My two oldest sons wanted to provide some “clean” and funny entertainment for your family during this quarantine season.
Everyone needs a little “FUNNY” right now!
They are writing, producing and editing their own videos. This gives them a creative outlet and a fun way to add a little humor to your home.
They would love it if you would check out their videos and subscribe to their channel.
Here are a few they’ve done so far:
Quarantine Life vs Normal Life:
Hot Sauce Challenge!
Try Not to Laugh:
What do you think?
Leave a comment, and I will pass the message on to them. Because their youtube channel is for kids, comments are not allowed under their videos.
Please share their videos with your family and friends! Also – you can subscribe by clicking on the logo/faces in the top left corner of each video. It should give you the option to “subscribe.”
This has been a unique season for all of us! I usually read about 5 books each month, however, I only finished 5 books in March and Aprils. My reading rate has been cut in half over the last two months. There are several reasons I haven’t been reading as much.
I have very little “downtime” with everyone home all day, every day.
Review: It took me a LONG time to read this book. I started it in JANUARY! The book is packed with stories and research – almost too much for me to consume. Finally, on the first Saturday after this quarantine began, I left Ted in charge, “quarantined” myself to the bedroom, laid in bed, and finished this book. The book builds the case that success comes with being a GIVER, not a TAKER.
Here are some key points I pulled from the book: 1. Admitting your weakness makes you appear human and approachable. 2. When selling, ask questions. People enjoy talking. By listening, you will learn about the person and how to sell to them based on their interests. Change your mindset from selling, to helping! Givers outsell takers. 3. People who maintain an equilibrium between benefiting themselves and others achieve significant increase in happiness and life satisfaction. 4. This book has lots of good stuff on the value in volunteering! For instance, those who volunteer 2 hours a week find that their happiness, satisfaction and self-esteem go up within one year. Those who volunteer see a drop in depression. Elderly adults who volunteer live longer. (I personally loved his chapter on volunteering. I wrote an entire post about the value in volunteering here.) 5. Decide to be a giver. Focus on making a difference and success might follow!
“By shifting ever so slightly in the giver direction, we might find our waking hours marked by greater success, richer meaning, and more lasting impact.”
I started reading this book with George in February. As I began reading, the lifestyle of the Ingalls family seemed SO foreign to me. I couldn’t imagine living back then, and was honestly glad that I didn’t. Let me describe a little bit of their lives to you:
Ma spends most of her days cooking and doing laundry.
The kids don’t go anywhere. They have no one to play with, except each other. They would create games to entertain themselves. They could play outside – but had to stay close by their home.
Pa works from home and only goes to the store to get “essentials.”
By the time we finished the book at the end of March, I realized we were living the “Little House” life!!!
What seemed so foreign at the beginning, felt suddenly, VERY familiar. However, I realized this slow-placed life really isn’t so bad. I’ve been wanting time to SLOW DOWN and finally got my wish. I’m thankful for this time with my family and feel like it’s given us an opportunity to grow closer. And just like the Ingalls family, we are all finding joy in the SIMPLE things!!!
Shauna Niequist recommended this book, and because I’m living in Minnesota, I checked it out from the library. (Our library is allowing us to do curbside pickup!!)
This book was an entertaining novel. I enjoyed that the book was set in Minnesota, and how the author refers to towns all around me. The novel follows the lives of a few women as they enter the ‘lager/beer craft industry.’ The ‘characters’ in this story are believable and endearing.
Review: This book was written by a parent and psychologist. It’s a practical and helpful parenting book. Topics include respect, chores, homework, helping your child deal with a ‘bad day,’ and building ‘faith practices’ in your home.
While some parenting books have left me feeling overwhelmed, that was NOT the case with this book. It was inspiring and useful. It’s a book I’ll go back to again and again.
Review: The “Who Was/Is” series are GREAT biographies to read with kids. The books are short, easy-to-read, and filled with the most interesting facts. I love that the books give me a ‘refresh’ on important historical figures.
This is a fantastic book and perfect if you want to know a little more behind the “Hamilton” phenonenom!
