With the ongoing spread of COVID-19 and the implementation of protocols to help "flatten the curve," many families may find themselves with a lot more together time with no real plan for what to do. If your children's school determines to temporarily suspend on-campus instruction for an extended period of time, you may be wondering what you can do to help occupy all that extra time on their hands. In addition to just keeping them busy, effective parenting means helping them to grow and develop.
If you, like the Kemp household, are not ordinarily a home-schooler with a good handle on how to do that already, here are four things we are implementing to keep everyone happy and progressing while we are on lockdown.
We always feel like it is a good idea to look to Jesus as our model for life; so, let's do that with this situation. There's really only one verse in the Bible that tells us about Jesus' key developmental years after age 12. Luke 2:52 says, And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man (ESV). Luke says there were four areas that Jesus grew in from the time he was 12 years old until he was an adult: wisdom, stature, favor with God, and favor with people. Those four areas form the basis for our strategy for developing our children during the lockdown and daily activities to facilitate that development.
Wisdom - Luke says that Jesus grew in wisdom. There are a lot of things that go into being a wise person, but for our purposes, we have chosen two things to help our children grow in the area of wisdom. One, each day they must do some educational activity. They can read a book, work on math facts, study spelling, learn about another country or culture in the world, or simply keep up with work that their teachers will likely soon start sending out to them. There are also a lot of museums, zoos, and musical groups that are currently offering free online experiences that your kids might enjoy. Two, each day they must do some creative activity. Play a board game. Put together a puzzle. Learn to sew. Bake some goodies to share with the rest of the family or a shut-in neighbor. Do an art project. Practice their instrument. Sing a song. Have a campout in the living room, complete with a tent, s'mores, and some scary stories. Today, my girls are doing an in-home beauty day, fixing each other's hair, doing makeovers, and practicing new make-up techniques.
Stature - In other words, Jesus grew physically. So, each day, make sure your children are doing some physical activity. Have them walk/jog around the block, throw a ball in the backyard, play outside in the rain, get on the treadmill, play some "indoor volleyball" with a balloon, do some simple calisthenics, pretty much anything that works up a sweat. If you are okay with the kids jumping on the furniture, one of my kids' favorite games when they were young that got them up and moving was "the floor is lava." If they are doing something that actually gets their heart rate up, 30 minutes should suffice. If the activity is a little more laid back, push it to an hour. We also don't want this time to become a time of developing some bad habits, so we are having a scheduled time for everyone to be up, cleaned, dressed, and at the table ready for breakfast.
You also want to do your best to make sure they are eating healthy foods while they are stuck at the house. While options at the grocery store may be more limited currently, the produce section at our local markets appear to be abundantly stocked right now. In running to the store for toilet paper, milk, bread, and eggs, make sure you also pick up some apples, oranges, asparagus, or broccoli.
Favor with God - The current coronavirus crisis is actually a very important time for your children to grow in their relationship with God. Right now, there is a lot of fear spreading throughout the world, and children definitely pick up on the fear they sense in us and others. The antidote to fear is faith, so make sure you are not neglecting this area of your child's development. We are requiring our kids to do one spiritual activity each day. Teach your kids how to have a daily time of Bible reading and prayer (a quiet time). Give them a memory verse to work on. This week, our church is memorizing 2 Timothy 1:7: For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Once they have memorized a verse, have them spend time meditating on it, which is simply extended time thinking about the verse, what it means, and how it applies to their lives. Turn on some worship music to listen to as they are stuck at home.
Favor with man - The last area of Jesus growth was in the area of relationships with other people. Jesus said that our love for one another is the evidence that we really are his disciples. So, each day, we want our kids to do one others-focused activity. In the practical world of our household, that is going to mean doing some chore to help out around the house. That can be cleaning a room. One of the great ideas my wife came up with years ago was to create a notecard for each room of the house listing out each of the things that need to be done in that room for that room to be considered "Mom approved." Whatever way you work it out, more people at home for long periods of time is going to mean there are more chores to be done. So, develop a system where everyone can pitch in.
Others-focused activities can also include people outside your household. We want to maintain safe protocols as far as social distancing, but we don't need to just become hermits with no concern for others. Have your kids check on their friends and their friends family members to make sure they are doing okay. If they discover someone has a need that your family can help with, by all means do so. One of our local nursing homes has requested people to write letters and cards to their residents who are no longer able to receive visitors. This would be a great project for your kids to tackle. Also, make sure you check on elderly neighbors and family members and those who are at risk. Your family could make grocery runs, help with yard work, walk a dog, etc.
Finally, parents, the best way for you to instill these four habits in your kids is for you to model them. Make sure you are developing in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and people as you are encouraging the same things in your kids. If we do so, we will come through the lockdown, not just surviving, but growing and improving and healthier.
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