During a pandemic, some people have no option but to self-isolate, and others are put into quarantine to get better control of the disease and stop its spread. These extreme measures can put a strain on some relationships, especially closely-knit families who see each other often and do things together. In some cases, a parent has to be isolated from their kids, and that can profoundly affect parent-child relationships. Reconnecting with family is important.
Staying connected during a pandemic is very important for families. By just practicing a few habits, you and your family can come out of an epidemic even stronger than before. Here are some practical ways to encourage you to stay connected with your family when self-isolating:
Reconnecting with family members during a pandemic
Talk about the situation
Talk about the disease and why it is essential to maintain a period of isolation. Go on to discuss in detail how the separation will go and what methods of communication you will adopt to stay in touch. Make it a must to give each other regular updates until the period of isolation is over.
Talking is the healthiest way of dealing with any issues related to emotions. If you want your relationships to survive a pandemic lockdown or to repair fractured relations, you have to take some time to talk to your loved ones.
Check-in with texts and video calls
Check on your loved ones through regular texts and video calls. We live in the technology era, which makes it possible to remain connected with people regardless of the distance. It is even possible to have group calls where the whole family can participate in different locations.
Play online games together
Staying connected with family does not mean talking and chatting alone. You have to incorporate other activities that you can do together. Playing games online, together as a family, can maintain the connection needed to get through a lockdown with minimum damage.
There are different kinds of games online to suit various family interests. Depending on the sort of things you like as a family, you can play board games, sports games, role play, strategy, adventure, etc.
Work on a family project from a distance
Another way to reconnect with family members is to start a family project. A family project will ensure that you frequently communicate as a family. It will also bring about some challenges that you will have to work together to overcome, thereby uniting the family.
The family project does not have to be complicated; it could be starting a family YouTube channel, blogging, or business. You could also start preparing the family’s genealogical tree.
Plan a future family get-together or vacation
While you are in self-isolation or lockdown, try to work together as a family to plan the next gathering or family vacation. You can give each other tasks to do and make decisions together until the whole plan comes along. Planning together gives family members the feeling of being loved and being relevant, which plays a significant role in building connections and reconnecting for those who had lost touch.
Help each other with goals and resolutions
Encourage each other to come up with goals and resolutions. Discuss and establish each other’s vision board and come up with a mutual vision board as a family. Help each other evaluate past achievements and failures and map up new objectives for when the pandemic is over.
By being involved in each other’s lives, you build a stronger bond, guaranteed to withstand any crisis that may threaten to shake your walls.
Time to forgive and reunite
A time of crisis is an excellent opportunity to tackle past hurts. Talk about these issues openly with the relevant family member and forgive or ask forgiveness where necessary. Paradoxical, though it may seem, a pandemic is an opportune moment to mend and start over any broken or wounded relationship with other family members.
It may hurt at first when dealing with these issues, especially if there were deeply buried emotions. Still, the intense feeling of relief and restoration will be liberating once relationships are mended.
When a pandemic strikes, life as you know it, will be altered. You’ll be forced to make decisions that could impact the health of your family. While certain things may cease to function, you can’t ignore a child’s education. It may take a while for the local school districts to come up with “distance learning” so you will find yourself figuring out How to Start Homeschooling your own kids.
If schools are still operating, you’ll be forced to send your child to school. During a pandemic, this could be a bad thing for your child and your family because wherever large groups of people congregate, the germs can thrive.
This simple fact is why when one child gets sick in a school or daycare center, the illness spreads so quickly. This fact is also an excellent example of one of the reasons that during the H1N1 pandemic, approximately 600 schools closed down temporarily in an attempt to stop the virus from being spread among the children.
How to Start Homeschooling Your Kids during a Pandemic
That wasn’t the first time the swine flu caused massive school closures. Some of the schools reacted by allowing the students to learn online at home, which is a form of homeschooling.
Deciding to homeschool is not an easy one to make – especially if you’ve never done it before. However, in a pandemic, it can turn out to be what’s best and safest for your family.
Knowing when to homeschool should depend on the outbreak numbers you see, as reported by the news and other media. You need to stay on top of how many families with kids are calling in sick.
