Sara Sandstrom-Kobi, Peak to Peak. If you are a parent you are probably feeling the pressure and likely some frustration of having your children home all day. It is unknown at this point how many days this will last. It is the situation that we are in so let’s do the best we can.

The goal and the challenges are to find creative ways to keep kids engaged. There are oodles of ideas online for activities with kids. Pinterest has a plethora of ideas or go to Google and type in homeschooling. Teachers are sending out information and will be doing more of it as the days continue. Also, many online learning programs are offering free lessons during this time. Boulder Valley School District is planning and organizing a home plan to take effect on March 30, 2020, if needed. Teachers and administrators in Nederland are already organizing themselves for extended periods of time out of classroom.

Flashcards may seem old fashioned but it is a great way to practice math. Is your child in third or fourth grade and need practice on the multiplication and division facts? Pull out notecards or even notebook paper and make some flashcards (with your child helping, of course.) 

Today I took my kids outside for a nature scavenger hunt. We used our senses as we listened, smelled and saw what was outside. We looked up and studied the clouds. What kind of clouds do you see? We looked down to see if any spring plants were poking out of the dirt. We collected pinecones for a future craft project. Then we searched for a place to see little rivers of snowmelt so we could talk about why the water goes where it goes. We became engineers and movers of mud to divert, block and move the water off the road. 

Then it was time to get the bikes out, pump up the tires and go for a ride. We had to take advantage of the warm sunny day before we pull out the snow gear again later in the week. 

There are so many resources online for parents and kids. Scholastic has announced that they will release free daily courses for kids on their website. You can visit museums virtually and watch Rick Steves, Lonely Planet and Globe Trekker on Youtube to “travel” the world. 

And think about education in a broad sense not just the stuff that happens in the school building. Cook with your kids. Bake and decorate a cake. Show them how to check the oil on the car and sew on a button. Do you have grandparents who may be getting lonely and feeling cut off from society? Have the kids make cards and little stories to send to grandmas and grandpas. Call a grandparent and have the kids conduct a short interview asking about their childhood. Grandparents have a treasure of stories to tell. 

Spend time exercising with your kids. Practice somersaults with the younger ones and do aerobics with the older ones. And if you have projects around the house take the time to do some with the kids. It will take more time, but life lessons are worth the extra time. Be flexible. 

Most children will not work without direction and guidance from parents. Your kids need you through this time. Do not underestimate how strange this whole situation is for them. These times are inconvenient and scary. Let your creative juices flow as you find activities to do with your kids. And ask them to be creative. They have great ideas to share, too.

(Originally published in the March 19, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)