In these times of added stress and uncertainty, one of the most important tricks in the Parenting Playbook is the timeout.
No, no, no. Not that kind of timeout.
We’re talking about a mental timeout to recharge your personal batteries and tend to yourself. Plus, who wouldn’t mind a little extra quiet time in this all family, all day era?
Read the weekly Timeout, a new feature of Chicago Children’s Museum’s Parenting Playbook, for the best in self-improvement and escapism from across the internet.
Since 2012, Chicago Children’s Museum has recognized International Family Equality Day (IFED), a day held annually on the first Sunday in May to celebrate and recognize the diversity of LGBTQ families around the world.
Usually, we’d pack our Great Hall with activities and resources, tie pride rainbow ribbons along our staircase, and host performances to celebrate and honor the diversity of the families that come to Chicago Children’s Museum.
This year, we can’t make that happen. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t celebrate.
Look at your little one’s hands. Yes—they're adorable (and maybe a little sticky), but did you also know that they’re working really, really hard?
That’s because our hands grow the most when we’re between ages 0 and 5 years old. And as a result, our little one’s hands do a lot of work to get stronger, more flexible, and more adept at skills we eventually need... like using scissors.
Today’s at home activity video is all about enhancing those skills.
Secret Puzzle Game is a simple, outside-the-box way of sitting with the words, feelings, and thoughts we’re experiencing during this wild time. Think of a word or image, keep it secret, draw it on the back of a cereal box that you’ll cut up to make your own puzzle. Then, hide the pieces around the room and hunt for the rest of your family’s pieces.
Today’s at home activity lets your children show off their literacy skills by finding items beginning with every letter of the alphabet. So explain the rules, maybe provide an example, and let them explore your space to find each object.
And while they do, take a minute to sip some coffee, look out the window, or even just stare at the wall for a little bit.
At around 3 pm every afternoon, we find ourselves just wanting to lie down for a bit.
Today’s at home activity not only requires you and your little ones to lie down—it turns sprawling out on the floor into a fun art exercise designed to sharpen children’s gross and fine motor skills, as well as their observational abilities and creativity!
Today's Chicago Children’s Museum parent PSA: not every at home art project requires drawing or crafting.
If you’re worried about running low on art supplies, or simply just not feeling up for more traditional arts and crafts activities, Scrub a Dub has you covered! Simply find a spot that’s safe for splashing (think kitchens, bathrooms, or even outside), fill up a couple of buckets or bowls with water and dish soap, and let the foam sculpting begin.
What comes to mind when you think of mindfulness? This much-talked-about coping strategy can conjure up images of quiet meditation or solitary thought exercises—often practiced by grownups.
However, mindfulness is also a powerful way for children to calm their anxieties and accept the present moment. And while silent meditation and breathing are definitely ways to practice mindfulness, there are also ways to bring play into your mindfulness activities—for grownups and little ones.
What’s a bubbleologist, you ask?
Simply put, a bubbleologist is an expert in all things bubbles—and kids are natural bubbleologists.
Today’s at home activity takes bubbles to a whole new level. Not only do the activities below allow your little ones to play with bubbles (which is obviously a blast), they’re designed to build important skills like trial and error and cause and effect. Plus, by following the directions below, kids explore geometry and shape-building, physical properties, and their own creativity.
At Chicago Children’s Museum we have a “secret sauce” of sorts that guides us in making decisions about our programs and exhibits. It is a concept called Universal Pursuits of Childhood, in which we identify the experiences that children across time, gender, and geography, need, want, and love to do.
We’re taking #chalkthewalk to a whole new level.
This at home art activity for kids comes from Chicago Children’s Museum Lead Arts Educator Liz Rosenberg (@lizziemaerose on Instagram). Follow along as Liz brings our Art Studio to you, and share your pics of what you create with us!
During all this social distancing, our worlds have gotten much smaller—our morning coffee, dinner dates, family outings, staff meetings, workouts, and children’s educations all take place in the same spot: our homes.
And as much as our lives have changed, so have our children’s lives, especially if they’re school-aged.
But what if we told you that, in the height of the Coronavirus quarantine, you can make your world seem as big as outer space?