For example, in the swine flu outbreak, almost half the students at one school called in sick. Before it reaches those proportions, it’s time to keep your child at home for schooling.
Before You Start
You can find out from your child’s school where your student is in the learning process of each subject, and you can pick up from there so that he doesn’t lose out on any schooling.
You want to be prepared now for homeschooling. You can purchase books online in your child’s grade level – including teacher workbooks, answer keys, and lesson plans.
Look specifically for subjects your child is currently taking. Find matching quiz and test booklets or make your tests from the text your child is reading. You can buy field equipment your child will need for biology such as microscopes, slides, and specimens.
How to Start Homeschooling
Load up on books
Anything you can buy that will give your child a hands-on experience will help his education. You can buy books at bookstores and thrift stores. The local library also often has textbooks on sale for pennies on the dollar.
You can find algebra books, foreign language books, science, psychology, and more. There’s so much information available that your child could end up better prepared educationally when he can return to school.
Ultimate Homeschool Planner
We whipped this gem up for you to help keep track of everything you might need to know so you can stay organized. Hands down the largest challenge are staying on task/track when homeschool planning. If you are looking for homeschool planning pages then we have you covered with a daily lesson plan pages set as well as a printable homeschool calendar.,
Get your FREE Printable Homeschool Planner from us here:
Start now printing off any materials you think you’ll use. Some homeschool websites will list resources, and you can print off lesson plans as well as lesson samples.
While you are at it, find a few “fun things” to mix in for them, look for sites like THIS ONE to get ideas on movie studies, book report activities, or even seasonal worksheets.
Some online sites – such as Amazon – list some homeschooling digital books for free, so that would take care of a portion of what you need. You’ll want to have a lesson plan book and keep meticulous records of what your child learned so that you have a way to show accountability to the state that you live in.
Check the regulations
Each state has different laws about homeschooling, so get informed now. You’ll also want to keep records of the day and hours your child worked on schoolwork so that you have attendance and time records.
Get Connected
It is very likely that you are not alone in this. Join online homeschooling groups to share hints and tips, as well as get them, from other parents who are in the same boat as you are.
You stuck at home and have some time on your hands? YouTube is your friend. You can how-tos about anything on there, and here is a list of what we suggest you brush up on, and why.
If you are now finding yourself with a little extra time on your hands, it is the perfect time to add to your skills list by using this precious time to help make you better prepared for the future.
Things to Learn During Quarantine
There are literally dozens of things you could choose to attack and master, but we have a list of some of the most necessary survival skills to master.
Basic Knots
Knots are very useful for emergency shelter making, improvising snares, fishing nets, even simply an emergency clothesline or way to hang your equipment off the ground while camping.
When you browse the internet, chances are you will come across as many as sixteen or even more different types of knots. But all knots are not essential unless you are a sailor or a climber. Learn just two or three basic knots and get the job done.
A quick video all about 7 Essential Knots You Need To Know
Fire Starting
Fire starting, one of the survival skills, is not for the faint-hearted as you need to adopt friction-based fire-starting or any other primitive method. It is a great time to learn how to start a fire without a match or a lighter.
Learning to identify plants is no mean achievement even for the full-time students of botany. It might seem too tedious and technical at first, but it will sure build your knowledge of plant identification.
30 medicinal plants the Native Americans used on a daily basis
It is the best time to upgrade your plant identification skills to the next level
Learn what plants are right on your doorstep that can be used as food, medicine or poisons
All of us love maintaining a beautiful garden in our backyard or near the entrance. But are we aware that there are plants that can be used as food and medicine and are available easily?
Plants like Yarrow, Mullein, and Dandelion have great medicinal properties, and they are edible too. Want to learn more? Check out www.eattheweeds.com to gain more plant knowledge.
Change your Tire
Changing a tire is an effortless skill that all car owners should know. A lack of knowledge could leave you stranded on the side of the road. When you learn how to change a tire, there will be no need to wait for roadside emergency services that can leave you waiting for hours. What is even worse? When you are ini a location that has no cell phone signal.
Map Reading
The lockdown is an excellent opportunity for learning, and it is never too late to get acquainted with the art of map reading. With the advent of sat-navs and Google Maps, people have ignored the good old skills of map reading.
