Middle School Chronicles: A Summer in Quarantine

I’m pleased to welcome my daughter Sydney to the blog today. Sydney is an 8th grader who wrote the post below about her summer in quarantine. When she’s not writing, Sydney enjoys playing ice hockey, strumming on her ukulele, and baking. Welcome Sydney!

“Middle school is easy,” said no one ever. The constant social issues, a lot of school work, and just stress, are only a few problems kids face in middle school. These problems are why middle schoolers love summer! Summer is all about freedom, friends, and fun! What kid wouldn’t love that? But this summer,  COVID-19 came to crash the party. No freedom, no fun, and well…friends but six feet away. All is lost, right? Maybe not. I have some ways us middle schoolers (or any kids) can make the most of a summer in quarantine.

The hours scrolling through tik tok, YouTube, and binge watching Netflix can be nice, but every once in a while, take a step outside. You never know what you can find. For instance, the other day I spent a good 10 minutes watching a bird hop around my backyard. That’s what boredom does to you. Taking walks and bike riding can be fun too. It’s a great way to exercise and a good way to spend some time outdoors. And if you really insist on binge watching, maybe try doing it outside. You can sit on your porch, deck or even your yard with your headphones in for a much needed change of scenery.

Next, we have a pretty basic activity, but one that I think can be super fun. Crafting. If you’re an avid crafter like I am, you probably think you’ve done every craft imaginable and there’s no craft on Earth left to do! Well, Pinterest says otherwise. There are so many fun ideas for crafting on Pinterest, everyone is destined to find at least one they want to do. If you really can’t find a craft that you want to do, just do a craft that you’ve done in the past. Maybe it’s finger painting that you did in first grade, or redoing a super intricate painting that you did a couple months back. Whatever it is, there’s a craft for everyone. 

Do you remember when I said summer is all about freedom, friends, and fun? Well just because COVID-19 is visiting, doesn’t mean we can’t see friends. Having a social distance hangout is just as fun as a normal hangout. (Well not exactly but we have to work with what we’ve got.) You could meet your friend at a park, or in your front yard and stay 6 feet apart. You could talk, kick a ball around, or really anything. If you are craving social interaction, this is a great choice for you.

Baked goods are great! I mean, am I wrong? Not only are baked goods absolutely delicious, they are also fun to make and can provide something to do. You can look on Pinterest or just online and find some great, fun recipes to make. Or you could simply get box cake or brownie mix at the grocery store, which are equally as delicious as homemade stuff in my opinion. Either way, baking is super fun and a great way to spend some time. (Also, baked goods are delicious!)

Well that brings us to the end of our journey. I hope that you have found some fun things to do this summer in quarantine. There are lots of ways to stay occupied, sometimes we just need to dig to find them. I truly hope that you don’t get too bored this summer, and if you do, remember the tips I gave you today. Have a great summer!