Have you read anything interesting lately? Leave me a comment!
Without warning, we are in a BRAND NEW phase of marriage and parenting. We are stuck together all day every day, juggling a job (or the loss of a job). The kids are now home, so we are also trying to figure out how to home school, keep up with house work, cook for kids that are always hungry, and there are endless opportunities to drive each other crazy!!
This is a season where setting a couple hours apart to re-connect with your spouse is more important than ever.
Institutionalizing “date night” is not only fun, it can protect your marriage from deterioration and it can keep you and your spouse more healthy, happy and able to manage your life stressors.
Jame C Williamson, PhD
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How date night helps:
I love being a mom, and one thing that helps me love it so much, is taking little breaks from my kids. I also love being married, and date night helps Ted and I reconnect and remember why we got married.
Taking a little time APART from the kids and WITH your spouse strengthens both your parenting AND your marriage!
My relationship with Ted started before we had children. I want it to remain strong during this challenging phase of parenthood, and keep thriving AFTER our children are grown!
Regular date nights build resilience to carry your marriage relationship during the challenging times.
Get dressed up! (Taking a shower, putting on some makeup and doing my hair suddenly feels LUXURIOUS! When you look good, you feel good.)
Order take out. (If you are on a tight budget, cook together.)
One spouse picks up food, while the other feeds the kids.
Put the kids to bed or set the kids up in another room to watch a pre-approved movie.
Enjoy a delicious dinner and conversation. Add some candles and music to really make it special.
Date night doesn’t have to be extravagant to make a significant positive impact on your marriage. Don’t let the tyranny of the urgent crowd out nurturing your relationship. It’s well worth the investment.
My post on 55 Summertime Activities for Kids has been a big hit with parents, so I wrote another post to give you MORE ideas for keeping your quarantined kids busy.
The Sports Action Figures inspire kids in creative, open-ended play of their favorite sport (while stuck inside). The sets can also be used for parents to teach their kids the rules of the game and introduce their kids to the sports they love. The sets can also be used as centerpieces for sports-themed birthday parties – or to decorate cakes and cupcakes! Coaches use the GUYS to go over positioning and strategy with their players!
The sets by KaskeyKids.com include: Football, Baseball, Hockey, Soccer and Basketball.
Kids don’t automatically know what it means to “Mind Your Manners.” Summer time is the perfect time to teach them! At the dinner table, talk about table etiquette. After dinner, practice how to meet new people, and how to make a great first impression. We WILL be getting back to normal soon. We WILL be shaking hands again one day.
Practice with your kids NOW so they can impress people with their top-notch manners LATER!
A gratitude list or journal is EXTREMELY valuable in uncertain times. Thinking about our blessings and what we are grateful for is extremely helpful in building resiliency! I researched journals a few months ago and decided to purchase this simple one for George. I’ve loved watching him open this up (without prompting), and write what he’s grateful for!
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13. Self Portrait
Have your kids look in the mirror and do a self portrait! Be sure to have them write their name and age. It will be fun to look back on this when they are older. You could have them repeat this every year around their birthday to see how their drawings improve!
Have your kids PAINT their coloring books instead of coloring – or – give them a blank sheet of paper to paint!
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15. Friendship bracelets
Making friendship bracelets kept me busy for HOURS when I was young. Perhaps it will entertain your kids too! Purchase embroidery floss, then search youtube for instructions.
*I am an Amazon Affiliate, so I make a small percentage off of Amazon links I share if you click through and purchase. Thank you for your support in this way!
Today’s blog post is one of my favorites – and it was written by my husband, the great Ted Egly. Ted works for Target and his job is working with their executives and senior leaders on their personal and team development. This article was published internally for all leaders and team members at Target. Ted, take it away…
It’s been said that tough times don’t last, but tough people and teams do. Right now, we are tasked with being more resilient than ever. Resilience is the capacity to be strong under conditions of uncertainty, change, and stress.
As we are struggling to come to terms with this crisis, we can treat it as a defining moment to grow in spite of it – and because of it.
