Despite the stress and uncertainty created by COVID-19 (home-schooling, working from home, not seeing Nanny and Grandad, hunting for toilet paper and pasta, and the frightening reality of what is occurring all over the world right now), there have been silver linings.
Instead of running around to swimming lessons, basketball training, and dance classes, I have been reconnecting with my children, and having the time to breathe. Enjoying the sunshine. Reading (and finishing!) an actual book. These are my silver linings.
The past few weeks of isolation has seen my kids speeding around on their bikes without training wheels for the first time. It has seen the number of items on our ‘around the house’ to-do list dwindle. It has seen the laughs of my usually over-worked husband fill the house more than ever before.
Puzzles, card games and LEGO building have filled our days. Even with these activities, if you were to give me a dollar for every time I’ve heard the word “Mum!” over the past month, I’d be rich!
For times when I’ve needed educational and interactive activities to keep the kids entertained, when I can’t give them my full attention, I have turned to the newly launched Fun Day In. And let me tell you, it has been my saviour.
Fun Day In is the sister site to the ever popular Fun Day Out, and was created so that children and parents can still access and enjoy a great range of experiences usually reserved for school, vacation care programs, birthday parties and weekends from the comfort of their own homes during this period of social isolation.
Instead of iPad games and YouTube videos, Fun Day In provides a whole range of online learning activities and experiences. These are conducted by very experienced and highly qualified teachers and facilitators, in all areas from Science and Performing Arts to Sport and Food Technology.
My kids have squealed with delight watching seals glide through the Great Southern Ocean exhibit at Taronga Zoo. They have mastered hand-stands and cart-wheels, and have made Shrinky Dink after Shrinky Dink to hang on their school bags, ready for the day they get to go back to school.
What on earth is a Shrinky Dink? I’m sure you remember putting potato chip packets in the oven and watching them shrink. That’s exactly what Shrinky Dinks are – they’re just the official version… with more exciting end products than tiny wrinkly foil packets!
The fun, interactive experiences are endless with Fun Day In and the kids simply love logging of a morning to choose their activity for the day. With a great mix of free and paid content to choose from, you can’t go wrong!
I’ve even had a peek at their online birthday parties, which look simply amazing! Having an LED Hula Hoop and Circus Show turn up for a performance on your front lawn would be a birthday surprise to remember, even if we weren’t in isolation!
Written by Michelle Smith – mother of 3 children under 10 years.