Children are a blessing, and whoever has them would agree that they add some adventure to the lives of many parents and families. From the time they are in their nappy stages, till they grow up, looking after them can either be awesome fun or a bit of a stressful experience.
There are ways, however, to make things the latter and turn a stressful experience into an enjoyable one, even if you are still social distancing, there are loads of things to do with your kids, besides sitting in front of the television and watching cartoons all day.
Below we have chosen a few of these adventures to add to the day, to keep your children active, and busy, while also helping to bring the family bond closer.
Plan a Treasure Hunt
For a home that has a backyard, or enough indoor space, this is the perfect thing to conjure up for your children. Young children love scavenger hunts, which is why Easter is always so popular amongst them. The egg-hunt during Easter is something most children look forward to, but why wait till then when you can plan one now?
Place various jewels and trinkets bought from an arts and crafts store in different places in the garden of the house, and let them at it. You could add points to the different types of shiny jewels and however gets the most points wins something cool. Don’t forget to create a map to makes things even more authentic. There are tons of ideas online you can also search for, for example, this website.
Play Capture the Flag
Ever heard of the game “Capture the Flag”? If not, you have been missing out on one of the most fun games for your little one. invite your kids’ friends, to join in on the fun. You can create flags from any different colored fabric, and cut them out into squares. You can have the blue team and the red team, and each person from both teams places their flag behind the line of their court.
Once the flags are placed behind both lines, one player from each team starts, and they run across to grab a flag from the opponent’s side, but if they are touched or tagged, they go back to the end of the line. If a child manages to grab a flag from the other side, they get a point, and they can return to their side safely. In the end, the team that has all the flags wins. Fun isn’t it? Plus, the added benefit is, it will keep them active for a few hours. Which is an important thing for kids of all ages: https://familydoctor.org/keeping-your-child-active/
Learn by Cooking
Not just any type of cooking activity, but one that teaches your little ones, is also a great way to keep them engaged and allow them to learn through creative ways. How this works is to choose a recipe from a different country on a map or globe and get cooking, but the added benefit is, when they choose the country, you can pick it out of an encyclopedia and read to them all about the region, its culture, famous attractions and more.
It will help them gain knowledge of different countries throughout the world, as well as teach them how to cook, so when they get older they can pass this family tradition onto their kids.
Creating a signature dish while adding to their existing knowledge is a definite win-win for all. Fun and educational, what more could you ask for?
A Family Challenges Album
Another great and fun-filled idea is to get yourself a family challenges book, which is chock full of different activities to do with your family. This is not just great for the kids but mom and dad can join in too.
The family edition of this book comes in a set with a signature camera, or alone as a book filled with adventures. This is guaranteed to keep everyone well-entertained. The idea behind it is that the book is full of different black boxes, that can be scratched, and underneath you reveal a surprise activity to do.
Once you have scratched the surface to reveal the text, there is no backing out. When you have completed your quest in the family challenges version, you get to take a picture and add it to the book to create a complete album of different family experiences to pass down to your kids or keep on your coffee table for guests to enjoy the pictures, and perhaps even get one for yourselves.
Families of all ages can participate in the quests and this is a great way to discover things about everyone in the family, what they are good at or what they are not, and to try something new every day or every weekend when the whole family has ample time. What more could you ask for?