Has anyone else noticed how many celebrations we have had with kids over the last year?! Birthdays, Halloween, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Years, Valentine’s Day, and more. Kids desperately need the opportunity to celebrate milestones and connect with each other, and adults have gotten quite creative with how to celebrate given the pandemic’s safety requirements. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I’m excited to share some of my favorite ways I have found to have fun and build friendships in a distanced environment.
Baking - Each week, my nephew and I bake a new dessert from a cookbook he got for Christmas. We both love the time spent together measuring, mixing, and making a mess! Sometimes, we have to do this virtually, but it works as long as we both have the ingredients we need. I am certain he would love doing this with a group of friends, too. All it would take is a decision about what they are going to bake, a preplanned list of ingredients to have available, and the time. There is sure to be hiccups along the way that will lead to lots of laughter and memories.
Games - There are loads of online games I love to play with classes, friends, and family. Some of my favorites are listed in our blog post titled “8 Great Social Games to Play Virtually”. These include: CodeNames, OneWord, HangMan, Boggle, Skribbl.io, Sheep, Charades, and Strawberry. Check it out if you are looking for games! If you have more ideas, please add them to our comments!
Walk/Bike Ride - While kids in our area aren’t able to spend time indoors together (yet), they are starting to take walks together (distanced and with masks on). Inviting a friend for a neighborhood walk or bike ride, so that kids can explore together, would spark a lot of joy for the kids in my family. Even better - set up a scavenger hunt in the neighborhood where kids have to go to certain spots and figure out clues to find the final friendship prize (which our Friendship Pal Packs would be perfect for!). Meet up online after to share out what they found.
Puzzles - Most kids LOVE solving brain-twisting puzzles together. Creating puzzles and sharing them (in whatever platform you use) for kids to solve in small groups can be a blast! Taking the time to solve together will build those social emotional interactions we are all missing right now. If you need help with that - Solving Fun offers free 30 minute solving sessions for 3rd-6th grade classes to solve puzzles and play games together.
If you have other ideas, please sign-in to our website (it’s free, and will give you access to a “member only” section of our site) and leave a comment.
Check out our Friendship Themed Mini Pal Packs to buy for your favorite solvers! $1 shipping no matter the quantity! Learn more about Pal Packs and Buy Pal Packs and other fun puzzles in our store.