My French Quarantine: Things to do with Kids

A few weeks ago my husband and I made plans to spend the weekend with another family in Normandy.  It just so happened that our plans fell on the weekend that France went on lockdown.  Right now we're on day 11 and we're so thankful that we're here in Normandy instead of Paris. I love Paris, but two little kids + a baby + no wifi + tiny apartment = disaster.  Here, the kids have a huge yard to run around in and friends to play with.  We also have a home school schedule, and I think it helps having all of them doing work because it gives it more of a "this is school time" vibe.


I know there are a million things out there helping everyone with home school ideas, but I thought I'd share what I've been doing with my 5 (almost 6) year old son. We're getting ready to move back to the states in April (at least we had been...we'll see what transpires in the coming month or so), so I'm hoping to get him ready with some basic reading and math skills...in English.  He's been having trouble with a few letters, like "I".  He calls it "E" because that's how it's pronounced in French.  Poor kid.  He thinks he has something down and then we change it on him.

I've been using the app "Reading Eggs." It has a lesson and accompanying worksheets to reinforce what he's learned on the app-- altogether it lasts about 45 minutes. I have him do a reading lesson, take a 30 minute recess, and then do a math lesson.  It's a great interactive app that my kids get really excited to play.  Even though he could breeze through it easily, I or my husband usually sit with him to make sure he's actually paying attention and not just pushing buttons to get to the prize at the end.  There's a 30 day trial when you sign up if you're interested.  There's also games and activities for toddlers as well as video tutorials for crafts.

We have a fairly strict schedule to keep the days structured, and we don't allow the kids to snack in between meals:

Breakfast (whenever the kids wake up)
9:30am Lesson 1
10:30am Recess
11am Lesson 2
12pm Lunch
Break until 2pm
2pm-3/4pm Reading, youtube books, or more school work for the older kids
4:30pm Snack Time
5pm Outdoor play and/or screens until dinner

Friday and the weekend are free days.

Aside from the reading eggs, there are also a lot of authors on instagram who have been hosting reading times on their Live Stories.  I tried it with my 2 year old and she wasn't into it, but I'll see if my son likes it.

@oliverjeffers
@macbarnett
@jessicahische

During our reading time, we've been having a "salle de français"--french room-- where the kids are only allowed to speak French while we watch someone read a book. Here's one we watched today.




Mo Willems, author of "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" and the Gerald & Piggy Books, is doing some fun step-by-step doodles here.

I also saw this post on hello lunch lady (a magazine I think I'll have to subscribe to at some point) for things to do with bored kids.

Also some yummy sandwich ideas from the same website.

If you need something creative to do, my sister-in-law has a friend selling these amazing bead kits!  You'll have something fun and cool to make while also helping a small business-- also a cool and fun thing to do.

Other than that, there's not a whole lot to report.  I've left the house twice since we arrived almost two weeks ago to go grocery shopping. Baby rolled over once.  My daughter's birthday is coming up so we're planning on having a little celebration for her-- birthdays for her mean cake and balloons, so we'll try to make that happen for her. Overall we're happy and healthy and staying in a town that hasn't had any COVID-19 cases, so yay!

Hope you all are staying well and sane under these circumstances! Let me know what you've been up to with your kids, too :)

Bisous!

P.S. My husband & I made this goofy video for a coffee competition. haha One of the kids here filmed and edited it for us. Talent.


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