Hi parents, if your reading this-then it is most likely you have kids at home and concerned about how to keep them occupied. Having kids home all day everyday can be a bit much at times. One suggestion is to keep everyone on a schedule. Kids do much better when there is structure and a schedule is one way to 
accomplish this. When putting a schedule together get the kids involved- they are more likely to embrace this when they have some input. The schedule shouldn’t be just chores and homework, that will get old quick and you might have a revolt on your hands! Alternate the “have to’s” with some fun activities. Below are some ideas- from a scavenger hunt in the house to in-door gardening. The possibilities are endless! So, keep the kids busy while creating great memories at the same time. Here are some ideas, with their links.
Live Cams
San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants
Smithsonian’s National Zoo
The 5 Best Live Cams From The African Wild | Rhino Africa
blog.rhinoafrica.com/2017/08/22/5-best-live-cams-african-wild Ø LIVE African Wildlife Coverage – WildEarth and Africam …
Scavenger hunt in the house – https://www.mykidstime.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Indoor-Scavenger-Hunt-Download-Mykidstime.jpg
15 Entertaining and Fun Indoor Games for Kids Of All Ages – https://www.mykidstime.com/things-to-do/15-entertaining-fun-indoor-games-for-kids/ Indoor Gardening
19 Best Easy Indoor Gardening with Children
www.pinterest.com › nationalplt › easy-indoor-gardening-with-children
Art projects
This site gives the future artist step by step pictures to learn how to do draw a variety of things.
https://artprojectsforkids.org/
80 creative activities for kids
Ideas like making a lava lamp or ice cream in a bag are only a few actives you can easily do with things you might already have around your house.
Audiobooks for Kids | Audible.com- While school is out audible, kids can listen for free.
www.audible.com › kids-audiobooks
Netflix Party
www.netflixparty.com
Netflix Party is a new way to watch Netflix with your friends online. Netflix Party synchronizes video playback and adds group chat to your favorite Netflix shows.
Social Distancing Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt– A fun idea for those family walks in the evening-
Check this out:
One way a community came together in a fun (but physically distant) manner was by holding a neighborhood shamrock scavenger hunt on St. Patrick’s Day. One parent, via her neighborhood’s listserv, suggested all the kids in the neighborhood make a shamrock to display in the front door or window of their homes. Within a day, 80 families signed up and shared a Google doc to post their cross-streets. Have fun with the ideas, our neighborhood had a teddy bear hunt- it was fun to see all the bears in the windows! https://offspring.lifehacker.com/host-a-social-distancing-neighborhood-scavenger-hunt-1842427054
Card Games A fun and inexpensive way to have fun with your kids.
www.todaysparent.com › family › activities › 10-kid-friendly-card-ga.
Board Games – Board games are a fun way to pass the time-here are just a few suggestions:
https://www.myus.com/blog/fun-family-board-games/
· Monopoly & Monopoly Junior
· Beat the Parents
· Head Banz
· Ker-Plunk
· Trivial Pursuit Family Edition
· Apples to Apples
· Clue
· Connect 4
· Mastermind
· 5 Second Rule
· Taboo
Cooking with kids-
Food Network offers kid friendly recipes, how to videos, for all different levels of home cooks.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/packages/recipes-for-kids/cooking-with-kids
We’d love to hear from you-what are you doing to keep your kids busy? Share your ideas and we’ll pass them along.
Rebecca (Becky) Greenwood, MS, LPC, NCC – Therapist – San Marcos location