Staying at home for an extended period will be challenging for many of us, so make use of these tips and ideas to help ease the process for yourself and your family.

What’s off limits?

  • Visits outside your home or in your home
  • Playdates & playground equipment
  • Groups of kids, teens or adults
  • Hugs, kisses, handshakes with people outside your home

If you leave your home, remember:

  • Stay at least 2 metres (6 feet) away from people
  • Do not touch your face
  • Sneeze & cough into your sleeve
  • Wash your hands with soap as soon as you return
  • But stay home if you’re sick

Do your own health check-up everyday

  • Physical
  • Emotional
  • Mental
  • Spiritual
  • Ask for help when you need it!

Ideas to keep the kids busy:

  • Talent show
  • Sock puppets
  • Toilet paper dolls
  • Scavenger hunt
  • Nature diary
  • Photoshoot
  • Create a secret code
  •  Obstacle course
  • Treasure hunt
  • Make a board game
  • No blinking contest
  • Paper planes
  • Cloud watching
  • Stargazing
  • Dance party
  • Silence contest
  • Create an invention
  • Car wash
  • Write a rap
  • Archeologist dig
  • Draw a map (real or fantasy!)
  • Make a movie

But what do we do!?!

Lead your family with love, and create this self-isolating experience with care. Make it a time you’ll look back on with fondness.

  • Feel your emotions. Cry your eyes out, yell into a pillow, laugh yourself silly. Don’t bottle it up.
  • Stay healthy! Get 7-9 hours of sleep. Eat nutritious food. Get some exercise. Laugh.
  • Make a loose daily schedule. Connect with kids, chores, lego challenge, screen time, healthy meal, fresh air, quiet time, etc.
  • Clean up the clutter. Organize cupboards. Open the windows. Wipe down surfaces. Empty closets. Change out towels, washcloths, handkerchiefs often.
  • Change things up! Trade roles for a day so kids make meals & plans. Trade bedrooms for a week. Eat supper for breakfast. Wear your clothes backward.
  • Imaginative play. Don’t just watch a movie, play “theatre”. Make tickets & posters, set up chairs, make popcorn. Don’t just have supper, play “restaurant”. Make a menu, have servers, write a review.
  • Create a personal happiness file. Think of 5 happy moments of your life, and write them down or keep them in mind. When your spirits sink, bring out a memory and let it shine.
  • Get in touch with our culture. Interview an Elder. Learn some new phrases. Try a traditional craft.
  • Make memories. Cook everyone’s fave recipe. Watch all the Harry Potter movies. Make up a story together, one sentence at a time. Create a family symbol.
  • Write a letter to a community hero, your future self, your child.
  • Talk about what you’re missing, what’s difficult right now, what you look forward to.
  • Create alone space. Make a blanket tent in the corner. Turn around a chair so it faces the wall. Respect people’s needs.
  • Try something new: meditation, audiobooks, yoga, sketching, singing, juggling, learn an instrument!
  • Try to stay calm. Breathe deeply. Be patient. Love.
  • Keep a journal of this unique time in history. Try videos, drawings, writing, photos. Make a family time capsule!
  • Stay connected to others. Send photos, texts, voice messages. Drop off a drawing on someone’s front steps.
  • Care for your spirit by indulging your senses.
    • Sight: Watch the sunset. Colour a picture. Wear your fave colour.
    • Sound: Sing. Make your child laugh. Squelch in the mud.
    • Smell: Identify spring smells outside. Talk about fave smells.
    • Taste: Do a blind taste test. Eat a slice of lemon. Try a new recipe.
    • Touch: Give a hand massage. Brush someone’s hair. Pet a pet.

Remember…

  • All feelings are OK.
  • Gratitude feels good.
  • There’s happiness in our future.
  • We’re safe at home, not stuck at home.
  • This too shall pass.

Our great-grandparents were asked to sign up for war. We’re being asked to stay on the couch. We can do this!

For more information on COVID-19 please call
(807) 407-8791