When you acquire this skill, you will not be in a soup next time your cell phone battery dies or fails to get a network on a hiking trip.
Vehicle Repair
The quarantine period can be best utilized to learn skills that will help us to save money in the long run. If you know the basics of vehicle repair, then you need not run to the mechanic every time.
Tasks like changing the oil or flushing the coolant, are great DIY projects that you can easily learn, implement, and save a lot of money in the process. Granted cars are not as easy to work on as they sued to be with all of the electronics, but there is still a lot that you CAN do yourself.
Animal Keeping – Chicken, Sheep, Pigs, etc
Have you ever thought of rearing farm animals? Now is the time to learn the required skills to raise chicken, sheep, or similar farm animals. When you run a small backyard hobby farm, your family can have access to grass feed meat, and dairy for the whole year.
You will get fresh raw milk, be safe from artificial cheese, and enjoy chemical-free eggs. Sadly, not all cities let you have chickens or small livestock, but you MIGHT be able to.
Hunting with either a bow or a rifle
Many of us had an interest in hunting, but we missed out due to our difficult office schedules. It is an excellent time to hunt for some fresh meat, but if you are planning to use bow and arrow, then you need to keep the distance shorter at 30 yards.
Hunting helps you to bond with your children and this quarantine period is a good time to do that. Make sure you stick to the current hunting season and laws.
First Aid
Teaching yourself basic first aid is an excellent way of empowering yourself, and it can have very positive knock-off effects as well. First aid education will help you to help others in times of need, and it will also help your family understand the importance of good health and what it means to be fit and well.
We all know that sewing is a lost art, but a huge number of individuals have gone back to this craft during this time, and there has been a sort of renaissance lately. When you learn how to repair or make items of clothing, it can be a rewarding experience.
If you have kids at home, they will love the needlework. A simple task to start with is making face masks. There are several places you can get patterns online.
Soap Making
During this lockdown, the soaps and hand washes are fast running out of shelves. You can learn the art of soap making so that you can have ready stock at home. Making soap at home is a satisfying skill to learn. Soap making is fun and not at all difficult, as you might think. You can see a few fun recipes HERE to get you started.
Water Sources and Different ways to Catch Water
Want to do something very creative? You can learn about the different ways to catch water so that you can use it to water your livestock, vegetable garden, flowers, and even use it for drinking purposes. DIY rainwater harvesting is great art, and you can ask your kids to join in.
Safety as a woman
The quarantine period has some disadvantages, and the safety of women has become an essential topic of discussion today. Domestic violence has increased manifold, and they are often under-reported. It is a great time to learn some safety tips and survival skills so that women enjoy a better and safe position in society.
Making Moonshine
One should thank the quarantine period for the newfound love for moonshine. The brakes on the sale of hard drinks have disappointed lots of people, and this has led many individuals to try their hand at making moonshine at home.
There are several videos on YouTube that will teach us to make moonshine at home but we found a few recipes here: Moonshine Recipes.
Smoking Meats and other foods
If you are fond of cooking but rued the fact that you hardly got time for it, then make good use of the quarantine and learn how to smoke meat and other food items.
Karl Engel, head chef at Pigcasso BBQ in Tulsa, gives us the lowdown on the basics of smoking meat.
Remember, smoking meat is culinary science, and it requires accurate temperature and time control. Smoking meat is not new in any culture, and you can have it with a glass of beer o make it a complete meal.
Preserving Foods with Salt
Since you will not feel like cooking every day of the lockdown, it makes sense to learn how to preserve food with salt. The value of salt in preserving food items is highly prized, and meat and fish are covered with salt to check the growth of bacteria. Salt is also used to preserve raw mangoes, tamarind, etc.
Sourdough Starter
It is the perfect time to learn to make a sourdough starter at home. You just need flour, water, and, of course, loads of patience. The process is a bit nerve-wracking for a beginner, but once you learn it, you can use it to make sandwich bread, focaccia, bagels, etc. It takes around a week for the process to get completed. We found some fun Amish Friendship Starter recipes HERE.
