By Kate Hodges
26th March 2020
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We’ve been talking here at The Green Parent about how to keep mindsets upbeat and energy high. Your mental wellbeing is important to us so we have a little treat for you! Positive news and uplifting stories seem more important than ever, to keep us all inspired and connected. We want to share yummy recipes and creative things to do at home with your family. We want to bring you happiness! We have created a link to read every issue of The Green Parent magazine for free. That’s sixteen years worth of joyful stuff! To activate your free access, simply email us at [email protected], with the subject line ‘Free TGP’ and you will receive a one time link to your inbox. No sign ups, no payment, no fuss. Simple! And good! *This content is only available until 1st April 2020 so email us soon! Like this so much you want more? An annual digital subscription with access to all back issues only costs £19.99 per year and can be read on PC, Tablet or phone. Subscribe here.
DO Green Little Fingers
Time spent in the garden is therapeutic, can help families bond and ease tensions, and, this year more than ever, can provide vital fresh food. If you’re lucky enough to have your own space, why not turn some over to growing food or planning projects with your children. Expert Dawn Isaac has some great ideas for sparking your family’s interest in gardening, you might like to try making biodegradable pots out of newspaper, or learn about permaculture. Gardening isn’t just about growing – you can also teach science, history and geography through tending a plot! Find out more about planting with children here
EVENT Dim The Lights
This year, more than ever, we can communicate big messages communally. This Saturday is Earth Hour, where globally, we celebrate our commitment to the planet by turning out our non-essential lights. From cottages to skyscrapers, farmhouses to office blocks, the lights will dim in order to harness the power of the people to drive major legislative change. This year it will resonate even harder, a show of solidarity across cities, countryside and beyond. Perhaps you could mark the occasion in an exciting way with your family; try stargazing, play board games by candlelight, explore your garden by torchlight, or simply look out of your window at the spectacle of a city a little darker than usual.
DO Read, Draw, Sweat!
Running out of books already? We’ve got you covered. Some of our favourite children’s authors, from Oliver Jeffers to Jeff Kinney are reading their stories, making available teaching resources, or creating drawing demos. Find a great round-up here. Other daily videos and sessions that we love include ‘the nation’s PE teacher’ Joe Wicks and his child-centred workouts – watch live at 9am or catch up when you can and https://twitter.com/noelfielding11https://twitter.com/noelfielding11’s surreal 3pm art club
DO Keep it Simple
In these uncertain times, we are finding solace in simplicity, stepping off the treadmill of reading, writing and arithmetic and honing other, more practical skills. We’re catching up on domestic arts, learning how to load a washing machine, hang out clothes to dry, boil an egg, bake bread, sew a button, and plant cress. Alternatively, there are *really* important life skills that stay with you forever and will always please a crowd. We’re learning how to do basic breakdance moves, to cross our eyes, to do a headstand making a start in beatboxing and to do exceptional family handshakes. All VERY useful in your futures.What we’ve been reading this week:
How to manage anxiety during a pandemic
“No matter what your specific brand of anxiety looks like, it’s probably safe to say that the novel coronavirus pandemic isn’t helping it. At the urging of public health officials, large public gatherings have been canceled, obsessive hand-washing is all but mandatory, and much of the world is in an uneasy state of lockdown. There is a lot of uncertainty and a lot of physical isolation, and being alone with your thoughts may be more distressing than ever
And while there’s no cure for the heightened anxiety that’s all but inevitable in these stressful, unprecedented times, there are ways to smarten your approach to dealing with it that can meaningfully reduce your overall sense of helplessness. Because if we have to sit at home feeling waves of anxiety, we at least can learn how to be experts at managing them.” Read more here
Found something inspirational to read that you’d like to share? Want to share your lockdown creations with us? Have an idea for things to do? We’d love to hear from you. Email Kate
And, once more as it proved so popular last week…
This month, the world has become a darker, more intense place. Many of us are now in semi- or total-lockdown, living small-scale, confined to houses and, if we’re lucky, gardens. Testing times, to be sure. We’ve started a list of online resources to help, from how to structure your days, to lesson plans and home-ed resources, online story tellers and ideas for kitchen-table art, front-room workouts, inventive ways to play, stress reducers for the family, fun sites to visit, virtual museums to explore, and the online communities springing up to support us all. Please take a look, share and get in touch if you have any suggestions for more resources
