As an aside anything I write about kids is from my point of view as a kid not having any children of my own, but being a kid that wouldn't see other kids for extended periods of time. I believe you are the best parent for your kid so please don’t take anything I say as advice just options of how some may get through this easier.
I take the problem like this: Accept Your Reality. Once you know Where You Are you can figure out What To Do. There is SO much to do!
Accept your reality:
COVID 19 isn't going anywhere soon. We have weeks/months of this new reality this will be hard on you and your family. You are not powerless, you just have a new job or jobs now. First most important job is your health! Why health? Well taking care of yourself makes you better able to take care of those around you, the better you are doing the better you are actively fighting this!
Some health tips:
Identifying what you normally do to take care of your health is an easy way to start taking control of your situation. Is your morning coffee your routine, make that important! Are you a very social person, then call or video chat the people you would normally chat with at work. Is going to the gym how you "get back to okay" then work out at that same times, stick with it and so on. Humans are creatures of habit, give yourself the habits that make you you, make them important!
Also if you have kids this is a great time to teach them self care and caring for others "mommy needs her coffee so she can be her best today do you want to help mommy by learning to make her coffee?" As a kid I loved making mom her coffee in the morning, it was a way I could show love that was “helping". My mom loved having coffee made when she got up. This kind of thing applies for drawing a bath, or exercising together, gardening, making face masks, cooking, really any activity that you enjoy that can help you be healthier (these can be applied to partners as well).
Don't try and be overly positive or fall in to negativity, be realistic about where you and the people in your household are. Doing the "Peak and Pit of your day" will help you together learn what is working and what isn't, then as things change you can adjust. It’s still surprising what sticks out as the peak and pit to my husband. We have known each other a long time but he still remembers things I forget, things that I didn't know effected him I can easily change, like that toothpaste he would normally never say anything about but if he’s had a really good day and the only thing that’s annoying him is how much he dislikes the toothpaste, I can easily change brands and that small thing makes our life just a bit better. Also it helps you get in the habit of Practicing Gratitude.
Alone time! This may seem like a given but if you're in a house with a lot of people make alone time happen regularly. We all need time to ourselves, this helps us be better to the house around us so when you need it, kindly say so. Kids can do this too maybe not for as long as we would like but having 30 minutes of alone play helps them learn to entertain themselves. Also if you have more than one kid you can pair of with each kid/parent or kid/kid time. Special time alone with mom was GOLD when I was young and many kids love your complete focus on them for a short time.
Don't get too lonely. We have so many ways to connect you can even Call a Swede Call a Swede the country of Sweden would love for you to make a friend with one of their people! Anyhow From face time to Google Meet, gaming online together or just simply calling your old Buddys it's way better than just Facebook. We all have things we don’t put online but need to share. I bet your friends would love to hear from you. I know a lot of us have social anxiety but your friends are going to get lonely too and it would mean a lot if you made the phone call that they haven't gotten the courage to make yet.
If you’re feeling alone and struggling, you can also reach out to The Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741 or National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK.
Where You Are:
TP somehow became a thing with preparing for this all but if you can step back and look at what you really need it's still very easy to get what's needed. Lowes still has TP, hand towels and basic cleaning supplies and there are many other places like that that you can find what you need. As to groceries many grocery stores are doing online shopping that they will either deliver or you can pick up at a set time. It's a much safer option and it's not going anywhere soon. Congress is working on Coronavirus Relief so people will still have a basic income through this but you can still file for unemployment for this short time. This counts as a disaster so get the help you need! What to do if you lost work in Missouri or Kansas because of the coronavirus
Lots of people have gone through social isolation from Astronauts to Royal Navy Submariners the strategies are similar but it helps to hear from the professionals.
What To Do:
Forgive me this is going to be long! I will update this with lots of links, sites, games even concerts as I come across them. Keep sharing them too this is a resource for everyone!