Baking Bread
Baking is a relaxing and tasty hobby to get into. It is an important life skill and an opportunity to learn how to bake. Although you may get tempted to learn how to bake cakes and pies, it is the art of art baking bread that will help you during this quarantine period.
Making Candles
If you are searching for a new and exciting hobby to take up, then you will find that making candles is one of the most therapeutic ever! You can easily make a range of beautiful candles at home using standard kitchen equipment. Candle making is a very fulfilling and enjoyable craft that gives you creative pleasure and a sense of achievement.
Learn to Make Animal Traps
How to Make a Basic SNARE Trap with Paracord or Wire so you can Catch Your Own Survival Food
Have you ever tried making an animal trap or a snare? You can learn to make a DIY animal trap that can hold rabbits and squirrels. The greatest advantage of learning how to make animal traps ensures that you always have something to eat when you are in the wild or camping.
Gardening
Getting yourself out in the garden is fantastic for your body, mind, and soul. One can learn a lot through gardening like planting seedlings, watching the small plants grow, and digging up the mud to plant new seeds. The best part is that you can involve the little ones in gardening. Try To Garden has a lot of great tips for beginners.
Canning
Preservation of food is very important, and since during this period, shops are only intermittently open, it is necessary to learn the art of canning. Canning is not at all problematic, and definitely, you do not need a unique skill set. It is a matter of preserving foods like fruits, vegetables, meat, and poultry so that you can use it later.
Making Jams/Jellies
Homemade jams are much better and tastier than commercial jams. There is no better time to learn to make jams than this period. You can easily make jam at home with/without pectin, and even in your Instant Pot.
You will find that the homemade variety has the right amount of sugar content, tastes real, and looks yummier than the ones that are available on the supermarket shelves. You can get started with some recipes HERE.
Are there any other things you can think of adding to the list? Share with us all in the comments!
On October 25th, 2010, Indonesia was hit by a triple natural disaster. It is our responsibility to teach our children how to survive catastrophic events like this as when prepared? Youth and Natural Disasters are easier to handle: you help them take “ownership” of the event by teaching them to be prepared.
Beginning on October 25th, 2010, Indonesia was blindsided by a triple natural hazard that turned catastrophic. The 7.7 earthquake shook Sumatra; only minutes later, a lethal tsunami pounded the shore. Then Mount Marapi began its devastating eruption.
Our Earth changes rapidly. We must be flexible to change with our environment. To do this, we must have an understanding of how our world works. This is true for our children as well.
Too often, we neglect to discuss natural hazards and disaster preparedness with our children. Maybe we feel they are too young. Perhaps we do not wish to worry them about something that may not happen. Or perhaps it is because we lack the information they should know.
Youth and Natural Disasters: How to Prep for Survival
Here are some quick things we can do to make sure we make a difference about how our kids handle things.
Communication
Even if we have had conversations with our children about these unexpected dangers, a deeper look into these phenomena will help our children and us subdue our fears while gaining knowledge. This will help us better prepare for and deal with a catastrophic event with a level head.
A huge part of communication is listening. Listen to your child. Their questions are critical. They may also have some excellent ideas that we have not thought of.
Importance
Our children must understand what to do and why. We teach them to call 911, to look both ways when crossing a street, and not to talk to strangers. We explore the reasons why with our child. We do this to help keep them safe even when we are not close by.
The last thing needed during an emergency is someone panicking. If we do not know what to do, it is frustrating and can become terrifying. During natural disasters, children are especially susceptible to anxiety, fear, and injury.
Natural disasters do not always come with a warning. Know what to look and listen for. This gives us precious seconds to take action and get to safety.
Our impact on our living world can directly influence the severity of the hazard. There are times catastrophes could have been avoided. Educate your Youth and Natural Disasters aren’t going to be as scary.
Survival
Surviving the initial incident is only part of what your children need to know. They also need to understand how to function in the aftermath. This could include evacuation, relocation, dealing with injuries, and eventually foraging for food and water.
Understanding it could be a long time before things are back to normal is very important for your child. Your survival kit is only a temporary solution. Show them where to find fresh water and food. Learn how to make a temporary shelter with your children.
Haiti has shown us the need to learn about illnesses and infections and how to avoid them or deal with them. Another critical issue is teaching children how to stay clean and avoid contaminated waters.
