Staying Healthy

These days of spending extra time at home can leave us tempted to grab easy snacks that’s are not always the best choice for our bodies. Eating healthy and providing our bodies with nutrients should always be a goal when planning our grocery lists, but with Coronavirus making its way into our communities we want to be sure our diets are packed full of great immune boosting options. Here are some items to add to your cart the next time you visit the store.

1. Look for anything in the berry family. Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and more are not only sweet and delicious but they also are packed with antioxidants!

2. You know the saying, “An apple a day, keeps the doctor away.” While this saying may just be an old wives’ tale, apples should not be over looked. They make a yummy snack, and are also relatively convenient. Did you know apples are a great source of fiber?

3. Pick up some watery fruits. Fruits such as watermelon and pineapple have a high water content that help us stay hydrated.

4. Beans have a variety of nutrients that are great for over all health. If your children tend to turn their noses up at beans, try sneaking them into some of their favorite dishes. Black beans or kidney beans are a great choice!

5. Don’t forget to grab some avocado at the store. Kids and adults of all ages tend to enjoy this fruit. That’s right, did you know it is a fruit? Mash it up for a dip, spread it on toast or sandwiches. Avocado spread also is a wonderful alternative when making a sandwich for those that need dairy free diet! l

Staying healthy through weeks of quarantine is essential for both mental and physical health. Click on these online resources:

Online Classes from Barre3 USE CODE: BARRE3HOMEBODY

PAID CLASSES ONLINE from Sioux Falls FitBody

PAID CLASSES VIA ZOOM from Kosha Yoga

PAID CLASSES VIA ZOOM from Prairie Soul Yoga

FREE conditioning workouts from All American Gymnastics Academy

PAID NINJA-Obstacle-Training-Academy from All American Gymnastics Academy

by ‘Hood Magazine

Socially distancing ourselves can be tough on all the members of the family, but there are movements springing up all around that aim to spread joy from afar. Take some time to explore your community and see the creativity that local families have on display! Maybe it will inspire you to go home and create your own masterpiece to spark joy to those around you!

We’re going on a Bear Hunt: Based on the classic book “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt”, neighborhoods have been placing a bear in their windows for families to go “hunting” for bears as they take walks. CLICK HERE for more

A World of Hearts: A movement that has been created for households to decorate windows or doors with creative uses of hearts to symbolize that we are all in this together. CLICK HERE for more

Rainbow Hunts for Kids: A movement that was started for families to go hunting for rainbows in the difficult times. Families have begun to decorate

36 | April 2020 | thehoodmagazine.com their windows, doors, garages, driveways and so much more! CLICK HERE for more

#SFStayAtHomeArt: A contest started by Mayor Paul TenHaken for families in the Sioux Falls area to create artwork and take pictures with the hashtag “#SFStayAtHomeArt”. Mayor TenHaken has said he will give rewards throughout the coming weeks as the artwork rolls in! CLICK HERE for more

#FromMyWindowSD: A movement created by ‘Hood Magazine for others to get a glimpse of what the lives of those in other communities look like as we all face this pandemic. CLICK HERE for more l

With all of this together time you may be looking for some ways to keep the kids entertained while at home. Here are some fun things to do to break the boredom and bond the family.

1. Play a board game 2. Puzzles 3. Scavenger Hunt 4. Write & send letters to family & friends 5. Make a fort 6. Tell funny stories 7. Have a weekday party 8. Draw with sidewalk chalk 9. Build with LEGO’s 10. Cook together 11. Play dress up 12. Family yoga time 13. Have a tea party 14. Blow bubbles 15. Play hopscotch 16. Create an obstacle course 17. Have a karaoke contest 18. Have a picnic lunch 19. Create a summer bucket list 20. Play card games 21. Create a theatre out of a box & have a puppet show 22. Start a family diary of the memories of each day 23. Go for a hike 24. Play Simon Says 25. Start an indoor garden with seeds 26. Exchange letters with a pen pal 27. Paint rocks 28. Create an indoor bowling game 29. Bake a cake 30. Make salt dough creations 31. Learn how to create origami 32. Build a house of cards 33. Have a virtual party with friends 34. Create shaving cream art 35. Make art from stickers 36. Fill squirt bottles with water & paint a fence or the house 37. Learn to sew 38. Choregraph a dance to you favorite song 39. Have s’mores in a driveway firepit 40. Make a sensory bin l

Our camps are hands-on learning experiences that create memorable moments in a safe, fun environment, resulting in wonderful opportunities for students of all ages. Spend your summer with us!

