Jade and family, from Manchester, give us all a sneak peek of what goes on in their house every Friday nowadays!…

What do you do?

Every Friday, our family does a Friday night dinner dress-up theme. We eat party food and play games.

You don’t need anything in particular for these activities. You just need a good imagination and an open mind (I managed to convince my husband to wear a dress and makeup).

Most of the outfits have been made from what we already have in the house or crafted together from junk modelling and paint.

I’ve found letting the kids play a big part in choosing a theme helps get them excited. They pick their own characters within the theme and help craft any props. We’ve also incorporated the craft into our daily homeschooling

Next week is my son’s turn to pick and he has chosen ninjas!!

Tell us a bit about yourself and your family…

My name is Jade, I’m 33 married with two children – Finley aged 8 and Charlotte aged 5. We’re from Manchester, UK

How are you finding being in the house more than usual?

So far I’m finding isolation ok. Both the kids and I benefit from having a daily schedule. We find it keeps us motivated and makes the day drag less. My son and I have also been doing lots of puzzles which have filled the time. My husband is a key worker so it’s just us 3 for the day.

My tips are:

  • to have a rough schedule of what you want to achieve for the day. We have a learning hub from their school, so we pick a subject and work on that – no times.
  • Don’t restrict yourself with a timeframe. Life and moods often change things. Also the schedule isn’t set in stone. Some mornings you’ll wake up and think, I just fancy a movie day. That’s ok, roll with how you’re feeling.
  • Take joy in the fact you can press pause on life, capture as many moments on camera – you’re living history right now – that’s pretty cool!

Any final thoughts?

I think the Housebound With Kids website is a great idea for keeping ideas fresh and the community aspect is lovely. We often feel alone in our thoughts, guilty for reaching the end of our tether and shouting at the kids, but really we’re all in this together and we’re all just doing the best we can do.