15 Things to do During Quarantine

Keep in mind that most of us are actually under a stay at home order, not quarantine. But it is easier to say quarantine, even though the wording is not correct. 

Whether you're about to go stir crazy, or that ship has already sailed, here are 15 ideas to keep you and your little ones busy. 

1. Got a potato with eyes? Grab some soil or dirt (potatoes are not picky!) and a makeshift container, and plant your potato. Kit had a great time doing this. I didn’t have an extra planter, so I poked holes in a plastic bag and lined a laundry basket with it. We planted some potatoes and they’re already sprouting!

I eventually bought some small planters, and we planted more potatoes in there! 

2. Chalk. You’ve probably already thought of this, but if you haven’t, here you go. We (I) wrote a couple of happy chalk messages around our neighborhood. I don’t know if anybody saw them, but it brought us some happiness. 

"C'mon people now, smile on your brother..."

3. Window painting. Many other bloggers out there have so many great ideas! We used just regular acrylic paint and it lasted but was able to wash off with ease. This was right before Easter!

4. Baking and mixed stuff. We've baked bread, muffins, we've made pancakes, tortillas, and cookies. 

5. Find flowers! We're very lucky that here in Hawaii there's tons of beautiful flowering trees. We went flower picking around our neighborhood, and we found yellow, white, orange, and pink flowers. No idea what kind of trees they are, though!

6. Art. Lots and lots of art. We picked up a package of Apple Barrel acrylic paint, generic paint brushes, glitter, yarn, googley eyes, pipe cleaners, construction paper and foam sheets from Walmart. Then I ordered glitter glue and velcro dots from Amazon. I hope to do a different post on the projects we've done, but we've done a sea creatures theme with seahorses (we don't have paper plates, so I had Kit paint on part of a pizza box, then I cut it out into seahorse shape. Kit then added glitter and googley eyes), jellyfish (we used yogurt cups), fish, and squids; we also did butterflies and caterpillars inspired by The Hungry Caterpillar. There are so many great ideas out there. I also just put down a sheet and let Kit go to town on some paper. There's nothing better than imagination!

7. Tea Parties!! My very awesome friend Rowan just sent us this cool tea party set, but you can play tea party with anything. And it's not just for girls.

8. Animal piggyback rides. Kit loves her babies (aka her collection of stuffed animals) and we spent some time carrying them up and down the driveway. I'm sure the neighbors think we're nuts.

9. Birds. Again, another reason for the neighbors to think we are crazy. We threw little bits of bread and bird seed out for the birds and watched them eat. 

10. Drawing. For her, it's scribbling, and for me it's (only slightly) more accurate scribbling. We lay on the floor together and draw on the same or separate papers. 

My rendition of Oona.

11. Reading. She loves this board book, Feminist Baby by Loryn Brantz, given to her by her wonderful aunts. There is also He's a Feminist Too! for boys. Another favorite is Alphabet by Matthew van Fleet, a gift from my cousin!

12. Mix n Match toys. Life is never better than when dinosaurs attend school. Dinosaurs can also have tea parties, stand on blocks, and ride around in carts.

13. FaceTime and Skype. We FaceTime with some of our friends who recently moved, as well as our family.

Kit's godparents! She loves FaceTiming with them... and their cats and chickens.

14. Yeah, we watch TV. Probably more than we should, but sometimes we all need a little break. Daniel Tiger, Bubble Guppies, GoNoodle, and Baby Signing Time are favorites that I feel better about her watching. Also Super Simple Kids on youtube have both English and Spanish versions! There is also Leoncito Alado on youtube. 

15. Dance Parties. Kit's all time favorites are from the 80's. Culture Club, Madonna, Wham!, Earth Wind & Fire, and Deep Purple are all things she likes dancing to. I'd love to post a picture but I don't have any at the moment.