Most people around the world are in temporary isolation at home as the impact of CORONAVIRUS or COVID-19 becomes more pronounced. For those of us that are staying at home to keep ourselves and others safe, we may be wondering, what are we going to do with all this time? How do keep from becoming anxious? Well, here's a creative and fun list of ideas to keep your entire family busy at home.

Do a Puzzle

Doing a puzzle with your kids at home not only helps pass the time, it is both entertaining and a learning opportunity. It has been known that puzzles present great benefits for children as they grow. Doing a puzzle can help develop cognitive, emotional and physical skills. But, most importantly right now, it takes our mind off everything that is stressful right now. To get you started, here's a link to our favorite collection of challenging and intricate wooden puzzles - Mosaic Puzzles - found on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/stores/MosaicPuzzles/node/20690622011. They are proudly Made in the USA and are offering a 15% discount with code 3X3Q85RN through April 5.

Make Some Healthy Meals to Freeze and Reheat

Most everyone is all stocked up on supplies, so put them to use making dinners and casseroles that can be frozen. And of course, pour yourself a glass of wine while cooking, and just because you aren’t at a party, doesn't mean a wine charm from Simply Charmed won't bring a little cheer. They are offering a 15% discount as well with code NOURISH15 through April 5. Maybe send a set to your favorite wine lover that you are missing sharing your favorite bottle with these days.

Check out these healthy meals to freeze and reheat to keep your entire family full and satisfied. https://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder/freezer-meals

Organize and De-Clutter

Now is a great time to clean and organize all closets, kitchen cupboards, clean all rooms - just clean and organize your entire house with the help of your kids. Purge your closet of the clothes you've all neglected to wear and bag up anything you want to give to your friends or anything worth donating. Clean out all cupboards, drawers, and shelves of dirt and dust and start organizing. Perhaps set aside some clothing and items for a neighborhood garage sale later when everything is back to normal.

Teach your kids to declutter by talking to them why you need to declutter, talk to them about the advantages of donating their old toys or clothes and provide an area for everything. You can spend one day in each of their rooms and go through all closets, drawers, boxes, and shelves. Let them also help when deciding what to keep, what to donate and what to trash.

Bake with your kids

Take this opportunity to teach your kids a new skill in the kitchen and try some recipe that your kids will love like banana bread or banana bars. Baking with kids could be messy, but it's a lot of fun!

Banana Bars Recipe by Betty Crocker

If you got really ripe bananas at home and you don't want them to go to waste, here's a delicious way to use them.

Total Prep Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes

Yield:  24 servings

Ingredients:

For bars:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup mashed, 2 medium very ripe bananas
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt

For Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Here are the steps to prepare them:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom and sides of the rectangular pan (13x9x2 inches) with shortening.
2. In a large bowl, mix granulated sugar, mashed bananas, oil and eggs with a spoon. Mix in, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, flour, and salt. Spread in pan.
3. Bake bars 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely for about an hour.
4. For cream cheese frosting: In a medium bowl, mix butter, cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Slowly beat in powdered sugar with a spoon, occasionally scraping bowl, until mixture turns smooth and spreadable.
5. Spread with Cream Cheese Frosting on top of cooled banana bars. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows.
6. Store covered in refrigerator.

This is a simple list to get you started - how to keep your entire family entertained while in isolation. Don't let boredom strike, just look around your home and surely you'll find something entertaining or something to get fixed or to be organized. And we're also thankful for Netflix and the internet, they are also the best ways to entertain ourselves at home.

On the bright side, look at the positive things you'll benefit from the situation. Staying at home or this isolation is just temporary and this is the only way to keep our entire family safe. Let’s all be responsible citizens, and do our part to help keep the virus from spreading. Being in isolation is also a great way to spend some quality time with our family, learn new things with our kids and do the chores that keep getting put on the back burner.

Stay at home, pray and keep safe everyone!

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