I’ve found that many times, we don’t elevate to our highest capacity until we are faced with our highest challenge.
Resilience is the skill and capacity to be strong under conditions of uncertainty, change, and stress.
Here are 5 practical steps to build your resiliency:
Step 1: Build your personal energy
Sometimes people think that they were either born resilient or they weren’t. The truth is, your resiliency is something you can strengthen with a few steps.
Exercise and sleep. When you move your body, you change your biochemistry – releasing dopamine. This is called the “feel better effect.” As for sleep, limit screen time and media intake before bed, and keep a consistent sleep schedule.
“Physical distancing” – not “social distancing.” We are made for social connection and community, so find ways to engage others. Video chats are great place to start.
Enjoy the moments of levity. Recently while I was on a conference call with an executive and another senior leader, one of my sons began chanting, “I love bacon!” in the background. Soon, all my four boys began chanting, “I love bacon.” We all got a much-needed laugh.
Now, let’s explore the power of perspective – for yourself and those around you. It starts with paying attention to when we catastrophize (or jump to the worst possible outcome of a scenario), which dramatically diminishes our capacity to be more resilient.
Engage in a gratitude practice. Every night write down two to three things that you were grateful for that day. Be as specific as possible. Gratitude is a powerful antibiotic.
Limit where you give your attention. Our attention is under siege. What information you consistently feed on will shape your life. What you attend to the most becomes your reality.
Meter your social media/media intake. Negativity is like Velcro, and positivity is like Teflon. But it can take more effort to focus on positive things. So identify one activity that can help you shift your thinking.
Step 3: Control your attention
Now, direct yourself to areas in your life (at home and work) where you can take productive, useful action.
You can’t control your circumstances, but you can control how you respond. Try to be objective and keep an even keel – and try to see the good in a situation.
“Stay in the day.” It’s a phrase someone I know repeats whenever fear and doubt invites him to focus on the worries of tomorrow that he can’t control. Stay in the day.
Try the “circle of control” exercise. Draw a circle on a blank piece of paper. Then, write down all of the things you can control or influence inside the circle and all of the things you cannot control outside of the circle. This helps you see the things that are inside of your control.
You can’t control your circumstances, but you can control how you respond.
Step 4: Take Action
There will be moments when you feel a sense of helplessness. The best antidote when that happens? Take some sort of action.
Action cures fear. Helplessness comes from a lack of perceived control. When we are paralyzed by fear or worry, it gets in the way of our body’s ability to release the chemical dopamine – which leads to a greater sense of helplessness.
Next time you’re feeling stuck, think of the one action (not two or three, just one) you can take. There’s power in choosing that next step and following through.
By taking action, you train your brain to release dopamine, boosting your energy levels and producing a huge effect on your sense of control, mood and thinking.
Bottom line: Think of today’s problems or challenges as invitations to step through your fears.
Today’s challenges are really just invitations to step through your fears.
Step 5: Care for others
Another powerful antidote to our own fears and worries is to focus on others.
Random acts of kindness, even during this crisis, has a powerful effect on others.
A powerful chemical that our brain releases, oxytocin, is associated with empathy, trust and relationship building. It’s the feeling we get when we do something nice for someone or someone does something nice for us.
Be empathetic. During times of crisis, it’s a powerful opportunity to be exceedingly human.
Be a “dealer in hope.” Think about a time recently where someone brought hope into a situation. What did it feel like? What was the result? Resilient people can help breathe oxygen in the soul, by infusing hope in the form of appreciation, inspiration and recognition (A.I.R.).
Focusing on the needs of others has a way of refocusing your attention and motivating you to do more than you thought possible.
Random acts of kindness, even during this crisis, has a powerful effect on others.
Bringing it all Back
Becoming a more resilient person is a process. You have what it takes. Focus on personal energy, put things in perspective, control your attention, take action and care for others. These are some ways to get through this time by building up your resiliency – and in the process, bring about a better, more resilient world.
