The New Normal
Coronabadge
Mode: Art
Time: 30 min
Why can I still see some people outside?
While some of us can work from home or stay safe inside, our neighbors have really important jobs that mean they have to leave.
Some examples: Doctors and nurses have to go to the hospital to help people get better.
Police officers have to keep the streets safe and in some places their job is even to make sure people stay inside.
Supermarket cashiers have to make sure that everyone can get food to eat at home. Who else needs to go outside to do their jobs?
Why can I see still see some people outside?
Activity: Coronabadge
What You Need
Paper
Scissors
Markers/crayons
Tape
How To Play
Have you seen the badges that policemen wear? They help us know who they are. Sometimes, people get badges when they do a good job at something
(Use an example your child might be familiar with, like scouting, the military, or a sticker they might get at school for a good deed)
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We’re going to make badges for those people that have to keep going to work every day. Who are some of those people?
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Doctors, Nurses, Policy officers, Truck drivers...
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1. Help your child cut out small shapes as badges.
2. Draw and decorate the badge for people who are doing important jobs
Educational moment: Help your child think through why some jobs are essential. What are these people doing?
3. Make badges for people in your home, including the things they are good at. For example, Dad might get a tomato badge for his cooking skills.
4. Use tape to attach the badges to the people in your household.
These badges can be gifts for anyone, or they can be used in your next role-playing
The New Normal
Helpful Hero's
Mode: Art
Time: 20 min Crafting + Playtime
What can our family do to help with the Coronavirus?
The best thing we can do is stay at home until the people in charge tell us it’s ok to go back outside again.
That way the people who still have to be outside don’t get sick.
But there are still ways for us to be helpful heroes.
What are some ways that we can all be helpful heroes?
What can our family do to help with the Coronavirus?
Activity: Helpful Heroes
What You Need
A largecloth (~3 feet square) or a crib sheet. Even a towel could work!
Safety pins or needle and thread if you’re making a permanent cape
How To Play
Let's be superheroes today!
1. What do superheroes have in common?
2. They wear a belt!
3. They wear their underwear outside of their pants! (Don't worry, nobody is going to see us today)
4. They have a CAPE!! Let's make one!
Follow instructions below to make a cape.
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5. Once your cape is ready to go, talk about what your imaginary and real-life super powers might be. Super-cuddler? Super pancake maker?
~6 in/ 15 cm
safety pins
pins to prevent tripping
1. Lay out fabric
2. Fold
3. Make sleeves
4. Adjust to size
The New Normal
Bingo on the window
Mode: Imagination
Time: 5-7 min
What’s going on outside?
Even though we’re stuck inside most of the time, there’s still a lot going on outside.
Are animals and plants staying inside? Of course not, they live outside! The coronavirus doesn’t affect them.
Some people are walking outside: what are they doing? Where are they going?
Are cars passing by?
Let’s take a look to see what’s going on out there!
What's going on outside?
Activity: Bingo on the window
What You Need
Windows with panes (or masking tape to make sections)
Post-its or dry erase markers
How To Play
1. Find a window where your kid can look out
[If there are panes, great! If not, use the tape to
make panes or sections on your window.]
2. What types of things are passing by your window?
Cars? Birds? The color yellow?
3. Pick a few items to be part of your Bingo on the Window--make them relevant to your neighborhood.
4. Now set a timer for 1-3 minutes looking outside the window.
Each time one of your assigned items shows up in one of your Bingo boxes, add a post-it or draw a mark on the window.
5. See how many marks you can get before the timer goes off!
6. You can play multiple rounds at different times of day. What’s going on out there? Is it different than this morning or last night? How many dogs did we see?
7. Level-up! When you’re ready to reset the categories, teach your kid how to wash the window, so they can see even more next time!
Parental guidance: Another way to play this game is to cover the pane with sudsy soap instead of "checking it off" and then wiping off all the soap suds once the game is complete.
The New Normal
Grow a plant
Mode: Experimentation
Time: 10 min + Daily Monitoring
Is there anything GOOD about the coronavirus?
It’s always nice to look on the bright side! It’s fun to hang out with our family, don’t you think? I’m having fun spending more time with you!
