but to help us all grow as parents who need to better understand that maybe our boys simply can’t see the things that are so obviously right in front of them.

A few hours after the “whoop cream” incident, it was I who couldn’t find something. I can’t even remember what it was because that’s what our memories do for us when we’re the ones in the wrong – they make our memories fuzzy. But what it was doesn’t matter much. I asked Zach to look for it for me because I was in a rush. And within seconds, he calmly said, “Mom, it’s right here.” And he pointed at it.

Right where I had already looked.

After a brief moment of us looking at each other and realizing what had just taken place, Zach laughed. I laughed. His ability to laugh with me instead of chastise me or point out the obvious was sheer beauty. But for me, there was another voice in my head that spoke gently. “This changes the blog post, doesn’t it?”

We are all hypocrites sometimes. My high horse slipped and I crashed to the ground, imagining myself covered in sweet, fluffy “whoop cream.” And it is in this place where you learn there is possibly nothing more humbling in life than parenting.