You are doing an amazing job!! You have become so much more than a parent in the blink of an eye. Chances are that you never dreamt you would be your child’s educator on a daily basis. We are here to assure you that you are not alone! We have compiled a list of online resources to supplement your family’s e-learning routines. From local to national and educational to recreational, we hope that your family is able to utilize these resources to make your days of social distancing run a little smoother. Click on these links below!

LOCAL RESOURCES:

Reach Literacy – Storytime

Great Plains Zoo – Educational Videos

Unwind Bodywork – At Home Massage

Butterfly House – Dive into Science Videos

Just For Kix East – Live Dance Classes

Siouxland Libraries – Kids Discover & Virtual Storytime Mitchell Public Library – Storytime Washington Pavilion At Home Sioux Falls Parks & Rec – Online Programming Activities

South Dakota Children’s Museum – Recipes for Play Activities

Visions Eye Care – Sensory Video Series

The Maker’s Nook – Live Art Lessons

Safe Splash – Water Related Storytimes

Code Bootcamp – Online Coding Classes

NATIONAL RESOURCES:

Khan Academy – Daily schedules (with linked resources) for kids of all ages

Storytime from Space – Science Experiments about space

Storytime from Space – Storytime Videos for All Ages

BookFlix – 100’s of Books Read Aloud

Museum Virtual Tours

National Park Virtual Tours Storyline Online – Celebrities read books to children Baking History – Baking classes with history lessons combined Disney Imagineering Class

Wow in the World – STEM Podcast for kids

Stories Podcast

Circle Round – Podcast with folk stories from around the world

Noodle Loaf Show – Singing & dancing episodes for kids to have fun!

Brains On – Short videos to explain things in our kids world Brains On – History Videos Story Pirates – Storytelling Podcast Flux & Flow Dance Center – Virtual Dance Classes

Where will your Airway Adventure take you? Show us at #PlayAlongSD

Play Along however you want at the Children’s Museum of South Dakota.

sCLICK HERE for Exclusive Video Content from ‘Hood Mental Health Strategies

by Robin Mills, OTR/L, BCP, LifeScape

The Harvard Center on the Developing Child describes executive function and self-regulation skills as “the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully.” We use these skills every day at home, school, work, and in the community. Executive functioning requires the ability to take time to think before acting, stay focused, use mental flexibility with new ideas, tolerate unexpected changes, remember information, and organize our self and our environment. Executive Functioning: Why Can’t My Child Get Ready for School?

Challenges with executive functioning can be seen in children with a diagnosis of sensory integration dysfunction, ADHD, and learning disabilities. As a parent, we may see this with our child struggling to remember and carry out directions, difficulty following a schedule and figuring out where they should be, disorganization with remembering when an assignment is due, and losing assignments that may or may not be completed. In addition, the parent may see poor ability to change perspective, rigidity in thinking or movement, difficulty with doing a task such as math in their head, acting without thinking—which can cause behaviors with others, challenges with emotional outbursts when overwhelmed, and poor selfregulation and working/moving too fast, or taking too long to complete a task. Telling a story or remembering what happened during the day, poor initiation of how to start a task, and difficulty with changing plans or getting new information may impact your child’s success during the day.

Here are some ideas to manage life with your child now, as well as provide tools for future success:

Working Memory: Make a list or notes with important information needed for the task or for the day. Practice self-talking, ask for written directions from teachers, use visual imagery to portray what has happened in this situation or