A little more than six weeks ago, schools closed and we all started working from home. This post is a peek in to what we’ve been up to as we try to balance working, schooling, and living in this time, as well as the resources that we have found most useful.
The S’more!
As you know, we are big fans of the Seattle Symphony’s Tiny Tot series. While the live concerts are not happening, they have been creating videos that follow the same format as their concerts (including sing-a-long and call-and-response songs). These are educational and so fun! Each week, there has been a new video featuring a different section of the orchestra. We are repeat viewers. There are also shorter musical performances by members of the orchestra posted almost daily. On Sunday afternoons, we watch the rebroadcast of a previously-recorded concerts. These are available on their YouTube channel and on Facebook Live.
Inspired by the Great Camp-In organized by the Washington State Parks, we camped in our living room and enjoyed some s’mores after dark.
Mental Blox in action!
We try to do something every morning that incorporates art, science, or social studies in a way that the all of the kids can participate. One of our favorite morning activities is coloring or painting while listening to podcasts. For coloring books, Adobe has been coming out with a packet every week with new designs, all around a theme. As for podcasts, we love Story Pirates (they also have coloring pages that go with the stories, though some are behind a paywall), Tumble Science for Kids (also in Spanish!), and Brains On!
We also dug out all of our puzzles and kid-friendly games. Mental Blox is a game that uses blocks of various shapes and challenges players to mimic the shape and then add to it in a particular way. We also have several Match It! games — both numbers and letters, which the preschoolers have found fun. Plus many, many jigsaw puzzles.
Puddle splashing!
We have also been enjoying walks. We like to go first thing in the morning, before trails fill up, or when it is pouring down rain. Our favorite places to explore are open spaces, without roped-off playgrounds to taunt us. We have had fun exploring Boeing Creek Park and Paramount Open Space. Rain walks got way more fun once we invested in a couple toddler-sized umbrellas and new rain boots from Target.
On a whim, I signed up for a free cooking kit for kids from Raddish Kids. The Swedish Eats kit showed up a week or so later — the recipes were delicious and easy to follow. More importantly, our daughter enjoyed cooking everything, from the Swedish Meatballs to the Nordic Cinnamon Buns. We subscribed, and have now enjoyed spring party toasts and chicken lettuce wraps. Side bonus: new recipe ideas for dinners that I don’t have to make! May’s theme is Moroccan, and I’m so excited to taste what our kids make!
Nordic Cinnamon Buns (not the prettiest, but so tasty!