As we are halfway through our THIRD week of confinement and it appears that confinement will last until the end of April minimum at least (OMG), I thought I’d share a few of our favourite things to do (on top of the school work of course 😉 if anyone is running short on ideas !
- Play Board games as a family – My kids love Monopoly (a bit too much for my youngest mountain girl…it’s verging on addiction!), La Bonne paie (French game), Cat bingo, our version of Happy families 😊…or just good old fashioned cards.
- Take the time to Cook/Bake as a family…we have been doing themed evenings – Mexican, Italian etc. and letting the kids get involved (with varying degrees of success). We also did some cookies last week (I burnt the second batch (I was attempting to fold washing at the same time) and my youngest managed to drop the whole jar of flour on the floor…😉). Daddy in the Mountains did cupcakes this w/e too 😉
- Try some of the online yoga or fitness classes – we have discovered a few new ones too. So far we have really enjoyed Cosmic Kids Yoga (Youngest Mountain girl – it’s more adapted to under 8 I think), Le Tigre Yoga (Which has adults sessions at 11h & kids 17h daily) and the UK The Body Coach “P.E. with Joe” morning workouts (10 am French time) which started last Monday 🙂 Quite fun for adults to join in too…
- Watch some classic movies – Check out these lists by MytravelDreams – one for classic films and one for cartoons– there are some great ones. We have the tricky task of finding something a 5 year old and an 11 year old enjoy...any top tips? We’re going to start Matilda by Roald Dahl tonight. We watched Charlotte’s web and all the girls loved that one 🙂
- Get creative – My girls love doing activities (and so do I ;-)…Luckily). We also have lots of things from Father Christmas & Birthdays that we hadn’t had the chance to do…from origami animals to jungle gardens etc. I am a big fan of Handmade Charlotte too and will be trying some of her things next week 🙂 Local shops Au Pays des Miniz and La Renarde Apprivoisée stock fun things and are still delivering. You can also download our Annecy Colouring in here
- Read – start a new book with the kids. My middle daughter actually designed and wrote her own book for her little sister (inspired by T’Choupi)…we are now working on the illustrations. Very cute and was her own idea!
- Watch a documentary. Our faves National Geographic for Kids, C’est pas sorcier et Petit Malabar (for little ones)
- Learn something new and travel differently (whether it be typing, a new language…whatever – we have attempted some Spanish, as we had family from Madrid, Spain due to visit and a trip to Spain planned which will have to be rescheduled). We have also been revising our geography differently with magnets and stickers…
- Get some fresh air daily we are very lucky to have a garden with swings and a trampoline and the girls are loving it, despite not being able to go horse riding they have also created a circuit with jumps in the garden where they pretend to be horses!!! They are loving that too… (maybe the neighbours a bit less…)
- Tidy – Let your kids redesign their bedrooms (and then tidy it!!). My girls tend to be good at the redesigning and then wander off when it needs tidying…I have heard lots of online reports of kids making dens, somewhere where they feel safe. Encourage this.
- Dare I suggest letting them build an indoor obstacle course too. I still have fond memories doing this as a child…The carpet was the sea etc. Just be prepared for some temporary mess!
- Garden – a great opportunity to start some gardening. Daddy in the mountains is taking full control here…and the kids are really enjoying this. If you don’t have a garden – you can make an indoor one 🙂 We had a kit from Father Christmas but an empty yogurt pot, some cotton and beans (lentils, kidney, white beans…do the job too)
- The most important of all…keep in contact with freinds and loved ones.
It has to be said that we have been inspired by so many other amazing initiatives online and resources.
MY PERSONAL FAVES SO FAR :
www.mytraveldreams.com – a HIVE of top tips, colouring in to download, fun activities to do, films to watch, highlights of brands that are doing their bit to help…RESPECT you guys ROCK.
The facebook Group – Parents survivants au confinement – which frequently has lots of top tips and ressources.
We are loving some brand specific content too ( List not exhasutive by any means)
Catimini is particuarly good. They have launched “The GOOD MOOD Class” with top tips for kids, to remember to stay positive. The first one was dedicated to Posture. They also had a stylist Competition – where you could decorate a dress, using their app and have the chance to get it made (most votes) which eldest Mountain girl did 🙂 They also have lots to download from fun masks to free giant colouring in…We’ve downlaoaded quite a lot from here.
Petit Bateau – (look at their stories) has cool initiatives too…from storytelling, to podcasts to DIY activities.
Doolittle magazine – Look at their stories . They launched a fun initative giving kids the chance to express themselves. Kids had to express what they thought of their “new teachers” and rate them with the hashtag #ecoleàlamaison …I haven’t let mine loose on that yet!!
A few other special mentions to Les Louves (great content),Chef Bambino (Fun healthy, seasonal recipies to do with the kids)…
If you have some other ideas…top tips please share ! I think we’re going to need them!
Remember #stayhome #staysafe and as difficult as it is view this time as an opportunity.
