Daily, ongoing media reports keep us well informed about the Covid-19 pandemic and everyone is talking about ‘being safe/washing hands/self-isolating’ and the like. Social Media is full of funny memes and helpful links shared that will be helpful for entertaining children and young adults when isolating at home.

We are fortunate to live in Tasmania where it is comparatively easy to isolate ‘us’ from ‘them on mainland Australia’.

Fortress Tasmania

is what our Peter Gutwein, our Tasmanian Premier is calling us.

As an adult, I am concerned about the well being of my family and friends scattered around the world. Imagine what our children are feeling? Stress is more contagious than the actual virus we are concerned about, and you can be sure your child or children have picked up on the seriousness of the current situation. Children of parents who have lost their jobs, even children of parents who are on the ‘front-line’ in the health and essential services are bound to picking up on the stress in the home.

Many positive things are surfacing

I do not wish to diminish the seriousness of the situation for families at this time but wish to point out that there are opportunities to create some wonderful experiences for children to look back on with fond memories afterwards. This Facebook post got me thinking about how we can turn these uncertain times into something really positive and special.

This has been shared so many times I was unable to find who created it

It got me thinking about how we could use this time to go back to basics. Perhaps not put too much emphasis on learning the online school work but instead to teach them things like:

  • How to cook a meal with what is in the pantry
  • Make placemats for each member of the family and let the youngest child choose where everyone sits for a change
  • Turn your living room into a camping ground with sheets and blankets draped across the back of chairs and tables
  • Have picnic lunches on your verandah or deck if you do not have a garden
  • Go through all your old photos and tell your children about the funny things that happened to you
  • Contact the people who are in the photos, let them know you are thinking of them
  • Arrange Video Calls to special friends and family members
  • Get your kids to work out a short concert to do when the video call is on

Use technology for fun

Do a VIRTUAL TOUR of places around the world.

Visit the NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVES NFSA and show your kids footage of Skippy the Bush Kangaroo

We are Teachers has over 50 of the best virtual author activities

Visit Storyline Online for Children’s books read online

The ABC wrote a fun article with fun things to do with kids during the Coronavirus Pandemic

Create a Coronavirus Time Capsule

‘How We coped during the COVID-19 Lockdown in 2020

At the end of this blog are links to free guides to help you make your very own Family record to look back on how you all surviced this Coronavirus situation.
Draak, our Welsh Dragon, draws attention to what is important in these times

She’ll be apples

We have found that keeping busy helps us not think too much about the Coronavirus situation around the world. Before we went into strick Social-Isolation we picked hundreds of apples from trees growing alongside the road.

We juiced enough to make three batches of apple cider and the apples with bruises and worms inside we chopped, cooked and froze some of them in batches to use in making apple pies and crumble throughout the year.

My father in law died a few days ago, he was to turn 90 in June. No, the Coronavirus didn’t get him, he had advanced Alsheimer’s and suffered a stroke a few weeks ago. Needless to say, we are all rather distressed and in an attempt to remain busy we began to process more apples to freeze. Even a death you are ‘expecting’ is hard to get used to. Add to the mix the new rules regarding social distancing and how difficult it would be to have people travel to a funeral to which only ten people can attend. It was decided that we will hold a memorial service once the world returns to the new ‘normal’ in the future.

To be sure our thoughts were distracted, so much so that after I nearly burnt the apples on the top of the stove, I decided to cook them in the microwave instead. From the feature photo, you can see that did not go to plan very well at all.

We did have a laugh, not much else you can do except wait for the apple to cool, before cleaning up and starting again. Of course, it still tasted delicious and is neatly bagged in the freezer. No doubt we shall laugh about this incident every time we have apple crumble or pie in the future.

And that is the point – we will get over this, there may be a few setbacks, like my apple incident, however, we will prevail.

Ideas for your time-capsule for the COVID-19 ‘lockdown’ in 2020

Help your child create a diary, photobook or fill a box to keep as a time-capsule to be opened in say, 10 years time.

  • Make recordings of their video chats with grandparents and friends
  • Photograph their homeschooling projects
  • Photos or videos of them playing board games/reading books
  • Make a daily handwritten journal with them
  • Teach them how to cook and prepare wholesome meals
  • Have them draw up a daily schedule of activities that are now the ‘normal lockdown’ ones

Here is a link to a Guide I have been working on that will help give ideas about how to make photobooks.

This link is to a Beginners Guide to Photo Books, to help you do your first photo book if you are not very computer literate.

Don’t forget to take time out for yourself and enjoy the beauty around you

Above all – be kind to yourselves, and think of this time as an opportunity to get back to basics and really engage with your children and family members.

Engagement does not mean you have to be in the same room, write letters, talk on the phone or video call.

#HaveFunDespiteCOVID19