As you may have read the other day, my friend Susan and I thought it would be fun to share what we are doing so we don't get too bored during this crazy thing called lockdown. A sort of virtual visit from the Matuku Takotako: Sumner Centre Storytimes team. I hope that you and your tamariki will enjoy seeing what we get up to, and that our ideas for things to do will help save you from boredom at your place too!
Last Thursday, Susan wanted to dress up as Goldilocks. She went the whole hog, golden wool wig and all. She got herself into quite the pickle with Baby Bear's chair, as you can see!
Maybe you don't have a dress-up box that's bursting at the seams like Susan and I do, but you know what I discovered when my kids were small? They had way more fun dressing up in a towel for a cape, or basket for a hat than when I went all out with my sewing and creating and made (what I thought were) amazing costumes! Sometimes just keeping it simple works best. But Susan and I did have a lot of fun playing Goldilocks!
All these Goldilocks antics led me to online versions we could access with our library cards, and we discovered that there's a cute movie version of Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems available from Kanopy.
For those who don't already know, Kanopy is a great movie streaming service that anyone with a library card can use. You can watch 10 movies every month, BUT kids movies are unlimited, which is awesome! So many stories!!*
I've been a big fan of Mo Willems ever since I first read Knuffle Bunny and seeing his movies reminded me of his Lunch Doodles that I heard about recently. These are cool videos where Mo shares artworks he's creating, talks about his book, answers questions, and encourages kids to be creative. If you or your kids are Mo Willems fans, you should definitely check these videos out! Although the series finished last week, you can still watch all 15 episodes, and get the worksheets to go with them. And, if you do all worksheets, there is even a graduation ceremony at the end.
Over the next few days, we went for a walk round the block to look for bears in windows, discovered that the Stuff Quiz has added a daily bonus Kids Quiz, climbed on the roof of the garage (I was going to take a picture of Susan up there, but then I worried about giving other kids ideas!), played boardgames, and ate pancakes!
I had planned to try some kitchen science experiments with Susan and the Young Lad, but it turned out that he thought that was b-o-r-i-n-g, and Susan didn't want to do it by herself... so... maybe your kids would like to try some of the ideas I found, instead!
Thought Co. has all sorts of resources covering a wide range of topics, including all sorts of kitchen science experimients. Maybe I'll try those again next week...
I also thought I'd share some ideas for you parents. I follow Nigel Latta on Facebook, and he recently shared some videos that I think are really helpful right now. You can find the videos at his website, Parentland.
Finally, When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!**
I know this is a crazy time, and many of us are facing challenges and uncertainties we never expected. But it is also a wonderful opportunity to spend time with our families, to find joy in the simple things, and to discover new ways of working together as communities. Maybe you could create some new family traditions, and in amongst the stress and craziness, lets hope we all create some wonderful memories for our kids.
~~~
*Older kids might enjoy watching a Tim Burton-esque movie I found called The Boy in the Bubble (#relatable?). Even better, it's narrated by Alan Rickman! (Can I get an "Always"?)
**Yes, Susan, the Young Lad, and I really did make lemonade, and it was delicious! We drank it all up way too quick! Luckily there's still heaps of lemons on the tree.
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