One of my first memories includes listening to my mom and older sister read Psalm 91 together before bed. Hearing them quote this passage of Scripture brought comfort and peace to my little heart.
My mom also sang with us, prayed with us, and helped us memorize simple verses. I believe those were the building blocks for a foundation of faith that I still stand on today.
As mothers – our days can be crazy and exhausting. Especially right now!! However, we can choose to start and end each day with HOPE.
Why do we see so many bunnies and eggs around Easter? These symbols may seem like springtime fun, but they actually point to something much deeper—new life!
Eggs remind us of new beginnings. Just like a chick hatches from an egg, we believe that through Jesus, we are given a fresh start and new life.
Empty eggs can also symbolize the empty tomb—Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday!
Bunnies are known for having lots of babies, making them a symbol of life and growth.
As Christ-followers, Easter is a time to celebrate the incredible truth that Jesus conquered death and rose again to give us new life—full of hope, joy, and purpose.
Now let’s have some fun with crafts and activities that point our kids back to these amazing truths!
Give your children a large sheet of paper and have them finger paint, scribble, or water color.
Cut their work out into the shape of an EGG!
Hang up or frame it with a contrasting background!
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2. Aluminum Foil Easter Eggs
Cut an egg out of Aluminum Foil
Color/decorate with Sharpies
When decorating the egg, set it on top of newspaper…I have sharpie marks on my farmhouse table because I skipped this step! 🙁
Pictured below is the artwork done by my 12 year old. When I asked him to color this egg, he rolled his eyes – but then he spent 20 minutes working on it. It’s okay to encourage your older kids to be artistic. It’s relaxing for them, and they enjoy it more than they will admit.
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3. Handprint Easter Bunnies
Trace your child’s hand
Create bunny ears and a face
Cut out and fold
Optional: Do this each year to see how their hands grow!
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4. Easter Bunny Pancakes
Create small and large pancakes and help your kids construct a bunny!
I used mini chocolate chips and bananas on the feet, and whip cream for a “bunny tail.”
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5. Easter sidewalk chalk
Tape out a design on a window, driveway or sidewalk.
Fill in the spaces with sidewalk chalk or washable paint.
Optional: Rub the sidewalk chalk with a paper towel for a smooth look and to make the chalk go further.
Peel off tape and ENJOY! Your neighbors will appreciate it too.
Money Saving Tip: I found tape and sidewalk chalk at the Dollar Tree.
This was my first week of home schooling all four boys and what I’ve learned is – it’s not easy. I’m a full-time mom with a teaching degree and IT’S NOT EASY. I’m putting that out there so that every other parent can give themselves some grace!!!
This is new to ALL of us, and it’s not streamlined or organized. I’m not sure if we are getting it all done, or done correctly?! My mantra right now:
Good enough is good enough.
Here’s a breakdown of what each of us are doing:
George:
George has been a rock star – starting his day on time, figuring out all his assignments, checking them off, one-by-one. He asks me for help in understanding a few things. My favorite subject to do with him is Minnesota Studies. We are both learning so much about our state. He’s in sixth grade and has 7 classes. Each class is giving him about 20 minutes worth of homework.
Clark
Clark isn’t a fan of home learning. He needs social interaction and competition to thrive. His favorite part of home learning are zoom chats with his entire class.
Paul
Paul’s doing good with home school. I assist him with about 50% of his work. His home school consists of reading on an app called EPIC, math on an app called IXL, and other assignments on an app called SeeSaw. His teacher sends a daily video and list of activities to my Gmail. They also do classroom zoom chats. His favorite part of the day is getting outside to hike and explore.
Luke
I’m trying to keep Luke busy with letter worksheets, art, small-motor activities, and some digital learning games while I help his brothers with school. The boys take turns reading and practicing letters with him, and his preschool teacher has posted videos on youtube for him to watch and learn.
Learning inside
Learning outside
Kathryn:
I usually make everyone a big breakfast, and then we start homeschool at 9AM. I move from kid to kid throughout the morning helping them start activities, finish work, or answer questions.
Lunch is simple – sandwiches or mac-n-cheese and fruit.
