5 Device Free Ways My Family & I Entertain Ourselves

The coronavirus hit our nation suddenly and once schools, restaurants and entertainment centers closed a lot of families were left to their own devices to find ways to stay engaged. Streaming services like Netflix and Hulu grew their number of subscribers and became a mainstay for many of us. This was good for the first few weeks but with a bright young boy in the house we needed something that would keep him active and mentally challenged so we tried this:

Getting some fresh air outside is a great way to refresh yourself, get some exercise and minimize your cabin fever. We've taken walks around the neighborhood, my son will run ahead, practice his basketball dribbling skills or ride his scooter to make it more exciting. We also had an outdoor drawing content using sidewalk chalk. This is a great way to stay close to home while having fun that pulls in different visual and artistic skills.

When rain or the snow was in the forecast we remained indoors. In an attempt to limit our screen time we decided to do something challenging that the whole could enjoy.

PUZZLES!!!

​We went for the gold and tried our hands at difficult 100 piece puzzles by @Crazart and TBH we enjoyed more than we thought we would. We had to work together, pay attention to the big picture and the finer details to complete each one. It took us about an hour to finish and we all had a major sense of accomplishment afterwards!

The other pastime we've adopted is playing board games, cards and dominoes. We play one as a family each day usually after lunch. Our favorites: UNO, Sorry, and Monopoly, for quicker games we play best 2 out of 3.

Of course I made time for next level self care and that included multiple makeup applications. The benefit of staying home is that I had plenty of time to create my look for the day. I also found that I was more open to brighter colors and using new techniques because if I didn't like the results no one had to see it.

Finally, there's an activity that we would be working on at this time of year anyway but we are able to maximize results. It's spring cleaning and we are taking no prisoners! So maybe not entertainment but definitely has helped the time pass and breaks up the monotony. Spending weeks inside our home has allowed us to see all of those little areas that need special attention and identify easy projects that we can complete during quarantine. This again allows for collaboration and provides a sense of accomplishment. We've found items we thought we misplaced and purged things that were damaged, broken or stained. Donating has been a bit of a challenge but we have used the bins in our neighborhood for clothing and smaller items.

What are you doing to stay sane while you #stayathome? Need ideas are definitely welcome!