#and I can even reach the 4 candles I know someone stuck in the garage when I left them in my room | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sansanwritersguild · 3 years

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SanSan Trick or Treat Prompts are here!

Thank you to all who participated and for those who contributed prompts!

Your prompt fill should be at least 100 words Your fill can be a drabble, text message fic, one-shot, multi-chapter, whatever you choose.

Please tag "SanSan Trick or Treat 2021" on AO3, Tumblr, or Twitter so we can track all the wonderful fics!

Post by 31 October For multi-chapter fics, you’ll only need to have posted the first chapter by 31 October. You can post sooner than this. If real life crops up and your fill will be delayed, just post as soon as you can. If you’re unable to fill your prompt, please reach out to @sansanwritersguild.

Below are the prompts…

🍬 Treat 🍬

1. To: lonelyapricot From: SWG

"I don't understand how it happened. I know how much you love this sweater/tunic." It's sweater weather (or tunic weather for canonverse) and Sandor has accidentally shrunk/ruined the sweater/tunic Sansa knit/embroidered for him. He never had the heart to tell her he didn't like it and now he'll do anything to make the tears stop.

2. To: @starbird1 From: SWG

"I've never seen one this big! Marg, look at--Oof!" "Careful. You break it, you buy it." "Oh...you must be Farmer Clegane. Your squash is…the girth is…I mean...they're very impressive." Farmer Sandor Clegane is a renowned across the county for growing rather large vegetables. One crisp autumn morning, Sansa goes with Margaery to the farmers market and quite literally runs into the rugged farmer himself.

3. To: @genderwitch666 From: SWG

"I overheard the farmer say the tractor is toast." "Well, I happen to know a shortcut through the woods if you want to keep me company." Sansa and Sandor meet on a hayride. The tractor breaks down, leaving them no choice but to walk back to the pumpkin patch. Luckily, Sansa (or Sandor) knows a shortcut through the woods.

4. To: britnyintheskywithatardis From: SWG

"Wow. I've never seen anyone bob for apples quite like that." "Thank you. It's just one of my many talents."

5. To: lil_jen_rocks From:@sharkaria

"That's an interesting costume," Sandor says. "I could say the same about you," Sansa replies.

6. To:@redbirdblackdog From:@corinalannister and @poisin

"What in the blazing hell is this shite, little bird?" "It's heaven on earth. And completely and utterly to die for." "No. Really. What. Is. This!" "A pumpkin spice latte." // "What's that?" "Pumpkin spice latte..." "You bought that for me?" "I can throw it away if you don't want it!!" "No! No! I didn't say I don't want it!! I'll take it! Thank you."

7. To: @la-quimera From: SWG

"I'm so sorry! How can I make it up to you?" "The rake's in the garage. You can start with cleaning up the mess then maybe we'll call it even…maybe…" A drunken Sansa jumps in a pile of leaves on her neighbor’s lawn. That neighbor is Sandor, and he is not pleased.

8. To: Kris10Tisme From: SWG

"What the hell is this? I thought we agreed no more candles." "I…I have no idea! You know what? Arya must've put it here. Yep. It was her." Sandor finds Sansa's autumn candle stash. She's always been a terrible liar and now she's got some explaining to do about the stack hidden in the back of the closet.

9. To: @daisies-cats-and-spacemen From: SWG

"Sandor, I need you. Please? It would mean so much to me. I'll do anything. Anything at all." [Insert ASOIAF characters of your choosing] win the couples costume contest every year. Sansa is determined to beat them this year and will do whatever it takes. The only problem is she's fresh off a breakup/doesn't have boyfriend this year. She asks Sandor for his help.

🎃 Trick 🎃

10. To: ReadyReaderOne From: SWG

"You don't happen to know why we've been invited here tonight, do you?"

"No, but I don't trust our host. What do you say we stick together?"

"I say that's a fine idea."

On a dark and stormy night, Sansa, Sandor, and a handful of other guests who don't know each other are invited to a dinner party/feast at a haunted mansion/castle. The host has a secret, though, and the guest list isn't so random after all.

11. To: fleurdeplume From: @corinalannister

"The little bird is trapped and all alone. With no one but the 'hideously scarred vampire' to help her."

"You heard that? My apologies sir."

"I ain't no knight. Especially not one in shining armour. But maybe I can be for a price."

