Summering in a Small Space during the Pandemic
After 4+ months of staying Safer at Home, most of our household rules and practices are now fully out the door.
Above: West watching friend Shavonda Gardner during an IG Live.
Mealtimes are fluid.
Activities are devised on the spot, rather than planned in advance (unlike those early, ambitious weeks in March).
Laundry day is any day.
And Adam and I are much more likely become distracted and randomly get absorbed in read articles and updates on our phones, rather than delaying until West is asleep at night like we used to.
Above: West wearing a child-sized mask, handmade at Late Sunday Afternoon in Venice.
I am still working full time, while Adam and West are, of course, still unable to take the local adventures they used to.
Above: Adam Winkleman and West enjoying the remains of what was once an epic pillow fort.
Those field trips once allowed me to focus uninterrupted on my job for valuable chunks of time throughout the day. Now we have to get a bit more creative— a challenge we’re (thankfully) all still into.
(Click here to read my Tips for Working Effectively from a Small Home / Apt During the Pandemic.)
We haven’t gotten West any new toys (except an oversized crane that we’d ordered way back in winter) since the very start of the pandemic.
As such, we’ve been doing things like draping oversized linens from the vine canopy as part of an obstacle course, writing letters to friends and mailing them via a city post box (and discussing absentee voting when we do so), and setting up museum exhibitions throughout the house. (This is something West came up with on his own. He gives us slow-guided tours of the works on display, which range from rocks to dolls to pieces of hardware.)
Adam and I are also relying heavily on the Pinna audio app throughout the days. Pinna offers ad-free podcasts, audiobooks and more, helping us keep West entertained without a screen while my husband and I manage our small business.
West listens attentively to his long-time favorite series, Sarah & Duck, or his new obsession, Quentin and Alfie's ABC Adventures.
Above: Quentin and Alfie's ABC Adventures on the Pinna app— our go-to for ad-free podcasts and audiobooks for our 3+ year old.
He’s so enamored of the Pinna segments that not only will he listen to them for long stretches of time while playing inside or outside with blocks and trucks, but he also drops a portable speaker in his wagon to listen to the stories on-the-go as we all take the dogs on their walks. (Use this link and the promo code: PINNA3MONTHS for 3 months of free listening.)
Above: A borrowed library book via The Libby Ap (featuring an illustration by Christian Robinson, and a copy of Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi.
Other activities we’re still regularly doing with West include:
Reading for about 2 hours each day. In order to expand our collection of books, we downloaded the Libby library app.
Biking in the early mornings (before the heat and crowds set in).
Watching episodes of Sarah & Duck or Puffin Rock with our mini projector
Checking on the fairies’ house and using a pulley to transport foraged supplies their way.
Listening to Pinna audiobooks / stories while playing with trucks, building blocks/tiles, train tracks, etc. (Visit this special link and use the promo code PINNA3MONTHS for a free 3-month trial.)
“Painting” the fence with water
Bubbles
Cooking, baking, cleaning and laundry as family games
Dance parties
Building forts (on the couch, with a tablecloth tent, and with play silks / scarves)
Window darts (these are plastic, but I’m glad we have them—- they’re fun for the whole family and we use them constantly)
Running around the house and yard with the pups
Art class (stickers, simple crafts, color pencils and crayons, paper planes, etc)
Gardening, Farmstand harvesting and monitoring, and careful watering of the indoor/outdoor plants
Puzzles (we only have 4-5 small ones, but they’re enough)
Basketball
Video / Portal calls with family and friends
Chatting over fences and through windows with our neighbors
“Fishing” in the main room or garden
Switching up meal and snack formats in the PlanetBox for in-home picnics
Meanwhile, Adam and I have an ever-growing stack of books we’re eager to read. I ordered some for my e-reader, some from author’s sites, and others through Elizabeth's Bookshop & Writing Centre (fulfilled via bookshop.org). A percentage of all sales from Elizabeth’s goes to The Loveland Foundation to support their mission of making mental healthcare accessible for Black women and girls. West goes to bed around 9:30, so it’s around then that Adam and I finally get to open pages and read.
At this rate, I imagine it will take us quite a while to get through our current reading list. But it’s lifelong work, this learning and unlearning.
And as for the summer, I’m all for foregoing traditional activities in order to keep members of our communities safer, figure out ways to make our planet healthier in this crucial decade, and to take meaningful actions to rectify inequalities throughout our country.
