When Mandy and I started this blog almost 9 years ago, we could not have imagined that one of our greatest challenges would be needing to stay at home 24/7. Indeed, we first started this site when our oldest children were still just babies as a way to motivate ourselves to get out of the house despite the new challenges parenthood presented. And that has remained one of the central features for all of us who have contributed to Out and About Mom over the years. We have all enjoyed that *extra* motivation to get out and about even when it seemed like an insurmountable feat. Readers were counting on us! YOU were counting on us! Yes, we could do this. And we did.
And now here we are, stuck at home once again. Only this time we can’t blog our way out. But just as the blog has served as motivation for us to find new places to go, we are now using it as motivation to find new activities we can do at home! And so for as long as this new normal persists, we are going to do our best to try to provide you with a weekly list of things we have discovered to keep busy, entertained, engaged and yes, even connected to the outside world.
If you don’t follow us on Facebook or Instagram already, now is a great time to join our social media community. We are posting new ideas daily! And if you haven’t subscribed to our weekly email list, be sure to go here and do that so you don’t miss out on any of these posts.
We hope you enjoy this weekly edit! And if you have found fun things to do with your family, please share! You can leave a comment on this post or send us an email to outandaboutmom@gmail.com. If you send us pictures, they might even appear in a future post!
Hang in there, friends. We can do this.
We’re finishing up week two of social distancing here. My kids have been doing e-school for two weeks and hubby officially started working from home this past Monday. The pace has been radically different than our normal fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants schedule, but that has had some enjoyable benefits. Like finally being able to delve into My Brilliant Friend, book one of Elena Ferrante’s Neopolitan Novels (a set of which I received as a birthday gift waaaay back in September that’s now also an HBO series–but I have to read the books first!).
I’ve also had more time for cooking, indulging by making some of my favorite comfort foods like chicken with cashews, red lentil dahl, and BBQ sandwiches among others. The boys and I also got creative with kid dinners this week, trying out this recipe for corn dog muffins with a box of Jiffy muffin mix I had left over from Thanksgiving (They were a huge hit! Even if they did stick to the pan despite a good coating of cooking spray. Hmmmm, maybe I’ll try paper liners next time).
And of course we’ve been scouring the internet for fun activities and experiences to break up the “school day” and keep things interesting.
Here are some of the items we found this week:
Local online events:
- The Connecticut Science Center is hosting a Facebook Live event on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12:00pm.
- Mystic Aquarium is hosting a daily Facebook Live event at 11:00am.
- The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is hosting a daily Facebook Live event at 3:00pm.
- The Mandell JCC is offering an array of live virtual sports programs–like football, basketball and Karate–available on their new Mandell JCC Youth Sports & Rec Facebook page. (You can also watch them later on their You Tube channel.) Currently, these programs are free and open to the (virtual) community and do not require registration.
- Check with your local library on Facebook and Instagram. Many are beginning to offer morning storytimes online. They also have online resources available for users.
Other online learning events:
- The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is doing a daily Facebook Live event at 3:00pm.
- Mo Willems is hosting a daily doodling session on his YouTube page at 12:00pm.
- Gatorland Orlando is hosting a daily “School of Croc” learning session on their Facebook page at 10:00am.
Websites with activities for kids:
- Go Noodle is a great online site for indoor fitness activities for kids. We especially love their Zumba routines!
- Educational website ABC Mouse and their companion site for older kids, Adventure Academy are currently offering 49% off annual subscriptions (we were longtime subscribers to ABC mouse, but we just signed up for Adventure Academy and the boys are addicted).
- Audible is offering a collection of books for children for free.
- Scholastic is offering free content for kids while schools are closed.
- We discovered this free jigsaw puzzle app that the boys have been enjoying. It is customizable so you can make each puzzle just a few pieces for younger kids…or many for a big kid challenge!
Crafts & activities to do at (or near) home:
- This week we’ve been working on old school friendship bracelets. You can purchase a starter kit on Amazon (like we did), or there are lots of tutorials available online (we’ve been using this one to make a chevron pattern).
- There’s never been a better time for kindness rocks! Kits are available online (like this one) but really all you need are a few good rocks and some paint.
- One of our bloggers, Audrey reports using painters tape to create an obstacle course for her kiddos (see pics below) with silly challenges like blowing a craft puff with a straw or lining up Hot Wheels cars. We’ve also seen this done outdoors on a driveway with sidewalk chalk for a more active approach.
- These trampoline paddles are fun for a variety of ages and a great way to get some much-needed exercise in the back yard.
- Check out this 30-day LEGO challenge that Mandy found. My 9-year-old will be all over that!
- Cabin fever is a real thing, and if your family is feeling it, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has some advice for how to enjoy the outdoors safely. You can view their tips here. We had some suggestions for outdoor trails in our post last week, and we also discovered that Roaring Brook Nature Center in Canton is offering “Busy Bags” with outdoor activities to use on their trails. State parks remain open (as of now). Please use them responsibly.
So that’s our edit for this week! Scroll down for some pics of how we’re enjoying this unexpected family time.
And don’t forget, if you have found fun things to do with your family, please share! You can leave a comment on this post or send us an email to outandaboutmom@gmail.com. If you send us pictures, they might even appear in a future post!
This week in photos:
A kit we found online includes everything you need. 
Learning the chevron pattern. 
Secure the bracelet to a book with a clip or use a clipboard for stability.
Give kids silly tasks to do along the way. 
Draw different challenges like hopping on one foot or jumping over the lines.
Want to keep up with things to do with kids in Connecticut?
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