Whether your Spring Break plans included a trip out of town or sights closer to home, your plans have changed. Here are 12 suggestions for making the most of the time together as a family. (These make good weekend activities, too!)
Take a trip around the world and beyond! Attractions worldwide are offering virtual visits. Check out the exhibits at the Louvre in Paris, gaze at the ceiling of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, and tour galleries of the Guggenheim and the Museum of Modern Art, both in New York City. Take a guided tour of Van Gogh’s artwork and letters in Amsterdam, and walk the Great Wall in China. In D.C., visit the Smithsonian museums without the crowds. Find the Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies at the British Museum or Banksy murals around London Visit the San Diego Zoo with live streams from the animals’ habitats, or travel to Mars. Out of this world!
Visit America’s National Parks. Online, find virtual tours of several of the nation’s beloved parks, including Yosemite in California, Yellowstone in Wyoming, Kenai Fjords in Alaska, Hawai’i Volcanoes, Carlsbad Caverns in southern New Mexico, Bryce Canyon in Utah, and the remote Dry Tortugas off the coast of Florida.
Stay local and visit Metro Atlanta attractions. You can take a virtual preview tour of fun stuff to do that’s closer to home, and make plans to visit your favorites in the future. For instance, visit the Georgia Aquarium like these puppies from the Atlanta Humane Society! Find a list of virtual field trips in the area, curated by Atlanta Parent. You’ll find livestream shows, online exhibits, YouTube performances, podcasts, even improv comedy.
Move your camping trip to the backyard. If your planned camping trip was canceled, set up your tent and sleeping bags in the backyard. Before you go, read up on birds you might see or constellations in the night sky.
Stage your own Family Olympics. The Tokyo Olympics may be postponed until the summer of 2021, but you can have your own version at home! Design a mascot and make flags for your “country.” Have an opening ceremony, complete with a running of the “torch.” Use your imagination for family-friendly events… three-legged race, discus throw with a Frisbee or paper plate, speed walking, long jump, balancing a book on your head. The possibilities!
Rainy weather? Have a movie marathon with something extra. Sure, you could watch all eight movies in the Harry Potter series, but why not take it a step further? Make wands and hats. Sort into Hogwarts “houses” or design your own house. Look for HP recipes. Try out one of these STEAM projects or some Potter-inspired ideas from Scholastic. Visit Harry’s Wizarding World in the Scholastic Stacks. Not a Harry Potter fan? Have super fun with whatever movie franchise or TV series has super fans at your house.
Learn something new as a family. Online, you can find an instructional video for just about anything. And many apps and courses are free or available at a reduced price at this time. Always wanted to learn to make pasta or bread? Need arts and craft tutorials? Think it would be cool to know American Sign Language? Play the piano? Just Google or search your social media accounts for posted videos and content!
Get outside (safely). If you want to venture beyond your neighborhood, check out a city park. Walking paths in Gwinnett County Parks are open, sunrise to sunset each day. (However, basketball, tennis, volleyball, and sand volleyball courts, dog parks, ball fields, playgrounds, pavilions, and skate areas are closed until further notice.) Have a picnic in a park or in the backyard. Fly a kite, go fishing, ride a bike, or spread out a blanket and watch the clouds. Whatever you do though, observe the 6-foot rule, keeping your distance from others.
Put on a Family Arts Camp. Look for creative activities in drama, dance, music, art, writing, and more. Check out Arts Week ideas from Confident Parent Confident Kids. (Scroll to the bottom of the post.)
Do the usual with a bit of flare. Don’t just walk the dog… walk the dog in a costume! (Through your online neighborhood group, ask other families to do the same.) Observe Silly Hat Saturdays or Wacky Walk Wednesdays. Eat dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner. Have a meal by candlelight (or battery-powered lantern).
Attend virtual shows and concerts. Watch living room concerts from a host of artists on Facebook and Twitter. Experience the cancelled South by Southwest Music Festival with NPR’s Austin 100 playlist. You can even stream nightly encore performances from the Met if you’re an opera aficionado.
Have an online reunion. Use FaceTime, Skype, Zoom, Google Hangouts, or another available platform to stay in touch with friends and family. Play group games, tell stories, have a sing-along, or do skits.