Category: Parenting

Feeling anxious? Me too. These are wild times. Hang in there, I’m here for you. Also, here are 11 things we are doing to keep our sanity:
1. Lunch Doodles with famed children’s book author/illustrator Mo Willems.
2. Cincinnati Zoo’s Home Safari at 2pm CST. Yesterday we learned about porcupines.
3. Highlights Grade Level Workbooks. My kids LOVE these books and activities. Wells is especially excited that his 2nd grade workbook has cursive exercises.
4. Cut, glue, and draw on paper. I tasked the kids with creating a little garden and we taped up their creations on our front door.
5. Chores. The irony is that my kids are loving this time of the day. We change sheets, make beds, arrange stuffed animals, and make sure nothing is on the floor. I am not too strict with this; just encouraging them to take ownership of their bedroom space. Gus loves running around the house wiping off light switches and doorknobs with Clorox wipes.
6. Moments of gratitude. On St. Patrick’s Day, I read the Irish Blessing. Then we shared 3 things we were grateful for.
7. National Geographic Kid Videos: 50 birds, 50 states. The birds rap out interesting content about each of the United States in a 3-min song. We then locate the state on a map.
8. Popcorn party. Sometimes we eat popcorn while watching a movie. Sometimes we look outside to check for birds, squirrels, or dogs. Sometimes we just sit at the table and talk about our favorite flavors of popcorn.
9. Painting Rocks (if you don’t have paint, stickers are a solid substitute)
10. Dance party or a few exercises in reps of 10: 10 jumping jacks, 10 push-ups, 10 sit-ups, 10 stretches.
11. Bake. Yes, this will be messy. But letting kids crack eggs, use measuring cups, and press buttons on the oven is a culinary adventure. Follow it up by watching Kids Baking Championship (a great family show) on The Food Network.