After lunch we finish our homework and then we get outside until it’s time to get dinner ready.
Most nights we eat dinner together. This has been one of my favorite parts of quarantine – lots of time around the table! After dinner the kids can have some videogame time, or we will watch a show. Some shows we like to watch together:
Ted is staying busy with work for Target – but working from home. He has conference calls and video chats throughout the day. Sometimes it’s tricky keeping four boys quiet while he’s on a call. He told me the other day, when I was in the shower, he was on a call and heard one of our sons shout, “I love bacon!” Then all four boys starting chanting “I love bacon!” Thankfully, his co-workers thought it was funny, but now I make sure he doesn’t have a conference call before I get in the shower.
Getting Outside!
Clark’s artwork
George’s artwork
Hiking an old abandoned railroad
Getting outside is one of our favorite parts of the day – especially now that the sun is coming out and the weather is getting warmer! Minnesota winters are LONG, which makes spring and summer so much sweeter.
One afternoon, while out on a hike, the boys caught a water bug, a slug, and a leech, then put them into the same bucket with pond water to see what would survive. They watched the giant water bug use his proboscis to kill the minnow.
3 Things we learned:
The word Proboscis: the long appendage on the front of a bug or animal. It’s the part of a mosquito that sticks into a human to suck it’s blood.
Water bugs have a large proboscis that they use to poke and kill their prey.
We don’t have to be in school to learn about science and nature!
What I’m loving:
Psalm 91 – I’m starting each day by reading this passage of Scripture.
Covid Memes! So much laughter!
Slower pace and time with my family
FaceTime with family and friends
Family Dinners
My “One Line a Day” Book. I’m capturing some of what’s happening in this simple journal. It will be interesting to look back on in years to come. I also write funny things my kids say and do.
What are you loving right now? Leave me a comment by clicking on the comment box by the title of this post.
Thanks for reading! Can’t wait to share a post written by my husband soon. Subscribe so you don’t miss a post.
🌞☀️ Summer Fun Alert! 🌞☀️ Are you ready to banish those dreaded words, “I’m bored,” from your kids’ vocabulary this summer? 🎉 I’ve put together the ultimate list of activities guaranteed to keep young minds engaged, bodies moving, and creativity flowing all season long! From outdoor adventures to indoor escapades, there’s something for every kid to enjoy. Let’s dive in and make this summer the most memorable one yet! 🚀
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Note: I put this list together during the 2020 lock down and it came in handy when my son and got Covid and had to spend two weeks in quarantine. When we were finally ‘free” he said:
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“Mom, I’m sad that quarantine is done. We made so many memories.”
Luke, age 7
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Thankfully, the lockdown is long gone, but this list remains incredibly useful for those moments when boredom strikes and you’re in need of some inspiration! Plus, it’s an added bonus that you’ll make ‘so many memories’ along the way!!
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1. Draw a Picture and/or write a letter
Set out Pencils, markers, water color, or crayons and blank paper or coloring books.
Draw pictures and write letters to family and friends!
Find books that will pique your child’s curiosity.
Most early readers (and pre-readers) enjoy comic-strip style books.
Set a timer so your kids know that it’s “reading time.”
Ask an older child to read to a younger child – or –
Read a few pages of a chapter book to your kids. The “Who Was” series is great!
My 12 year old son and I recently finished Front Desk and he LOVED it and kept asking me to read more.
We read Little House on the Prairie in 2020 and laughed at how similar the “little house life” and “quarantine life” are!
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3. Tell/ write a story
My fourth grade teacher once gave us the title “The Entire City Lends a Hand” and had the class each write their own story. Read a rendition of that here.
Give your kids a title and let them write!
Title ideas: The first day of school! Best Vacation Ever, If I were President, Undersea Adventure, You Won’t Believe what Happened!
Have your kids write a little each day about what they are doing during the summer. (It will be interesting to look back on these journals in the future!)
Another option: Have your kids write 1 thing they are grateful for each day.
