SafeAmerica Credit Union has been closely monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic and the plan of action our local, state and federal leaders are/will be implementing.
While we do offer services that help provide a relief from finances, we wanted to provide comfort through activities and concepts for children of members who have been dealing with the ripples of COVID-19.
Below are some of the best practices we put together:
Hobbies
This is an opportunity…
to have children experiment with healthy brain stimulating activities that could develop into important future skills.
Some examples include:
- Origami
- Crochet
- Painting
- Drawing
- Marbles
- Photography
- Gardening - Currently popular due to the weather
- Music – Instruments, singing and dancing
- Camping - Pitch a tent in your backyard
Social Interaction
Reaching out to…
family and friends via FaceTime, Zoom or any other video call service will help remind your child they are not dealing with this alone. It will also continue to help children develop important social skills especially during Covid-19.
Understanding
We can all agree…
that COVID - 19 has been a stressful situation, our children also deal with stress and while it may have been “cool” or “fun” to not attend school at first, children may have seen their safe havens quickly turned colorless. Appropriately do not forget how the mind wonders and how curiosity works for children. Children love to be taken seriously and by having a unique role and recognized for achievements they will further develop confidence especially during a time that seems confusing to them.
Meal Preparation
Having your children…
involved with important activities presents the opportunity to understand the logic behind cooking as well as being able to positively reinforce them for meals they help make especially when adding the combination of kids and shelter in place.
- Practice counting skills and fractions
- Importance of following directions
- Importance of use of ingredients
- Meal appreciation
- Communication skills
- Healthy eating
- Safety reminders
Quiet Time
Let’s face it…
if your little ones are quiet, it usually means there may be some mess to tidy up. Quiet time is simply unstructured time that makes children look for ways to entertain themselves and could also be tied in with hobbies.
Developing an outlet for creativity, teaching children to make their own choices and getting time to yourself are the ultimate goals here. Durations of quite time vary, depending on how interested your child may be, a good starting point is anywhere from 45 to 120 minutes.
Below are some suggestions:
- Have containers with different types of toys that stimulate creativity
- Use visual aids to keep track of time
- Use books/audio books (Aesop’s Fables, The Phantom Tollbooth, Percy Jackson & the Olympians)
- Use arts and crafts (Shape Threading, Bead Threading, Typography etc.)
Routine
Implementing…
a structured routine reduces stress and assures children they are in a loving and safe environment. We all need to remember our government officials have been easing up restrictions and sooner rather than later our routines will be just how they were before this whole situation started.
These six suggestions/concepts have plenty of worth and hopefully could provide a good rhythm during the remaining duration of shelter-in-place and as a precaution, should be ready for a possible extension of the shelter-in-place order
REMEMBER…
We will be able to see our distant loved ones soon.
We are all safe and will continue to be.
We are a community and we thrive as one.
We appreciate the efforts, hard work and dedication from our members, our SACU family as well as everyone on the front lines. Everyone is making a difference.
Thank
YOU.
*For more information on what SafeAmerica Credit Union is doing to keep you safe, click here
*To read our previous blog regarding safety tips and how scammers are using COVID-19, click here
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