Education & Research
Involve your children in helping to prepare a survival kit. Discuss with them why you want to make the kit. Ask the kids what things they believe should be put in them and why. Be sure to talk with your child about the different situations the kit may be useful in.
Research our living world with your child. It will be enlightening and exciting. Learn how the Earth changes and how those transformations can directly affect us. Pay particular attention to hazards common to the area you live in. If you change your residence and move to a new region, update your knowledge, as well as your survival kit.
Recognize that this does not mean only learning what to do during an event, but what caused that event in the first place, and what to do after the event. Replace the mystery with knowledge.
Exploration & Experimentation
Learning about Earth’s forces will beckon us to explore our part of the world. Take educational field trips. Learn about natural historical events of your region. Above all, ask questions and search for answers. You and your child are an investigative team. Learn all you can, search for clues, and enjoy Mother Nature.
Children learn through doing. Preparing for the unexpected is no different. Have practice drills for hazards you may face. Find science models and experiments to give kids a visual link to what they’ve learned.
Natural disasters frequently sneak upon us. The quicker we can recover from the surprise, the faster we are able to take action, and the longer we can sustain it. With education, practice, and discussion, our children can be the voice of reason in emergency situations. Give our children a fighting chance.
During a pandemic, everyone is affected irrespective of gender or age. People from all walks of life are affected, and kids are not spared. By their very nature, kids are hyperactive- they need to move, they need to interact, and focus on specific activities.
Quarantine can be difficult for all, but entertainment ideas for kids are important, as they don’t often understand WHY we are all stuck at home.
Entertainment Ideas for Kids
Not being able to go to school, play with other kids, or just run outside can have a lasting impact on their lives. It is every parent’s and guardian’s responsibility to minimize the adverse effects of the lockdown on children. Doing this requires a certain level of creativity throughout the lockdown.
Play fun group games
There are quite a number of board games that your kids can play to stay distracted during a pandemic. The most important thing to keep in mind is to stick to the kind of games that they love. You can also take part in some of the games to make things more interesting.
You could pick the game once in a while. Instead, try to involve the kids in the selection of a game. Stress to them that selecting a game is their responsibility.
Play brain-stimulating games
Brain games or games that challenge the intellect will not only keep your kids mentally sharp but will also keep them competitive and entertained.
Compliment your children when they complete a level or stage to keep them motivated and feeling proud. Encourage them when they fail to achieve a certain level the same way you would encourage them when they are doing their homework.
Try online games
You can also try playing online games with your kids or let them play with their friends online can be a great addition to our list of entertainment ideas for kids. However, keep a close eye on the kind of games and activities they choose to play online.
Let your kids help with the household chores
Household chores are yet another activity; aside from games, you can engage with your kids. Teach them or ask them to give you a hand with the tasks and make it enjoyable.
They can help prepare their favorite meal, help set the table, and help clean the house by dusting the furniture. They can also help with washing or folding the laundry. Some kids love it when they do something that their parents encourage or ask them to do. So, give it a try!
Start a family project
You can come up with specific family projects that your kids can participate in. It could be any type of project that your kids will love. It does not have to be a school project. It could be the kind of project that they can actively contribute to.
For example, you can grow pot-based plants, repaint the bedrooms, or build a 3D puzzle or create your genealogical tree. You could even learn a family dance on YouTube or form a band if you have instruments lying around.
Give them books to read
Books are a great way of keeping your kids’ minds off the pandemic. So, try giving them books to read. You could give every child a different book according to their age and then ask for a 5-minute summary every day before they go to bed.
This will not only keep them busy, but it will also perfect their intellect as well as feed their curiosity. Make sure there is a reward for each completed book. Try the site www.SarahLynGay.com for cool ideas on things to do with certain books like her Seven Wonders Unit Study .
Help with their schoolwork
While kids stay at home while schools are closed, they may be given assignments and homework. You can keep your kids entertained by helping them out with their homework.
If the school does not provide them with any work to do while at home, you can come up with your assignments. Focus on areas that your child is currently struggling with at school to help make the work understandable.
