Keeping Students Sane During Social Isolation

I thought this warranted its own thread since some people are probably not interested in a discussion about what to do with kids during the school closing. But I also thought it might be a good place to percolate ideas about how to keep our kids sane during the shutdown.

Google Hangouts, Skype or Facetime with friends seem like a good place to start.  

Today I was thinking of a walk in the reservation.  I think it's possible to do this with another family if we observe some basic rules about no hugs etc. It's not hard to stay a few feet apart on the walking paths up there, so maybe this is a reasonable way to do something social without being a transmission risk.

Unfortunately the Turtle Back Zoo is closed up at least until March 27th.

Any other ideas?


I think if we stop telling them to get off their phones and spend some time outside, they will do social isolation quite naturally. smile


Will they go insane? Americans have been pampered for generations, this will be a real test. It will make them appreciate everything they have been taking for granted. 


Jaytee said:

Will they go insane? Americans have been pampered for generations, this will be a real test. It will make them appreciate everything they have been taking for granted. 

Maybe I should change it to "Keeping Parents Sane."

Some kids might be perfectly happy hunkering down in front of online multiplayer games, for instance, for the next two weeks. My kid is learning about online video chatting at the moment, which she hasn't really done before. But she's going to want to go out and do stuff eventually.

Being cut off from face to face communication with peers is going to be hard. 


There’s some fun science-y stuff for school kids who are at home on the WHO website, in their booklets for educators and schools. 


mrincredible said:

I thought this warranted its own thread since some people are probably not interested in a discussion about what to do with kids during the school closing. But I also thought it might be a good place to percolate ideas about how to keep our kids sane during the shutdown.

Google Hangouts, Skype or Facetime with friends seem like a good place to start.  

Today I was thinking of a walk in the reservation.  I think it's possible to do this with another family if we observe some basic rules about no hugs etc. It's not hard to stay a few feet apart on the walking paths up there, so maybe this is a reasonable way to do something social without being a transmission risk.

Unfortunately the Turtle Back Zoo is closed up at least until March 27th.

Any other ideas?

 I think a walk is the perfect idea.  I would suggest not doing it with others as its hard to ultimately keep kids 6 feet apart if they are friends.


birdwatcher said:

 I think a walk is the perfect idea.  I would suggest not doing it with others as its hard to ultimately keep kids 6 feet apart if they are friends.

That was the decision we reached for that reason. 

Google Hangouts is going to be helpful for video chat as well as Skype and Facetime. I think my daughter might get introduced to online multiplayer games.


My eldest is currently building some sort of weapon from fallout with EVA foam, he is on the second layer of plastidip.  

He has also taken a shovel dig up parts of our yard to make hills and valleys for his bike (yes, he always wears a helmet) 

My youngest just came into the kitchen naked and covered in ink from head to toe from a magic marker that “exploded ALL BY ITSELF”

My kids are doing a great job of keeping themselves occupied and sane, though I may not be so lucky by the time this is over 


Don't be afraid to take those walks.  Avoid the most crowded paths, or walk around your neighborhood.

But spring officially starts on Thursday, and that will help.  Fresh air and sunshine really do work:


https://medium.com/@ra.hobday/coronavirus-and-the-sun-a-lesson-from-the-1918-influenza-pandemic-509151dc8065

"Put simply, medics found that severely ill flu patients nursed outdoors recovered better than those treated indoors. A combination of fresh air and sunlight seems to have prevented deaths among patients; and infections among medical staff.[1] There is scientific support for this. Research shows that outdoor air is a natural disinfectant. Fresh air can kill the flu virus and other harmful germs. Equally, sunlight is germicidal and there is now evidence it can kill the flu virus."



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