Families & Caregivers

A few ideas for staying healthy and keeping busy at home

 

Go for a nice walk in the neighbourhood – while keeping a nice 6 foot distance from others, of course
• Make it interesting by making it into a scavenger hunt with these different printable sheets or get creative and make your own!
o http://valerie-whathaveidonenow.blogspot.com/2012/05/neighborhood-scaven...
o https://kinderart.com/wp-content/uploads/neighborhood.jpg

 

Support our local healthcare workers! Decorate your front window with hearts and look forward to hooting and hollering from your front door at 7pm.

 

Try some new crafts!  - Check out the below sites to find all kinds of great crafts ideas
https://www.craftprojectideas.com/
https://funfamilycrafts.com/
http://www.crayola.ca/crafts/ciy-crafts/

 

When in doubt, colour!  Click below for great links with endless free colouring sheets to print
http://www.supercoloring.com/
http://coloring-4kids.com/

 

Get out in Nature – Nature can be very calming and healing, and exercise releases endorphins to help curb stress.  Note!  make sure the area is open before heading out, some BC parks have closed temporarily
• Want to make it more fun? Try your hand at geocaching! This is a great way to make nature walks fun.  Don’t know what geocaching is? Learn more below.
https://www.geocaching.com/play

 

Check in with your CI program virtually! – The Garth Homer staff have been working hard to get online check-ins set up to keep everyone connected so you can “hang out” with your staff from home!  Contact your program if you’re not yet set up and would like to be!!

 

Try learning a new language – If you’re looking for more of a learning challenge Duo Lingo is a super fun and easy way to try out a new language
https://www.duolingo.com/learn

 

Play some free online games – Check out the games below listed in order or difficulty level

1. https://pbskids.org/games/
2. https://www.funbrain.com/games
3. https://quickdraw.withgoogle.com/ 

 

Exercise in your own home
• Did you know that the Special O has online work outs?  They do! Check them out below
https://www.specialolympics.ca/story/special-olympics-school-strength-yo...

 

De-Stress with some Yoga or breathing exercises 
• Try this gentle seated yoga flow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DYH5ud3zHo
• Or, try spending a few minutes breathing with these moving graphics
Moving geometry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Q8D6n-3qw
Moving blowfish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLbK0o9Bk7Q&feature=emb_logo
*Tip - right click the videos to enter loop mode so the video plays continuously
 
 

Visit a virtual Museum or Zoo

Museums – - take a virtual walk through and explore the exhibits
o The Louvre
   https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne
o The Smithsonian
   https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour

Zoos and Aquariums

o San Diego Zoo – Check out their many live cams streaming
   https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/videos
o National US Aquarium – an awesome walk through virtual tour!
   https://aqua.org/media/virtualtours/baltimore/index.html
o Calgary Zoo – peek in on their pandas with their live cams
https://www.calgaryzoo.com/visit/animals/giant-pandas#species-tabs

 

We hope these ideas help to get you started!  You can always reach out to your programs for more suggestions – the staff here are great at brainstorming up creative activities.