When we have fewer people to visit and fewer places to go, we can focus better on things.
Another thing that’s happening is that while humans are staying in their houses, nature is finding places to grow where it usually doesn’t have space.
Looking out the window, can you see or hear any ways that nature is finding space? Is spring coming? Are plants or leaves growing?
Can you focus better on the birds chirping when you don’t hear lots of cars going by?
Parental guidance: Grown-ups, do your best to sound sincere here!
Is there anything GOOD about the coronavirus?
Activity: Grow a plant
What You Need
Clear cup or bowl
Piece of tape
Marker
Water
A vegetable clipping
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Base of celery, fennel bulb, head of lettuce, or green onions (with roots)
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The top of turnip, parsnip, or beet
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1-3 stems of cilantro, basil, parsley
How To Play
1. Pick your vegetable clipping
2. Find a clear cup or bowl that will hold your clipping and fill it with water
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Celery, Fennel, Green Onions, Beets, Turnips, Parsnips and Lettuce should all be covered with water
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The Cilantro, Basil, or Parsley should sit in water but their leaves should stay dry
3. Mark where the water line is with tape or a marker
4. Have your kid practice their letters by making a label for your plant.
5. Place your cup or bowl in a sunny place
6. Let's check on it everyday
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Did the plant grow?
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Did the water disappear? Where did it go?
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Add water to replace what was absorbed
7. Once it's ready, cook something together using what you grew!
While the coronavirus is happening outside and we're all stuck inside, things are still growing!
The New Normal
Souvenir Relay
Mode: Movement
Time: 15 min
Is the coronavirus all over the world?
Yeah! They have it in Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Africa…
But not yet in Antarctica! It’s hard for people to get it all the way down there.
Do you know where all these places are?
It spread because so many people love to visit new places!
Do you remember the last time you visited a new place?
We can’t go anywhere new right now, so let’s take a trip around our home!
Is the coronavirus all over the world?
Activity: Souvenir Relay
What You Need
3-5 “Souvenirs” - could be real souvenirs from past trips, stuffed animals, toys
Obstacles for your kid:
Pillows to jump over
Tables to crawl under
A line of tape to walk along (maybe in a zig zag?)
How To Play
1. Put 1 souvenir in each room. Each room is a place you’ve visited.
2. Design an obstacle course with your kid. Walk through it, make sure they understand what they’re supposed to do at each step.
3. Practice it with them!
4. Add obstacles to jump over or tables to crawl under to make it a bit more challenging (and last longer).
5. Now from the starting line, the kid is going to race and pick up 1 souvenir at a time and bring it back. Keep going until all the souvenirs are back with the grown-up. Once they’re all in one place, it’s time to take the souvenirs back to where they came from. Again one at a time!
6. Use a stopwatch, see if your kid can get faster and faster!
When you travel, you bring things home with you. Some people brought the coronavirus with them when they traveled, and that's how it spread around the world.
Parental guidance: Another answer to this question could be to have themed dinners based on countries you know the coronavirus has visited.
The New Normal
Build a fort
Mode: Imagination
Time: 15 min + Playtime
I'm bored! Can I have a new toy?
Staying inside is kind of like going on an adventure. You have to think ahead and plan for what you need, like food, clothes, or toys.
We can have adventures inside without having to buy new things.
How about if we make a new space for you to have an adventure?
I'm bored! Can I have a new toy?
Activity Build a fort
What You Need
Pillows
Blankets
Chairs/Sofa
Whatever your kid “needs”
How To Play
1. Do you want a place all your own to hang out? Let’s make a fort!
2. Wherever you can give your little kid a place to hang-out and play, use some chairs as structures and drape some blankets over top. Add comfort and ambiance with pillows, decorations, etc.
3. What do you want to keep with you?
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What are your favorite snacks?
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What toys do you want in your fort?
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Do you want some books?
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How about a change of clothes?
4. Once your kid is in the fort, let them tell you the rules...
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What are the rules of the fort?
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Am I allowed inside? Why?
Sometimes just having your own space can be an adventure. You don't always need new things for things to feel new.
Parental guidance: Maybe the fort can become a hospital?