With school and work closures, chances are that you are spending A LOT of time with your kids right now, more than you usually may have to plan for, and it's okay if that's hard! We also know that it's hard for kids as well as they find their schedules disrupted and deal with their own loss of social interactions. 
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Here you'll find a compiled list of kid-friendly resources that hopefully give you some ideas and tools for engaging with your children in these unusual times, and give your ideas for at-home activities that can include the whole family or keep your kids entertained so you can get your work done. We will be continually adding to this, so check back in regularly if you need more! 

1.  Illustrated Ministry: Free Weekly Faith Formation Resources for all ages.
​2.. Virtual Field Trips: There are a lot of great online field trips, like the ones below! 

• NASA Field Trip:  If you have a space cadet at home, NASA website includes videos, lessons, and missions that take your kid on a virtual tour of outer space!
• San Diego Zoo: Several Zoos are doing live-cams of the animals, check out the penguins, koala's, and panda's!

3. Lunch Doodle's with Mo: A perfect 20 minute breather to draw and create!
4. Busy Toddler: Realistic parenting during COVID-19, help with activities, schedules, and planning.
5. Indoor Games and Activities to Get Children Moving by Big Life Journal
6. Scholastic Magazines for Kids
7. Lakeshore Learning Material- Free learning resource
​8. April 3rd Disney-Sing-Along Accordion Concert Live Stream!

• ​​Do you have anyone you can team with?
  If so, let your church, friends, or team know that you are willing to make some calls to check on our vulnerable folks, and/or let them know of anyone they might not have thought of.  Most of us are already organizing lists of our most vulnerable members and looking for folks who can commit to calling 3-4 people once a week.
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Ideas for Helping Safely

1. Remember.  We can be contagious for several days before we have symptoms so always keep your distance and avoid touching even if no one appears to be sick.​
2. Offer to run an errand for someone who is in a high-risk category (elderly, immune compromised, breathing issues).  Going to the grocery store for them or picking up medication refills that they have called in could be super helpful.  Clackamas Service Center and Wichita Center are offering food boxes “to go” for those who can’t afford food.
3. Folks with physical limitations may need a hand with things like taking out the garbage, or meal preparation especially if their regular caregiver can’t come.  You could offer to bring over a plate of food, or do some simple chores if you practice keeping 6 feet away and remember to wash your hands carefully before entering and leaving their home.
4. Very carefully provide childcare for a parent who needs to work.  This must be done with extreme caution! Families who already have children should not have other children over. Most children are too young to reliably practice social distancing. Most children are too young to reliably practice not licking one another!!!  If you have few risk factors and don’t have children at home yourself, you could probably care for one family’s children. Be very, very firm about not touching and have everyone take frequent hand washing breaks.  Playing outside is a good idea! Hard toys can be washed with water and bleach. Books, board games, and soft things can be sprayed with Lysol and left to dry.

Most of all, let’s center ourselves in love and grace.  Make it our goal to love our neighbors by making it hard for the virus to spread.  Make it easy for our neighbors to feel loved by checking in safely and doing what we can, safely, to care for one another.

The world is not ending.

But. 

We are now officially in a time of global pandemic. The last truly global pandemic was the Spanish Flu of 1918.

A lot has happened since then- we have the technology available to get the word out faster, but we also have the technology available to spread angst, misinformation, guesstimations, and worry. It seems like a Catch-22. 
In light of that, let’s offer some grounding for the state we find ourselves in. 

Recommendations in a time of Coronavirus
First, Governor Brown issued the following recommendations/statement this morning, March 12th.

Here are some highlights of the recommendations from the statement

• All large gatherings over 250 people are canceled statewide, effectively immediately, for four weeks (through April 8, 2020).
•  Large gatherings subject to this order include but are not limited to community, civic, public, leisure, faith-based, or sporting events, concerts, conventions, fundraisers, and any similar events or activities if a distance of at least three (3) feet between individuals cannot be maintained.

Caring for the Vulnerable 
Also from Governor Brown's office:
"Individuals in high-risk populations (those over 60 years of age, or those with an underlying health condition) should avoid social and community gatherings of more than ten (10) people, for four weeks (through April 8, 2020).”

For us here in Milwaukie/Oak Grove, that means that a lot of our colleagues in faith communities are facing the decision of canceling their worship gatherings from now until Easter. 

Storyline Community has canceled our Sunday gathering, as have our partner communities at Oak Grove UMC and Milwaukie Lutheran. 
It means we’re going to need to be mindful of our at-risk populations and neighbors such as: 

• Our neighbors who are immunocompromised
• Our neighbors who are over the age of 60 
• Our neighbors who are houseless

Connection in a time of Coronavirus
All of this means we’re going to need to learn how to stay connected with one another in creative ways. The CDC is recommending the practice of social distancing, this includes canceling unnecessary meetings, dates, and social engagements where a 3-foot distance cannot be kept. 

 Be looking here, at our blog, for links to grounding conversations that we’re hoping to host via ZOOM and tips for how to consider reaching out to your neighbors and family in the coming weeks. 

Click here for some tips/specifics on healthy social distancing. 

What's next for us?
Looking ahead, it’s going to also mean we find creative ways to Sabbath and remind ourselves that it’s ok even in the midst of a world that often operates at breakneck speed to slow down and stay home, or at least keep to outside spaces where you have the option to keep your distance. Going for walks is still ok. Taking care of yourself is super important. We’re also going to dig into some ways to help continue conversations online about best practices for mental and emotional health. 

In the meantime, keep yourself informed. We recommend the source material:
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https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html