Thinking about our blessings and what we are grateful for is extremely helpful in building resiliency! I researched journals a few months ago and decided to purchase this simple one for George. I’ve loved watching him open this up (without prompting), and write what he’s grateful for!
Research suggests that keeping a gratitude journal can boost your health and happiness.
George cooling off on the hot dayGeorge on the zip line
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9. Clean together
My sister’s daughters (ages 4 and 7) – She says the girls enjoy the tactile nature of finding the clips, reading them, and then putting them in the container when completed.
There are so many benefits to giving your kids household chores and teaching them to clean!
Some bigger things we are working on together – the basement, baseboards, and cleaning our cars.
Smaller things the kids can do – a junk drawer, the pantry, baseboards, wiping lower cabinets, all door handles, appliance handles, pulling weeds, folding and putting away laundry, bathroom, bedroom, their closet, and loading/unloading dishwasher.
I offered my kids a quarter to whoever could wipe down the baseboards and bring me back the dirtiest wet wipe.
Puzzle races: 1. Time your kids and see how fast they can put a small puzzle together. 2. If you have two 50-100 piece puzzles, race to see who can put them together faster.
Optional Money-saving tip: Trade puzzles with your neighbors or buy some used ones! Dollar store sells some too!
This sticker book has over 5000 5-star reviews! I got this for my son for Christmas and I see why it has so many positive reviews. We love it! The pictures turn out so pretty you could frame them!
Run around your house for 5 or more minutes. I don’t know about your kids – but my kids NEED to burn energy in a healthy way or they start getting mischievous!
If we are outside, I challenge my kids to a foot race so that we can BOTH burn energy and get exercise.
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34. Play some backyard games
Duck Duck Goose
Balloon Bounce – Kids lay down (or sit down) and have to work together to keep balloon(s) in the air.
Red Rover, Red Rover
Red Light, Green Light
Tag
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35. Have a unique conversation
Has months of summer left you with nothing else to talk about than how bored you are? Then you NEED this set of cards.
Each card asks interesting questions for your family to answer or discuss. My kids ask for us to pull the cards out whenever we sit down to eat. One time my kids were eating alone and my oldest son pulled the questions out to ask his little brothers. I LOVED listening to their conversation!
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36. Have a “What’s in the Box?” Challenge
Cut holes a in box
Choose an item to put inside
Allow someone to reach their hand inside the box and “guess” what it is.
Take turns finding items to hide, then guessing “What’s in the Box?”
Kids can learn how to make a flipbook animation in less than 5 minutes. All you need is a pen and a stack of notecards, paper, or a sticky note pad. This video is a great and very quick tutorial.
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45. Play Simon Says or Follow The Leader
Have each child take a turn being the leader
Walk all around your house
Do jumps, turns, stop to hug dad, etc.
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46. Ice excavating
Place some toys in a bowl of water and Freeze. Let the kids dig them out.
A really fun and simple activity that can act as a physics lesson and opportunity for an experiment. Make a simple ramp using cardboard or a piece of wood, and roll different objects down: measure how far they go, how fast they roll, or hold races between different kinds of balls to see which wins!
Print the 55 options listed above, cut apart each idea, and put them in a container. If your kids say ‘I’m Bored’ – have them pull a paper from the jar and complete that activity.
Boredom leads to new inventions. I look forward to what will be thought up during this quarantine!
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Do you have an idea? Leave a comment!
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Did you know that there are 365 verses in the Bible about fear? A verse for EVERY SINGLE day of the year! Nothing surprises God. He knew that every single day of our lives, we’d have something to fear. So, he gave us a Scripture for every day to combat our fears.
I’ve created a list of 12 verses for you. 12 of my favorites. One for each MONTH of the year.
Print this off, cut them apart and put them around your house – on your bathroom mirror, in your car, by the kitchen sink…and work on memorizing one each month of the year. Memorize each verse with your kids!
Allow these powerful Scriptures to replace your FEAR with FAITH!
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1. Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
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2. Psalm 118:6
The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.
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3. Isaiah 41:10
Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. NLT
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4. Joshua 1:9
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
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5. Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
