When my 4 kids were young, there were weeks at a time when we were stuck in the house together because of various illnesses including chicken pox (What a horrid winter!) There was no internet then, and appropriate TV was very limited. So I learned new skills with the kids. Everyone who was up to it had something to do. We learned to make noodles on the hand-held pasta maker. Everyone took turns with the wheel. We learned to bake cookies, cakes, and other things. There was plenty of reading and math in the recipes, especially in making half, a third, or double the amount.
The flour was everywhere. It was so much more work than just opening a box of pasta or cookies, or the like. But when they were part of the process, they were cooperative, and they LOVED the outcome.
I also did a lot of reading aloud, even to the upper elementary kids. Sometimes, we would take turns reading a page at a time to the younger ones.
Of course, I was happy when they went back to school, but those days were, for the most part, good days. There is always some skill that can be learned or taught together. Some way for everyone to be involved in a physical task. We will make it through these times. We will.