12. To: @drolshakes-blog From: SWG

"Excuse me! What happened to ladies first?"

"Listen, sweetheart, I've been coming here for years. Get your own mausoleum!"

Things are getting heated on Halloween night in the cemetery. Sansa and Sandor both have reasons for being alone in the graveyard, but butt heads when they find their favorite mausoleum isn't empty.

13. To: @corinalannister From: SWG

"I was afraid you wouldn't find me," Sansa says tearfully.

Sandor takes her hand for the first time in a year. "It's Halloween night. I'll always find you, little bird."

Sansa and Sandor have loved each other forever. But there's a catch. They’re ghosts who haunt the houses across the street from each other and can only leave their property on Halloween night.

14. To: @sharkaria From: SWG

"Look, there's nothing to be afraid of. It's not like I'm some crazed maniac out here looking for my next victim."

Sansa’s car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and Sandor comes to her rescue. Rumor has it Sandor is a murderer.

15. To: @orangetabbywrites From: SWG

"Oh my God! Are you hurt?"

"No, I normally spurt blood from my nose."

Sandor is an actor in a haunted house. Sansa gets scared and punches him in the nose.

16. To: Oponn From: SWG

"The lock is jammed. We're stuck in here."

"Stuck? How will we get out?"

"Well, maybe if we make enough noise, someone will find us."

Sansa and Sandor get locked in a creepy attic together at a Halloween party.

17. To: Poisin From: SWG

"We'll split up in pairs. Sandor and Sansa, you two check the house on the hill."

A trick-or-treater goes missing on Halloween night. Sansa and Sandor join the search effort and are assigned to search the abandoned house on the hill…the one that's notoriously haunted.

18. To: @littlewolfbird From: @sharkaria

"Hey! That was MY candy!"

19. To: Musical fan for life From: SWG

"How was the palm reading, Sansa?"

"Fine, except the client, Mr. Clegane, well…I don't think he's human."

20. To: @atomic-bomb-shell From: SWG

"Dr. Stark, you mean to tell me that man who attacked me is undead?"

"Yes, Officer Clegane, and there's plenty more just like him."

#sansan #sansan trick or treat #sansan spooktober #sansan writers guild #sansa stark #sandor clegane

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jesseneufeld · 4 years

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Learning Through Play: 101 Ways To Keep Young Minds Occupied At Home

Parents, right off the bat, let me say that there is no right way to be feeling about the current situation. Relief, anxiety, excitement, dread are all normal. We’re all figuring this out as we go along and doing the best we can. Virtual high-five!

This is not a homeschooling post per se. This is about the importance of play as learning, and letting our kids play to restore some balance we don’t always manage in our typical over-scheduled lives.

Here’s the good news if you’re stressed about making sure your kids are still learning why they are at home: they are. I recently attended a workshop with a local homeschool coordinator. The biggest thing I took away was a reminder that all play is learning.

Why Kids Need to Play

Play is how kids learn about the world. Theoretical and Applied Playworker Bob Hughes (awesome title!) lists 16 different types of play that are central to physical, mental, emotional, and social development. By manipulating objects and trying things out (“I wonder what will happen if I give the dog a haircut?”), using their imaginations to role play different scenarios, and moving and challenging their bodies, kids play to learn:

How their bodies work

Laws of physics

Laws of nature

How to interact with other people, and the consequences of breaking social norms

How to follow rules, and the consequences of breaking those, too

Play builds neural connections and motor skills. Through play, kids get to act out adulting (as in playing house), tap into their creativity, and discover their passions.

Importance of Play

Play is not optional. There is a reason that it’s Primal Blueprint Law #7 and Mark has written about it frequently here. (I’ll put some links at the bottom.) Yet, we all know that kids don’t play today like they used to for a variety of reasons. If this time at home offers one thing, it’s time for playing. This means getting free play, movement time, social time, music and arts time, and family time—checking a bunch of Primal boxes.

I’m not just talking about the kids, by the way. I’m talking about the adults in your house too. How much do YOU play in your normal life? I’m guessing not enough. A lot of the ideas here are fun for the whole family.

Play to Learn: Indoor and Outdoor Activities for Kids

For obvious reasons, I’m not listing things that involve going to parks or other public places. If you can still go for bike rides or kick the soccer ball around outside, great! You can do these inside or in your yard if you have one. I also didn’t list too many options that might necessitate shopping for materials. Pick the ideas that work for you given the ages of your kids, what stuff you already have at home, and how much space you have.

