Finding activities to keep kids entertained can become an activity itself, particularly with so many of us spending extended time at home. Beau and Kara Ryan, parents to Remi (7) and Jesse (3), are embracing the extra time they have with one another and keep the kids busy by cooking, playing games and planning fun outdoor activities. Here, they’ve partnered with us to share what they’ve enjoyed doing as a family, to keep the kids entertained in an out of isolation.
Quality time: During isolation, we have been spending a lot of quality time with each other as a family, which has been nice. Kara is really into games, so we play a lot of different games together which is a fun way to bond. In general, we just love hanging with each other at home. My son loves being the centre of attention (I don’t know where he gets it from) which is always entertaining!
Weekends away: We go often down to the south coast to see family on weekends (when permitted to travel). We love hanging together, there’s always lots happening! The boys in our family are crazy and the girls are more chilled, so it’s a good mix (even though I think us boys are too much for them!).
Kids in the kitchen: Remi loves to help cook, she’s at that age where she’s a great helper when it comes to dinner time. I love cooking and one of my favourites is my mum’s Steak Diane. It’s a winner with the whole family and can even be cooked using AirFry technology, in our new oven with AirFry. Kara is also a great cook and makes lots of big batch, fresh meals, which Remi loves to help prepare, and making pasta from scratch is always a big hit.
Plant a veggie patch: We grow vegetables and herbs and Remi and Jesse will pick them from the garden and then Remi will help cut them up for the meal. Jesse is good at tasting what we’re cooking, he loves to help but he is a bit too small at the moment, although he is great at picking produce from our veggie garden.
Get creative: One of the more unique activities I have done to entertain the kids is to make treasure maps out of old paper, I even burn the outside to make it look more like a real pirate map. The map will lead the kids to different treats hidden around the backyard, usually cookies Kara has baked. They love it! It keeps them active and fed at the same time – win! Also, foster your kid's creativity with this printable colouring pages showcasing Australian animals.
Time outdoors: I’m a busy guy so I’m always keeping the kids entertained. In our home, the pool and cubby house get a lot of attention, we love being outdoors in the backyard. I love cooking barbecues and having small bonfires in our backyard. We cook marshmallows and the kids love it. I cook and roast anything on the barbecue and it always brings our family together.