DON’T GIVE UP! This is really important as weddings, graduations, reunions and vacations get cancelled. Do the thing in some small way at home. If you want your anniversary to be on a certain day, have your minster marry you at your house with one witness. We can all come together after all of this and eat cake but for now do what you can and know how bad everyone wants to be there! If prom is the thing you're missing, group video call all your friends that you were going to do dinner with and have a fancy dinner together with them. Graduation let your family throw a graduation for you and make you stand up and walk in front of the living room in your moms robe! The point is Still Celebrate Life! It is vitally important to continue to Live and not just make it by but Live life as best you can in these moments. If you don't have anything to celebrate pick someones half birthday or surviving today, give yourself permission to celebrate!
Congratulations you are now a government paid Writer, Painter, Musician, what ever your dream is! You have the time now and are being paid to "tune out the world and focus on your passion". Aren't we fancy now lol but really this is basically a government grant to focus on that thing you have always wanted to try, that thing in the back of your closet you used to love in high school but don't have time for now. Take this opportunity and do the thing Zhu Li!
Spouses share your thing! Hay you know that person you love, I bet they have a way to waste time they would LOVE to share with you! This is a great time to take an interest. Now if your spouse takes an interest in a "you thing" then BE NICE, don't expect them to like your thing the way you do! Find some part of it that they would like or would interest them. A great example is video games, now is your chance to get your spouse in to video games but don't just throw them in to your favorite game, find one that you know they would like some part of. I'll do a list of couple friendly video games later. Same with board games don't just play your favorite, they are taking time to learn your thing so take time to show a part they could be interested in, so both of you are doing a little to come together. Explain why it means so much to you because just their love of you will help them care a little about why it's a thing to you and you can build on that.
Be an adult. No really, now is a good time to look up your local elections and get educated on local issues, your elected officials record and stance on important issues. Not the funnest thing to do but definitely a way to stay actively contributing to society. Find your local ballet here Local and find out who votes most like you in politics I side with
Are you a person that needs a sense of accomplishment? I'll put calls to action here:
now is a great time to get to know a new family member and your local shelter could use your help with all the lonely animals out there consider not being isolated alone but being a hero to a new pet Animal Shelters Urge Humans Confined To Home By Coronavirus Outbreak To Adopt . A few simple options here . You can also make more masks for your local hospital CDC-compliant face masks with pattens and instructions also what to make them out of . If you need a mask and don't have a sewing Maclean here is an option for making one it's not a lot of protection but may help.
Grow as a person: Try church? Try Faith? Try meditation? It doesn't have to be just church, let's try to learn other denominations or faiths so we can learn to love our neighbors better. This is a six week sermon on what world religions have in common. next sermons
Make your life better, okay really it's just learning to be grateful like I said earlier but it really will improve your quality of life
Now to your ears. POOOOOD CASTS! oh yah here we go: The everyman entry to podcasts Stuff You Should Know, our world is crazy mindblowingly amazing radiolab, there's to much pop culture too keep up with but they do their best to make it simple Pop Culture Happy Hour, A writers look/review of our world The Anthropocene Reviewed , Want to listen to people with accents talk about plants Gardeners Question Time , Each episode is an awesome lady in history The History Chicks, What happened in science this week SciFri, A bit of colorful humor which you can watch as well Rooster Teeth Podcast , If you miss Paul Harvey and love Mike Rowe "for the curious mind with a short attention span." The Way I Heard It , Want to cry more StoryCorps, want to be an adult but only for the shortest amount possible The NPR Politics Podcast The best LBGTQ+ history Making Gay History,
Is depression keeping you feeling isolated even without a global pandemic? The Hilarious World of Depression
Still in the ear department I can not highly recommend enough the expeditionary force audio books by Craig Alanson read by R. C. Bray! R. C. Bray is Joe Bishop!!! I am so envious of you getting to start these books!
