As I write this it is Sunday 12th April 2020, and here in NZ we are about to enter week three-and-a-bit of a nationwide lockdown in a bid to beat Covid-19. The days are beginning to blend into each other now, and the only thing to distinguish today from any other is the collection of easter eggs sitting on the TV cabinet waiting for the kids to wake up.

These are extraordinary times indeed.

I feel blessed to say that in our very small corner of the world, the trauma and tragedy has been far less then elsewhere. We are lucky to live rurally with a rather sizeable back yard, so the restrictions on movement have not been particularly onerous. Prior to the lockdown, if I wanted some exercise, I could take a few laps around the garden. This hasn’t changed.

Both my wife and I are also lucky enough to have public service jobs. She’s a nurse, and leading up to and during the first week or so of the lockdown, what with the massive upheaval the virus has caused at the hospital where she works, she was seriously concerned about where things might go. Now, a couple of weeks later, with the national statistics on Covid-19 cases trending downward on a daily basis, there is reason to be cautiously optimistic. The shit hasn’t hit the fan, so to speak, and it looks as though with careful management, it might not.

I’m a high-school teacher, and the biggest challenge for me has been finding ways to keep my children busy, now that we’re all stuck at home together. My respect goes out to all the home-school parents out there. Despite the many and varied challenges, I think that teaching other people’s children is a damn sight more simple than teaching one’s own.

I’ve tried. We’ve painted pictures, baked muffins, written stories, solved maths equations and hit nails into bits of wood. PE has featured heavily, mostly because the weather continues to be sunny and hot. There’s been backyard cricket, soccer, hide-n-seek, tag and frequent bike rides to the local shop for ice-cream and chocolate. Oh, and we’ve made a bit of Lego, which is fine with me, because I REALLY LIKE making Lego.

But I must confess I bought a PlayStation the day before we went into lockdown and the kids have spent more time than I’m comfortable admitting playing Sonic Team Racing and Lego Marvel Superheroes. The fact that Lego Marvel Superheroes is remarkably educational (sure there’s a lot of supervillain face-punching, but there’s also a lot of teamwork and problem solving required to progress through the levels), has done little to assuage my feelings of guilt.

Still, all this PlayStation time has freed me up to get other stuff done. I’ve read some books, done some writing (I’m now 77,000 words through the first draft of novel No. 2 — on the home stretch) and marked some assessments. I’ve mowed the lawns and cut firewood. And yes, I’ve surfed the internet for updates on the virus and to see what other people round the world have done to entertain themselves in lockdown. This was one of my favourites.

So far, the best thing I have discovered in my search for lockdown activities for the family and my absolute favourite thing to do with the kids during lockdown has been GoNoodle dancing in front of the TV. It’s at least as educational as Lego Marvel Superheroes, plus it’s guaranteed to get your heart rate going and make you smile. If it’s good enough for their real teachers to use in class then it’s good enough for me. If you don’t know what GoNoodle is, here’s a taste.

If you and your family been stuck in lockdown during the fight against Coronavirus, what have you been doing for entertainment? Let me know in the comments.

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