Here are some ideas for adults and kids to stay sane amidst the insanity (please note that I have two toddlers, so a lot of the “kids” ideas are geared toward that age range):

For Adults:

1. Baking/Cooking: with or without your kids! I make dinner every night sans children, but am planning on having the girls help me make blueberry pancakes, oatmeal, zucchini muffins, and chocolate almond milk, among other things. (We love the book Pretend Soup for easy recipes to make with kids.)
2. Date Nights at Home: use this time to reconnect with your partner on the cheap. Maybe drink that nice bottle of wine you’ve been saving, or break out a board game!
3. Drinking: make your own cocktails!
4. Getting Moving: I’m feeling really pumped about the fact that we quit our gym at the end of last year in favor of setting up a small home gym. I’ve subscribed to Bar Method Online and this pregnancy/postpartum workout for years now, and recently purchased a barre off craigslist (though I used the back of a chair or edge of a table to do the workouts forever).
5. Organizing/Cleaning: this is a great time to clean out your closets, weed out unused books and toys, organize the fridge and pantry — the possibilities are endless!
6. Go Green: maybe it’s time to revamp your cleaning materials and figure out how to ditch the chemicals while saving on cost and packaging! Here’s what we use for laundry detergent and our everyday cleaning supplies. I should note that I recently made my own disinfectant spray as well, since vinegar hasn’t been tested on  . I added 2 tbsp bleach to 4 cups distilled water and spray it on commonly touched surfaces then let it air-dry. (Please note that it shouldn’t be sprayed on fabrics — because, BLEACH — so I stick to spraying it on faucet handles, doorknobs, toilet flushers, cabinet pulls, etc.)
7. Helping Others: If you’re looking for a way to do good during the quarantine, consider supporting local businesses by buying gift cards, or by ordering coffee or food from a local cafe or restaurant and having it sent to a nearby medical facility (call ahead to facilitate with the medical center first). Many small exercise studios are offering web-based streaming classes at a reduced price. You can also have your kiddos write letters or draw pictures to send to nearby senior centers or nursing homes — get creative!
8. Start a new hobby: or hey, maybe resurrect an old one — like your blog that you started 10(!) years ago!

For Kids:

1. Send mail: set up a weekly “mail day” where the kids draw pictures to mail to friends and relatives. My kids love to send and receive mail, so we will definitely be sending out some pictures to grandparents, family and friends (I love to ask them what they would like to say to the person and then transcribe it on the back of the picture they drew. A lot of the time it’s random and hilarious tidbits like “This is a cat holding a sword and red is my favorite color.”)
2. Wash toys outside: fill one plastic tub with soapy water and another with clean water and let the kids “wash” things like legos, metal kitchen toys, bath toys, etc.
3. Pool party: put on swimsuits and hop in the bath in the middle of the day. (This is especially good on really hard days when everyone is falling apart.)
4. Get outside: go for a hike, ride bikes/scooters outside, go for a walk down the block
5. Nature scavenger hunt: send kids outside with a list of nature items to find. Draw pictures for kiddos who don’t read yet (make it simple, like “find one green leaf”, “find a rock that looks like an animal”, etc.)
6. Dance party: put on special dance clothes (whatever the kids deem that to be) and put on your favorite Pandora/Spotify station (the ABBA Pandora station is fun for this)
7. Audio books: our kids are obsessed with audio books — so much that we gave them an old iPhone and a bluetooth speaker so they could listen to them whenever they wanted. I made this playlist for Prim to listen to at rest time, and it’s become a favorite for all day.
8. Decorate delivery boxes: if you’re anything like us, you’ll be getting quite a few deliveries in the coming weeks. We give the boxes to the kids to decorate with crayons, paint, etc. and they turn them into a rocket ship or school bus before we toss them into the recycling.
9. Afternoon tea: serve tea (herbal, with honey) or hot chocolate (or whatever!) with a fun little snack (maybe tiny, crustless sandwiches and cookies). Teach kids to drink with their pinky up. Speak in a British accent. Pretend you’re royalty and ask, “What is a week-end?“
10. Kids yoga: we love Cosmic Kids Yoga for “active” screen time.
11. Library hour: set a timer and tell kids to explore books quietly. Tell them they can choose a certain number of books (maybe two each) that you will read to them aloud when the timer goes off. (Good for days when you’re losing your mind and need a little silence.)
12. Pull weeds: fun after it’s rained (plus, free child labor!) Tell them they can look for worms and slugs too.
13. Ooey-Gooey: (this was a favorite of ours as kids) — combine cornstarch and water in a plastic tub and let kids play with it outside. It goes from feeling like a solid to a liquid — fascinating!
14. Blind taste test: cut up pieces of fruit, veg, whatever, and feed it to the kids with their eyes closed and see if they can guess what it is. Have them do it to you too (it’s funny for them to see an adult get it wrong!)
15. Circle/sharing time: have dedicated time each day to sit together, sing a song, and talk about today’s activities. Allow them to “share” something: they could talk about a special toy, or how they’re feeling that day, something they’re looking forward to, etc. Structure is really helpful for young kids, and they may be missing this aspect of school while stuck at home.
16. Weather/day of the week/date report: in the same vein as #15, designate one kid to ask Alexa (or google, or the internet) about the weather, then have them “report” it to the family. Have another kid ask about the day of the week and date and report it.

If you have more suggestions, please feel free to add them in the comments!