The news about the introduction of quarantine has been perceived in mixed attitude by the community. Many of us, from the pain of losing the usual way of life, went from denial, anger, compromise, depression to acceptance. Here we are at home: someone alone, someone with their beloved ones or parents, someone with their children. There are long weeks of responsible sitting at home ahead that are needed to be filled with something. We would like to share some «recipes» on how to spend your time fun with benefits

Recipe 1 One of the most important recipes for organizing an unforgettable pastime is a book. What do you want to read in times of epidemic, panic and general anxiety? Of course, there is something beautiful that will entertain, smile or soothe. That is why I advise you to read the «Dandelion wine» and start living, following the cats. Now is the perfect time to do this. You can find instructions on proper imitation in the book «Do and think like a cat». The most important message I would like to convey to parents is to protect your children from the bad news about the spread of coronavirus, because at all times it is important that kids feel loved and protected. That is why I recommend spending more time reading, rather than tracking, disturbing news. Read with the children the books that your soul will respond to: Little Prince, My Grandpa was a Cherry, loaded with optimism and joy by Vsevolod Nestayko’s works, will not leave you or them indifferent.
Recipe 2 Watch family movies with your kids. This brings the conversation closer and simplifies the conversations about the difficult and important (now is the time when you can talk to your children without delay on all the topics that you have postponed until less hectic times). During the quarantine period, Megogo expanded its free movie library. In total, it now has over 10,000 units of free content: around 4,500 movies and 1,500 cartoons. Children are very good at «coming in» with topics on environmental issues, those that address the problem of bullying, the theme of friendship and achievement of the goal. During quarantine, I advise you to review the films «Animal Union», «Bell and Sebastian», «The Miracle», «Charlie and the Chocolate Factory», «The Adventures of Mia and the White Lion» and more.
Recipe 3 Spring is a time for community activities and outdoor sports. Those who have shreds of the earth can start a season of garden work with children: you can now plant parsley, dill and arugula. This activity will bring kids joy and pleasure. If you live in multi-storey buildings, start growing plants on the windowsill: water, plant, just arrange (by the way, not only flowers, but also lettuce, microgreens, cherry tomatoes and even mushrooms can be grown on the windowsill). It’s also about communicating with wildlife.
Recipe 4 There are a lot of interesting offers on the Internet for leisure. You can, for example, practice yoga with an Indian yoga teacher, scientist, four-time Indian champion of yoga, Ravinder Jangra. Ravinder works with an interpreter and communication with him always gives joy. At the time of quarantining, the online platform opened free distance courses. Сoursera (open access to over 3,800 courses and 400 specializations), appearances from TEDxKyiv (video library with interesting lectures about everything), Prometheus – those resources that will help you and your children gain new knowledge from home. The Step Computer Academy also offers Zhytomyr citizens to join online workshops for free with useful skills (there are groups for children and adults). Open lectures are presented by «Dad of the bbran» by Andriy Fedoriv, Ukrainian marketer and entrepreneur. Previously, these lessons had to be paid $ 200. So hurry up!
It is really pleasant that our Zhytomyr citizens are also joining useful initiatives. Artist Yana Sychnevych is ready to teach you how to draw – she systematically teaches great photo lessons in the visual arts. Lyudmila Oleksiuk introduced the Challenge #wearestrongerthanvirus. Every day she proposes to do burpees, and tomorrow they should be one more than today (we will not decipher that such a page, because it is better to see once than to hear a hundred times). The spouses of psychologists Halyna and Mykhailo Gorodok are conducting an extremely up-to-date online marathon «How to find mutual understanding in a crisis». Masters from the Positive Territory School of Fine Arts will have the pleasure of teaching kids online how to create small masterpieces in the Ebra technique or give master classes in soap making.
Recipe 5 Do not forget about the existence of board games (among which there are those that do not require a partner), creative sets, puzzles, crossword puzzles, tanograms, as well as jump ropes, balls, skittles. Organize creative nights with poems, songs, and dances, and participate in online chess tournaments (Lichess platform).
When playing with your children, do not forget about your parents! Make calls and support more often during a trial period that is also a time of rethinking values. Live these days in harmony with yourself, your loved ones and the world! Be healthy!