-Amid this time of upheaval, unrest and uncertainty, there is a golden opportunity to be had.
For families, the usual busyness of our lives has been temporarily put on hold. The COVID-19 pandemic we currently find ourselves in, is giving us an opportunity to reconnect. Take advantage of this moment.
I recently read a Facebook post by an American woman, Rebecca Arendell Frank living in Wuhan, China. She wrote the following post seven weeks into their lock down.
“Our family life has never been better. Usually one weekend is long enough before I'm ready to send each of us back to school or work. But for SEVEN weeks, we've been home together with very little outside influences or distraction, forced to reconnect with one another, learn how to communicate better, give each other space, slow down our pace, and be a stronger family than ever before.”
I’d like to hope Canadians will come through this with a fresh new perspective like she has.
With a canceled daycare program and a closed school, I am facing a dilemma common to most parents: kids at home with nothing to do. My 13-year-old and two-year-old have needs, interests and capabilities that are somewhat different, yet similar.
Routine, in my experience, is key for all ages. We all like a little structure to our days – having meals at regular times, a bedtime routine. These things are comforting and predictable. Now is the time to stick to those familiar rituals, but remember to allow for some downtime. Don’t feel you have to fill your children’s days with an endless array of activities.
Reconnect with your family by going for a walk, building a puzzle, making a craft, baking or cooking together, reading books, building forts, planting seeds and pretending this is just an extra-long weekend away.
Remember – we have just finished Spring Break and the province is still figuring out how they are going to be delivering the last few months of the school year outside the classroom. No need to panic about academics yet!
And if you’ve run out of ideas, there’s lots of help out there.
The BC Ministry of Education published a book called, “Let’s Play: Activities for Families”, full of inspiring and fun activities to do with kids.
Looking for some fresh books to read? The public libraries in BC continue to have a huge selection of ebooks, audio books and digital resources on their websites.
You can also check out Epic Books. This free site offers ebooks, games and audio books for kids 0-12 years old.
Enjoy your family time and have fun creating memories around a very pivotal moment in our world history.
Erin Perkins
Community Literacy Coordinator Boundary
Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy
For families, the usual busyness of our lives has been temporarily put on hold. The COVID-19 pandemic we currently find ourselves in, is giving us an opportunity to reconnect. Take advantage of this moment.
I recently read a Facebook post by an American woman, Rebecca Arendell Frank living in Wuhan, China. She wrote the following post seven weeks into their lock down.
“Our family life has never been better. Usually one weekend is long enough before I'm ready to send each of us back to school or work. But for SEVEN weeks, we've been home together with very little outside influences or distraction, forced to reconnect with one another, learn how to communicate better, give each other space, slow down our pace, and be a stronger family than ever before.”
I’d like to hope Canadians will come through this with a fresh new perspective like she has.
With a canceled daycare program and a closed school, I am facing a dilemma common to most parents: kids at home with nothing to do. My 13-year-old and two-year-old have needs, interests and capabilities that are somewhat different, yet similar.
Routine, in my experience, is key for all ages. We all like a little structure to our days – having meals at regular times, a bedtime routine. These things are comforting and predictable. Now is the time to stick to those familiar rituals, but remember to allow for some downtime. Don’t feel you have to fill your children’s days with an endless array of activities.
Reconnect with your family by going for a walk, building a puzzle, making a craft, baking or cooking together, reading books, building forts, planting seeds and pretending this is just an extra-long weekend away.
Remember – we have just finished Spring Break and the province is still figuring out how they are going to be delivering the last few months of the school year outside the classroom. No need to panic about academics yet!
And if you’ve run out of ideas, there’s lots of help out there.
The BC Ministry of Education published a book called, “Let’s Play: Activities for Families”, full of inspiring and fun activities to do with kids.
Looking for some fresh books to read? The public libraries in BC continue to have a huge selection of ebooks, audio books and digital resources on their websites.
You can also check out Epic Books. This free site offers ebooks, games and audio books for kids 0-12 years old.
Enjoy your family time and have fun creating memories around a very pivotal moment in our world history.
Erin Perkins
Community Literacy Coordinator Boundary
Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy
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