TAMPA, Fla. — With most businesses closed, schools going online and parents working from home because of COVID-19 coronavirus, many of us are struggling to figure out how to teach and entertain our kids.
A busy Tampa mom of three has been doing this very thing for years.
Diana Blinkhorn already knows what it's like to be a busy wife and mom to three young girls and work from home, so she understands the challenge.
"I admire these moms who've had to jump in and really adapt pretty quickly with very little notice and that's really, really, really hard," she said.
She has two girls in elementary school and one in preschool. Her favorite way to teach is outside! Since her kids are young, she uses a lot of play-based learning.
"I created a hopscotch board and put her math problems on it and before she could go to the next step she had the solve the problem she was on," Blinkhorn said. "My kindergartner is working on sight words, so I would write her sight words with chalk on the ground and then I would have her take a big paintbrush and some water and trace the words."
She also came up with a creative way to have some good, clean fun with things you probably have sitting around your house.
"What you're going to do is cut the end off of a water bottle," Blinkhorn said. "Then take a rag and use an elastic or rubber band or hair tie to attach it to the end of the water bottle, then you just need soap and water, dip the rag in and blow through the nozzle of the water bottle and it's going to create this bubble snake effect."
Blinkhorn encourages parents to manage their expectations right now and not put too much pressure on themselves or their kids to get it right every day.
And above all: "Really enjoy this time with them, read with them, bake with them, let them sleep in."
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