It's summer 2020, and my three school-age kids will be home the ENTIRE summer. No camps. No trips. Just me. And dad. And them. I pray for us all. To prepare, I'm researching a ton of crafts/online camps/games/toys/projects that we will soon be digging into. If a project is successful, I'll add it to the “projects for kids” recommendation page of this site, in case it might be helpful for your family as well.
Some of the projects we’re looking forward to include kites, paper dinosaurs, Kiwi Co boxes, coloring books, online team games and more. I’ll be posting reviews of these items on the projects page as we use them, and will also continue to update the websites for kids page.
Looking for an idea of a summer-at-home camp schedule? I’ve worked up a loose schedule for my crew in Microsoft Word. I say “loose” because this sucker is by no means carved in stone. As of this writing, we are one week in, and we’ve already made adjustments on the daily, to accommodate for work schedules, house needs or even everyone’s mood or input. Built into the schedule is time for household chores, partly because I think it’s important for kids to take part in caring for their home, but also because I’ve noticed they get a real sense of satisfaction out of it. Other things I’ve already made note of are: 1) getting outside is crucial (for them AND for me), so it must be done as often as possible to get that energy OUT and exercise those bodies. 2) flexibility is key – give the kiddos plenty of opportunity to have input on your activities and to make their own choices. This helps them maintain interest and have fun. 3) start again tomorrow – I can already tell there may be days that go waaaaay off the rails. That’s ok. As I remind my kids, and they now remind me, “even superheroes make mistakes.” Just adjust as you are able, and start again tomorrow.
If you are interested in seeing our schedule, or would like to use it as as a starting point for your own, you can download the PDF or Word file below.
Good luck to us all during Corona Summer 2020. May the force be strong with us.
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