Daily Picks for Metro Detroit and Ann Arbor Families At Home: May 11-15

As Michigan is under a “stay-at home order” due to COVID-19 concerns for the foreseeable future, Detroit- and Ann Arbor-area families should stay at home for their safety and practice social distancing.

We understand that this a challenging time for everyone, especially those with young kids, and we want to help by providing families a weekly list of our “daily picks” filled with virtual events, indoor activities and other fun things to do with your kids while at home.

Are you sharing your at-home activities on Instagram? Tag us @MetroParentMag or use our community hashtag #MPMoment.

Monday, May 11

At-Home Activities and events

Photo by Tiffany Dahle

• Make a mini pie: Warm up after the May snow showers with a warm and delicious treat.
• Make salt dough letters: Or shapes, numbers and more. There are no limits to the creativity and you only need a few common household items.
• Monopoly anyone?: This board game can provide hours (days even) of family bonding time.

Tuesday, May 12

First image from the movie, “Elf.” Second image stock of gumdrops.

At-Home Activities and events

• Throw a dance party: Try some of the tunes on our Spotify playlist for babies or create your own.
• Watch Elf: And then try some fun at-home activities inspired by the hit flick.
• Make and ice cream sensory bin: We’ve also got ideas for shaving cream and dishwashing bins, too.

Wednesday, May 13

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Studios

At-Home Activities and events

• Watch Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: Or one of the other movies that just hit streaming services this May.
• Teach your kids to cartwheel: Our step-by-step guide can help.
• Check out the animals at the zoo: The Detroit Zoo is offering online lessons about their critters through Facebook.

Weekly Must-Read

• The world can always use a little more kindness. A butterfly named Charlie helps people embrace it in Be Kind by Andy Gutman.

Thursday, May 14

At-Home Activities and events

• Create a community food pantry: It’s a great way to help out your community.
• Go on a dog scavenger hunt: Download the scavenger hunt sheet created by Detroit Dog Rescue, go on a walk and see how many different pups you can find.
• Send a message to our healthcare heroes: Our virtual message board is a simple way to give your thanks to those that are risking their health to save others.

Friday, May 15

At-Home Activities

• Teach your kids to fly a kite: Make one out of items at home or order one online and take advantage of the breezy spring days.
• Relax with Cosmic Kids Yoga: It’s a free educational YouTube channel available to kids.
• Make a handprint craft: Send it to your grandparents or elderly neighbor to brighten their day and check off a square from your #KindKidChallenge bingo card.
• Check out the Metro Parent calendar: It’s full of virtual events to help you plan next week!

Weekend Picks: May 16-17

Looking for fun things to do with your kids this weekend? We have plenty of ideas over on our Weekend Picks! 

This post is updated weekly.