Mindlessly watch YouTube Daily Dose Of Internet, How It Should Have Ended, The TRY Channel, CinemaSins, vlogbrothers, OverSimplified, AsapSCIENCE, Because Science and Strictly Dumpling, Some Good News what do you zone out to on YouTube?
Get some outdoor zen with slow TV train trip Switzerland to Italy it's great background for home schooling, reading a book, doing a puzzle, working out, doing chores. It really is stunning and there are many more like it!
Okay now to games, here is a list of board games you can download. Here are some card games you can play with friends online . Also if you don't have Steam why not? There are so many games you can play to just chill out, learn something or let your brain rot for a min. If you're looking for education-ish games for the older kids Dawn of Man and Surviving Mars are both really good games. If you have teens that you don't want to hear from for hours on end and don't want to just let them mindlessly play what ever game these will do the trick! For general play I like Pine, Gris, Subnautica and House Flipper. On this platform Couples games we enjoy are Starbound, Quest Hunter, Rising World and Baldur's Gate. Other platforms Minecraft, Gears of War, any Halo. Board games cribbage, splendor, love letter, DnD okay so DnD can be played online with friends easier than you think, we have used D20 but here is a list of other DnD online things. We used to Love Wow and HOTS but with blizzard not standing up for free speech we closed our accounts but they are good for couples that game. A maybe more ethical option is ESO which is still good. Do Not play We Were Here unless you want a divorce and only play Portal 2 if your marriage is strong, it's a great game but it Will Test You! True Dungeon published this free online version Cogwind 3D
I have heard that this is the Best time to start Stardew Valley however due to the Thousands of hours people love putting in to this game I have held off but it will probably be my fist quarantine game purchase.
A List Of Live Virtual Concerts
The Hidden Worlds of the National Parks More to do with our National Parks there is a lot to do on their site.
12 Famous Museums That Offer Virtual Tours
Plant something! If you have regular seeds Great if not you might be surprised what you can grow without soil. Try sprouting a potato, if you have any unroasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds even dried beans can grow if you MacGyver them a bit. This may seem like a kindergartener activity but all of us benefit from watching green things grow! Beans in a bag
Read some free comics. Some of my favorites are Days of Hana, I Love Yoo, Let's Play, Cursed Princess Club, My Giant Nerd Boyfriend, Dr. Frost, Hooky, Spirit Fingers and Noblesse. There are many more if anyone would like a longer list let me know. Please keep in mind this is not a site for kids and many of the creators are independent so you never know what your going to get but some of them are really amazing, like make you think of the world differently amazing, some are just fun, some are umm the dark side... so yah I hope you find something that fits your style of entertainment.
Still bored then check out this 15 hour look at the history of film The Story of Film: An Odyssey
For the Kids
Go on a virtual Disney ride Space Mountain , Slinky Dog Dash , It’s A Small World , Frozen Ever After , Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway , Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin , Pirates of the Caribbean , Peter Pan’s Flight and The Seas with Nemo & Friends
Free classes from Center for Interactive Learning
More things to do with your kids Things to do at home
Crayola coloring pages More coloring pages
Dip your toe into homeschooling, Its the biggest coronavirus trend but it's been around and establish for a long time . . . Hmmm maybe now is a good time for a homeschooling PSA: Hay so when you set up a structure of unquestionable authority and are isolated from outside influences it has a tendency to make parents less parents and more monarchs. So be mindful of how strict you get. Without outside eyes homeschool kids end up with a lot of abuse, so maybe don't get too attach to the homeschooling thing in the long run or learn how to do it right with lots of community classes and big groups of homeschool co-ops... because in the long run social isolation is not the way we are meant to live.
KC Zoo Penguin Cam
Replica Tropical Reef Camera
More live cam animals Egles and kittens even more sea life cams
Do the Getty challenge with your kids see how creative they can be while learning about classic paintings
I will keep updating this as I come across things so please send me what you're doing to stay sane, so I can share it with everyone else. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope you make it through in one peace ;) hehe