Watch movies with them
Movies are, without a doubt, a great source of entertainment for both adults and kids. You could watch one or two videos a day with your kids as a form of entertainment. Check out SarahLynGay.com for fun things to do with movies like: How to Host a Magical Aladdin Movie Family Fun Night
Have them come up with their own ideas of entertainment
Coming up with great ideas of entertainment for your kids is a good thing. Nonetheless, if you want them to enjoy themselves truly, you can let them come up with their own forms of entertainment.
Doing so is also a great way to empower them when you have run out of ideas. All you have to do is approve of the kind of entertainment they choose and participate cheerfully when asked.
Help cultivate their talents
Every dark cloud indeed has a silver lining. Even during a pandemic, your kids’ skills can be improved. You can take advantage of the situation and find ways of enhancing or also discovering your child’s talent. For example, if your child is an aspiring artist, encourage the artist in him or her by buying color books, pencils, and crayons.
You could also go the extra mile by visiting reputable art galleries online and explaining what each photo symbolizes, where and when the painting was made, and what inspired the artist to produce that particular painting. Try the site www.SarahLynGay.com for cool ideas on things to do with the littles in the world of STEM!
The key to surviving a pandemic with the minimum effect is to be prepared. It is even more relevant if there is going to be a lockdown. That is why a Pandemic Kit is something you need to consider.
To prepare for a pandemic and a possible lockdown, you have to put together an emergency kit and store essential supplies.
GET YOUR PANDEMIC EMERGENCY KIT READY
Any good prepper already has an emergency kit — you should only have to tweak it a little bit to upgrade it for the purposes of a pandemic.
Before there is even a worldwide outbreak, you should have the following items in your emergency kit:
Purchase and keep some prescription medication and over-the-counter medicines. Prescription medication includes any form of medication that you would typically take for your existing condition. Over-the-counter medicines include analgesics, antiemetic, stomach relievers, antihistamines, vitamins, etc. Take good note of the expiry dates for your medication and make sure to renew it at least 30 days before it expires.
Ask for copies of your medical records from your physician. These can be very useful to first responders in the event of an emergency during a pandemic.
Keep a list of emergency numbers for the different government departments.
Have a First-Aid kit readily available– usual antiseptic, bandage, gloves, scissors, and plaster bands are essential to attend to any bumps or bruises while confined at home.
Household spares and DIY kits can also become handy if you need to replace light bulbs or conduct minor repairs. So, it is always advisable to buy in advance the right type of spare bulbs which you use at home as well as the standard batteries for household equipment. A general DIY toolkit can also be of essential help since hardware stores would most likely be closed during a lockdown.
Refill and update your emergency pandemic kit during an outbreak
Once a situation is declared a pandemic, refill and upgrade your emergency kit according to the type of situation. The following items must be checked and be available if possible:
A thermometer to control body temperature. If you live with other people, it is best to get a digital non-contact thermometer. Don’t also forget to buy spare batteries for your digital thermometer!
Hand sanitizers and liquid soap are a must.
A backup glucometer to measure blood sugar if you or any member of your family has diabetes.
One-time use only surgical gloves.
Sanitary masks, if agents of the outbreak are transmissible by air or droplets. Pay attention to the health authorities and get the right sanitary masks they recommend.
Food to last you for a week or two. When storing food for a pandemic, always make sure you think of other people as well. Do not overbuy to the extent that you create shortages for other people.
Update and refill your medication. Add other medication that is related to the outbreak as instructed by the authorities.
Other things you may wish to add:
Ingredients from alternative medication can also be useful during a pandemic. Get lemons, honey, ginger, cinnamon, mint leaves, essential oils, and other natural agents known to have healing or antiseptic properties.
Entertainment material. Depending on your interests and the number of family members, books and magazines are always a good option. Board games and group games, as well as other entertainment activities for multiple people, is also an excellent choice to keep.
If you have pets, do not forget to buy pet food.
You should also get some stationery and other office-related supplies just in case you have to self-isolate and work from home.
If you can afford it, an Air-Purifying respirator can be a good and useful investment.
When preparing or refilling your emergency pandemic kit, remember always to check expiration dates for perishable items. Do not also forget to think about other people, meaning DO NOT OVER-BUY.
