It’s now day 9 of the enhanced community quarantine in our area. Starting today also, our village is now part of the lockdown wherein only one person per household is allowed to go out to buy our supplies.

This is a difficult time for many families. There are workers who suddenly cannot go to work anymore and thus, do not have income.

Our family is still blessed that my husband and I can work from home during this lockdown.

There isn’t much change in my kids’ and my daily routine, except that these days, do not go to church to attend Mass. All Masses now in Metro Manila are canceled and we can only join online Masses. But other than that, our schedule is pretty much the same because we had been homeschooling for at least a decade. I had been working from home that long as well.

I’m writing this blog post to help families who suddenly find themselves at home with their children for long periods of time. This could be a challenging time that requires a lot of adjustments in your part.

I came up with 7 activities that families can do together during a lockdown to make the most of this time together at home. I hope this helps your family.

Let me go through these activities one by one.

EAT TOGETHER. – Sharing meals together is one of the most important activities that families can do together in a lockdown and even before this pandemic happened. It’s a time for family members to bond over food and to share stories and updates. But because of busyness at work and in school, both parents and kids, hardly find time to eat together. This is one of the silver linings in this lockdown. Since everyone is asked to stay home and food supply has to be monitored, eating together is one of the positive outcomes of this lockdown.

PLAY TOGETHER. – I’m sure that the stress level of many people these days is higher because of the many uncertainties we are dealing with. Making time to play together as a family helps everyone destress. Before this pandemic, parents hardy have time to play with their kids mainly because of work. But since most people are out of work these days, these parents can spend more time playing with their children. This is another silver lining of this lockdown.

DO CHORES TOGETHER. – This is one helpful strategy to get things done faster. It also teaches cooperation and teamwork among family members. It teaches kids to be responsible and helpful in keeping the house clean and in order. Chores become more enjoyable when shared with loved ones. It becomes the family’s bonding time also. Allowing kids to help out by giving them age-appropriate chores or tasks helps boost their self-esteem. They will feel fulfilled and capable after accomplishing tasks.

TALK TO EACH OTHER. – This is a great time to talk to each other. Ask each family member what they are thinking or feeling about what is happening. Get to know your family members better. I have read some people complain about being bored because of the lockdown. I suggest that parents create or look for conversation starters that can help facilitate conversations in their households if they are not used to talking to each other. Now that all family members are home (except if a family member is a frontliner), this is a good time to have face-to-face and heart-to-heart conversations with family members. Life is fleeting. No one is immune to this virus called COVID-19. Even young and healthy people without preexisting illnesses are testing positive and dying from this virus.

LEARN SOMETHING NEW. – Most people have plenty of time in their hands right now. This is a great time to learn together as a family something new. That new learning or skill that you learn together will help strengthen your bond as a family. If you are not skilled in cooking, now is a good time to learn this as a family because you cannot eat out and deliveries are limited. Cooking is an important life skill. Have you been wanting to travel to a country with a different language? Learn the language of that country while you are in a lockdown. By the time the lockdown is over, you and your family members would be confident already to travel to that country and talk to the locals there.

READ TOGETHER. – If you still have young children, read aloud to them daily at least one book a day. If your children are already older and highly-independent readers, schedule a reading time for the entire family when all of you will choose your own book and relax by reading. Then, you can talk about the books you are reading during dinner or mealtimes. Kids do not need to be on screens all the time during this lockdown. Otherwise, they could become screen addicts after this lockdown. Read one of my previous blog posts on how to prevent online game addiction in kids. It also included video clips of my radio/TV interview.

Last but not the least, PRAY TOGETHER. – It has been said that the family that prays together, stays together. I believe, as a Christian parent, that the most important legacy I can leave behind to my children is the legacy of my Catholic faith. When we pray with our kids, we teach them by our example that we put our trust and hope in God. We are modeling to them that when we do not know what to do when we are helpless or afraid when we need something or we need healing, we can turn to God. Teach your kids formula prayers. Teach them how to pray spontaneously. Teach them to pray using the words in the Bible. Teach them that God is mightier than any disease or virus and that God is in control. That God makes all things beautiful in His time. I believe that it is no coincidence that this pandemic and lockdown is happening during the season of Lent. Lent is a season of grace and we are called to repent from our sins and to live the Gospel better. Let’s teach our children through prayer and our example of how to be humble before God. Let’s teach them to pray not only for our family, relatives and friends but also for other people we do not know personally but also needs our prayers. Let’s teach them that there can be miracles when we pray to God with sincere hearts.

We had been homeschooling our kids for years now. Actually, we had been homeschooling our eldest for almost 12 years now. When the quarantine was announced and our village was placed on lockdown, we didn’t do a lot of structured lessons. During this pandemic and quarantine period, I just made the kids sleep more, play more, and pray more. I also made sure they eat more healthy food. We have minimal structured lessons each day. But our kids read a lot on their own and with me or my husband. They also spend most of their time together telling stories or playing together.

If you find these activities helpful, please share this blog post with your relatives, neighbors, and friends on your social media accounts.

We have also shared this infographic on our Facebook Page Hands-On Parent while Earning. I hope you could repost or share this infographic as well so we can help more families during these trying times.

If you need help and support in homeschooling your child/children, feel free to join the Homeschooling Parents Support Group PH on Facebook. You can ask me questions there.