Hi, friends. Happy Friday. The craziness continues. Today, I've thrown our schedule out the window. I told my kids to go do whatever they want. They're currently building a city in my living room with every couch cushion and pillow we own. TJ-BLey Donuts and Sugar Rush (Caroline's Candy Store). On my desk is a stack of snacks they keep delivering to me after I "order" off of their "menus." Entrepreneurs in the making. Team Simplified is made up of eight women, all different ages, some with kiddos, some without. But the fun part about all our kiddos is that they range every age from age five months all the way up to high school. Here's what they are up to during this crazy time! We hope this gives you some ideas for your own kids.
From Whitney Hawkins (creative director)
Rob, 21 months
- Playing outside as much as possible!
- Baking with mom and dad
- Helping clean up the house
- Coloring and reading
- Lots of Busy Toddler sensory activities
Jessa Bray (art director)
Leland, age 6
- All the art things (painting, coloring, drawing, light board)
- Messy Table time (kinetic sand, the devils toy: slime, play doh)
- Lunch outside on our stoop & short walk up and down Main Street (apartment life)
- Learning how to use the floor steamer
- 15 minute clean up with music all around the house using our “flash” skills. quick.
- Tablet time in increments of 20 minutes when I go to put Lucy down for a nap.
- Just Dance game with mama (get out all the energy and try to beat me won’t happen)
Lucy, 5 months
- Thrilled bubba is home watching his every move, life seems normal.
Dusty (community development director)
Kaleigh & Addi (ages 16 and 13)
- Each nigh we're naming something to look forward to
- Home spa days *face masks, painting nails, homemade hair treatments)
- Nightly walks
- Crafts…yes, even for this age
- Coloring
- Turning old tee shirts into crops or vintage looking shirts
- Painting
- Sitting in the sun for thirty minutes a day
- Reading
- Lots of Tik Toks
- Practicing and learning new braids
- Looking up and helping with new recipes
Taylor (administrative director)
Kennedy, age 1
The day before, I choose one indoor and one outdoor activity for the next day. That gives me time to round up any materials needed and starting the day with a plan in mind is also a plus. We're embracing a cadence approach vs. a schedule. The rest of the day falls into place with meals, snacks, naps, and work.
- Music time: age appropriate instruments, pots and pans and wooden spoons, playing music/sing/dance, shake containers with rice/beans.
- Arts/crafts: Coloring sheet taped to a table (I suggest covering the table with Kraft paper first.), hand prints with paint, tearing colored paper and gluing it down.
- Sensory play: plastic bag with hair gel, sequins, and beads (tape to the table or supervise her holding and squeezing it)
- Reading books (basically flipping the pages and babbling)
- Build a fort, stack Tupperware on top of each other to knock it down
- Enjoy the sunshine: going for a walk, eating lunch outside, placing her jumper on the back porch to enjoy a popsicle (frozen fruit in a mesh feeder), plug in the bubble machine, swing
- Sensory play: (for these you can lay down a plastic shower curtain or tarp of some sort for an easier clean up) jello dig- place plastic toys in the jello when you make it, a plastic tub of soap and water and plastic toys
Brittany (director of sales and operations)
Douglas, age 3
- Constructing lots of wooden train tracks
- Building legos
- Playing play-doh
- Reading books
- Taking neighborhood walks and bike rides!
- It’s so hard to communicate to a 3.5 year-old what’s happening in our world, why we can’t go to the playground, or see our neighbor friends, but we’re doing our best to fill the time with a balance of structured time and independent free play.
Emily (me!)
Brady, Tyler, and Caroline (ages 9, 5, and 5)
- Building forts
- Watching Harry Pottery movies
- Playing school
- ABC Mouse and Adventure Academy online
- Coloring
- Playing Creation Station (get out all the craft things and let them go to town)
- Going for walks
- Jumping in our bounce house
- Swimming (its warm in Florida, thank goodness)
- Playing with bubbles
- Dress up and playing pretend
- Legos
- Helping mom cook and keep the house picked up
I hope these ideas are helpful to you! We're sending you love and prayers while we all get through this thing. Have you signed up for texts from Simplified yet? Simply text SIMPLIFIED to 29071.
