Fun Things To Do Over Quarantine

There are so many fun things to do over quarantine with your family, it’s getting overwhelming. When people say they’re bored, I’m thinking it has more to do with motivation than boredom. Even if we didn’t have kids to attend to, without all of the extra free classes, lessons, tours, concerts etc., we’d still not be bored!

Our family has adjusted to the lockdown orders easily. My husband is a major introvert and because of this quarantine, he’s had plenty of time to re-charge alone giving him a ton of extra motivation to clean the garage and basement! Tasks that haven’t been done in years!

I was already staying home to work part-time and be with our toddler. We had to slightly adjust our schedule with no library music classes or swim lessons but otherwise, life is the same. Thankfully I’d taught our kindergartener at home last year so eLearning has been easy for both of us to adjust to.

I’m telling you this to give you a sense of where our heads are at. We’re doing well. We’re able to take on the challenge of some of these new programs and offerings that businesses are providing. If you are stressed out from homeschooling multiple older children, working at home (or out of the home), and the 100 other things that are making life difficult right now, please don’t feel the need to try a new hobby. Just focus on you and what works best for you right now.

Games

We’ve been playing a lot more games. Virtual games, board games, and even escape room type games. Here are some of our favorite games to play as a family and as a couple.

Stardew Valley- I know a lot of people are playing Animal Crossing these days but my husband got me hooked on Stardew Valley. We play it on the Nintendo Switch and hook it up to our TV so we can all play together. I’m not a big gamer but with Sims and Stardew Valley I could play it all day without stopping and continue to dream about it when I go to bed. I love it!

Dispatch Game to do over quarantine — Dispatch by Breakout

Breakout Game- We were contacted by Dispatch to see if we wanted to try out an at-home escape room type game. We were up for trying and after playing the first box for 5 minutes were completely hooked. Dispatch is a mystery-in-a-box adventure that tests your detective skills with a series of physical and virtual clues.

We played The Cat’s Eye which was a two-box series. Once you complete one box, you’ll be sent next. Each box took us 1-1.5 hours to solve so it was a really fun date night after we put the girls to bed! There is one series with 7 boxes we really want to try! The storyline and puzzles were really awesome but we were most impressed with the quality of the props. Everything was so well thought out and looked authentic (like a real newspaper, a magnifying glass or a blacklight to read secret messages.)

Board Games- Our favorite games to play as a family or as a couple are Blokus, Ticket to Ride (including the kid’s version), Rummikub, Yahtzee, Carcassone, Jenga, Forbidden Island, and Qwirkle.

Jackbox– Jackbox Games are becoming very popular right now as a way to play games with people virtually. We used to play this game at our house when we’d have friends over and now we’re playing it over video chat so we can still see our friends. There are lots of types of games from Pictionary type games to trivia games. I like how they have instructions on how how to set up a virtual game with friends as well as how to use their games for homeschool lessons on their homepage.

Screen Time

There has been an abundance of Broadway performances, basement concerts, educational programming, and more all dumped online very quickly. It was awesome to see so many people pour their talents online for us to consume for free. I’d realized it was becoming overwhelming and I felt like It was a job to keep up with everything we wanted to be able to watch/do. The things that we like coming back to the most are:

Books read by our friends- We really enjoy reading books as a family and Sophia is doing an awesome job of reading picture books now. Sometimes, though, we like to hear stories from other people. That’s when we started watching my best friend Emily read books on YouTube. Her an a teacher friend read books every day so their students can have a chance to hear a story and relax.

Mo Willems- We are huge Mo Willems fans. We loved his exhibit at The Children’s Museum, have his books and the Piggie and Gerald stuffed animals. Soph’s grandparents took her to see the play and Lilly is now reciting the books for us over dinner! We were so excited to see that he shares a lunchtime doodle from his studio and talks about his books. We just can’t get enough of him!

Art For Kids Hub- Another favorite for both Sophia and myself is Art For Kids Hub. We both want to improve our drawing but neither likes practicing from a book. Art For Kids Hub is a father and his kids drawing something together. You see both the father’s art alongside the child as they teach you had to draw. There are many levels of drawing so you could learn how to draw an ice cream cone or how to shade a cool dragon.

The Children’s Museum At Home- The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is one of our very favorite places to visit. We love learning through hands-on experience in their exhibits. They’ve been amazing at keeping TONS of content up for us at their At Home series. They have everything from crafts to storytime to virtual chats with experts. Our favorite things to watch are their science experiments.

Conner Prairie- Conner Prairie is our very favorite place to visit around Indy. We can go for an entire day or just a half-hour if we want. We love going to see the new baby animals, playing at the treehouse and chatting with our friends in Prairie town. Spring is our favorite time to visit because there are new baby animals being born weekly. We’re sad to be missing their programs right now as well as their summer camp.

Thankfully they’ve been creating tons of content sharing what’s been going on on their grounds as well as some cool information on how prairie life would have looked. Their Conner Prairie At Home program shares videos on crafts, cooking, history, and animals.

Libby- The library was another weekly place we’d visit to pick up new books, join a class, or dance with Mr. Daniel. With them closed, we were unable to get our hands on some of the early reader chapter books Sophia was just beginning to take interest in. Thankfully Libby had us covered with TONS of free books online.

Harry Potter Readings- My favorite weekly treat are the Harry Potter readings on the Wizarding World At Home app. I’ve read all of the Harry Potters multiple times, saw all the movies the night they released, and have been a big fan of the series for a long time. Nothing is more special than Daniel Radcliff reading the first chapter from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Each new reader is so amazing and I just love listening to them read the chapters.

I would love to know what things you’ve been doing at home that have made you smile or have brought your family together. There is so much to be grateful for and I hope that you and your family are doing well. We’re in this together.