Now what?

So, this is different.  We are all home.  Teachers are trying to teach from home.  Kids are trying to learn from home.  Parents are trying to balance their roles as parents and facilitators of the teaching.  We are all feeling the stress of this new and unprecedented experience.  However, every cloud has a silver lining they say.   Maybe our silver lining is a forced break from a normally very busy and hectic life.  Experiencing family time in the summer months often looks like vacations, summer camps, play dates, etc.  All of those are not an option so now as parents you are left with the task of 24/7 occupying your children's time.  In our world of speech and language, we do see an opportunity for all kids to develop so many of their speaking, listening, and conversation skills.  There is now time to engage in activities that enhance children's communication.  Here are a few suggestions:
       * Cook together.  Bake something, make a simple dinner, have kids help prepare a lunch.  This will teach them direction following, sequencing, vocabulary, sometimes math (fractions), and functional skills.  At the end they get a natural good consequence to their efforts as well.

      *  Games - Board games, card games, charade,  Simon Says, 20 questions, etc. are a few possibilities.  Look online with your children for suggestions so they have a say on what to play.
     *  Conversation - Actual face to face conversations.  From babies to teenagers, kids develop all sorts of skill just by a few minutes of conversation with a good adult role model.  It can develop vocabulary, sentence structure, turn taking, eye contact, listening skills, and non verbal (tone and body language) skills.  Plus it is a great way for adults and children to gain each other's perspectives.
    *  Reading - As kids get older they develop much of their language through reading.  If they are not great readers then audio books and/or and adult reading to them is also great.  They may actually start to like reading when they have to fill their time.  A suggestion is that they negotiate a minute for minute sharing between electronics and a book.  If they play video games for 30 minutes, for example, then they read (or audio book)  for 30 minutes.  Create a fun or comfy book nook to read in.  I remember the days of making forts in the house with sheets and cushions.
      * Watch a show together and talk about it.
      * Work on writing by having them reach out to relatives or friends they can't see via email or actual letter writing.  
      *  Get out the blocks, tea sets, dolls, train sets, etc and get back to some great pretend play. This often leads to a lot of dialogue and language use.  
Whatever you do with your kids, remember to have fun and try to embrace this time.  Soon enough all those crazy schedules will start again and it will be much harder to get in this quality time.