Hey my Dental professionals!
With all of the craziness going on and everyone stuck in quarantine I know some of you with little ones are starting to get stir crazy and are not sure what to do to keep yourselves occupied. Part of the reason I created Core Dental Staffing was so that dental mamas like myself could choose their schedule and give them the opportunity to work when they wanted and be home with their little ones/ family more!
Now that most dental offices are shut down we have the perfect opportunity to do that!
I have compiled a list of activities for you to try and do with your family to keep you entertained while being forced to be inside!
Khan Academy Kids: This fun app is completely free and offers reading and literacy-including phonics, the alphabet, spelling, and early writing. It also has math, language, logic, problem-solving and memory learning activities. Again the cost is FREE! Recommend to ages 4+
Moose Math: Moose Math takes kids on mathematical adventures and aligns with common core math standards. Kids will learn addition and subtraction as well as geometry and counting. Cost is FREE and recommended for ages 3-7.
Play and Learn Science (and all other PBS kids Apps): Kids will gain scientific knowledge and improve problem solving skills through games and hands on activities. Cost is FREE and recommended for ages 4+.
Teach Your Monster To Read: Kids can create their own monster and take it through 3 different games to teach phonics and reading skills. Cost is FREE and recommended for ages 3-6.
Now if you are looking for something to help your child wind down and burn off some energy I recommended some sort of gym class activity. If you’re lucky to live in an area where the weather is starting to warm up take advantage of going outside! You can ride a bike, take some chalk outside and use it on your drive way, you can go for a scavenger hunt and have the kids find “treasure” (can be anything they find pretty or unique). Use this opportunity to incorporate learning, teach them about the different flowers in your yard, what each tree is and talk about the different seasons.
If it’s a rainy day and you still want to get some exercise in for the kids I highly recommend Cosmic Kids Yoga. They have all different kinds of yoga for the kids and each session tells a story, our favorite currently is Frozen yoga https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlg052EKMtk, but they also have trolls yoga, Spiderman inspired yoga https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnO-lGEMOXk, Moana inspired yoga and many more! Some are 15 minutes to 45 minutes depending on the age of your child and their attention span.
A bit hit in our house is Dance parties! My daughter loves to put on Froze and sign and dance all over the living room. Here is a great list of dance songs on YouTube that you can listen to and dance and sing along. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNL6RwymoNg&list=RDQMMTQtPf1WCCQ&start_radio=1
If you have a Pandora account they have a great Disney channel songs playlist that would work great as well!
I try hard each day to have a theme and do different activities. Crafts are always a part of our daily routine. You don’t need a lot to be able to create something unique. Depending on the age of your child using different things such scissors and glue may not be the best idea! Use your judgement on what you feel your child is ready for. I have a 3 year old so I try not to get into anything too messy as I know it will be all over my kitchen table in minutes.
If you feel your child is ready for scissors (they do make preschool age ones that do not have a blade on them at all their not great but they do the job and kids that age love them) a great way to keep them entertained is let them practice cutting with scissors. You can use old newspapers or magazines, it does not need to be anything fancy.
Do you have an extra notebook laying around? A great way to have your children practice their pre-writing skills is to just have them draw! Ask them to draw how they are feeling, what is their favorite spring flower, a picture of your family or pets anything to get them thinking and their minds going.
I myself am also a big fan of anything you can make with toilet paper rolls! Yesterday Mia and I made bunnies with paint and old toilet paper rolls. We wrote happy Easter on the top and each grandparent will be getting one for a present for Easter. I find that Pinterest has a lot of really great ideas for things like that.
I find setting up a daily routine helps a lot with keeping the kids entertained. Start with brushing their teeth, getting ready in the morning and then go from there.
Everyone stay safe and healthy
Byecuspid,
The Tooth Traveling Hygienist