Before You Begin…

If you’re like us, you have a stash of art supplies, board games, boxes of legos and blocks, and sports equipment stuck on shelves and in closets. Dig it out and take inventory. What do you already have in your home that your kids can play with? Even bigger kids enjoy revisiting things like blocks and playdough, especially when they’re stuck at home.

Creativity Stations

I have a friend who, when her kids were little, would put out a craft or art project every night. When her boys woke up in the morning, it was waiting for them to explore at their leisure. It made for a lot of fun and peaceful mornings in their house. (Yes, she’s a supermom.)

I’m adapting this idea by designating a “creativity station.” Realistically, you might as well call this the “mess station.” Maybe it’s a card table in a corner of the living room, on the deck, or in the garage. I’m just giving up my kitchen table for now. Lay out a bunch of supplies and let them have at it. These stay out for several days at my house, then we clean it up and get out something else. Here are some ideas:

Art labs

Coloring/painting

Supplies: paper, coloring books, crayons, markers, paint, stamps, stickers—whatever you have!

Ideas: Encourage kids to explore textures by using different types of objects as stamps: sponges, cookie cutters, leafs and sticks from the yard, legos, etc. Make footprints with action figures. Keep a bowl on hand that they can put dirty stuff in to wash. Also keep a pile of rags nearby for wiping dirty hands before they touch the wall.

Collage

Supplies: Paper; old magazines, newspapers, circulars, coupon mailers; glue; safety scissors

Ideas: Give kids a theme (e.g., food, their favorite person) or just let them make whatever they want.

Mosaic

Supplies: Construction and tissue paper in different colors; glue; scissors (optional); bowls to keep colored confetti separated (optional)

Ideas: Have kids cut or tear colored paper into small pieces like confetti, then use the pieces to create mosaic art. You can use coloring book pages as a “pattern,” or they can draw their own or make it free-form.

Science lab

Supplies: Plate or baking sheet; plastic table cloth or drop cloth (optional); containers of different sizes for mixing and pouring; water; food coloring; baking soda; pipettes, medicine droppers, etc. (raid the medicine cabinet); measuring spoons; baking soda; vinegar in a spray bottle; dish soap

Ideas: Let kids make “potions” and practice pouring from one container to another. Sprinkle baking soda on a plate, “decorate” with drops of food coloring, then spray with vinegar.

There are a ton of ideas for easy and fun science experiments online, too. Check out this lemon volcano and these 10 experiments you can do with water.

3-D creations

Supplies: Clay, playdough, tape, toothpicks, chopsticks, straws, rubber bands, paper clips, corks, pipe cleaners, anything else you can find around

Ideas: This is fun for free play, or you can challenge your kids to build something specific, like a bridge that will actually hold a small weight.

Make your own playdough recipes here and here. (Yes, these are not Primal recipes!)

Archeological dig

Supplies: Plastic tub with moon sand, kinetic sand, or dirt; small toys (e.g., plastic animals, blocks, marbles, plastic eggs filled with “treasure”); spoons, paint brushes

Ideas: Bury objects for your kids to “excavate.” Have them build ancient ruins.

Make your own moon sand recipes here and here.

Family Time

Family dance party

Let older kids create a custom playlist

Freeze dance: Let someone control the pause button; when the music stops, freeze and hold the position

Minute to win it games (check Pinterest for ideas)

Family book club

Sing-alongs

Card games

Board games

Dice games

Have a “campout” in your backyard. Make a campfire in a fire pit, place a bunch of candles in a circle, or have your kid make a pretend fire out of sticks and paper.

Make a family tree (including genealogy research if you want)

Go on a family vacation without leaving the house! There are so many ways to “travel” online. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Visit the Tembe Elephant Park in South Africa

Watch the Northern Lights live (best viewing hours are 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. EDT.)

Tour the Carlsbad Caverns

Visit a museum

See the Great Wall of China

Tour the Vatican

See the animals at the San Diego Zoo and the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Go to the opera

Take in a Broadway play

Go scuba diving

Go to outer space

71 More Activities for Kids

Color the driveway with chalk

Use chalk (outside) or masking tape (inside) to make hopscotch or foursquare

Make noodle or bead necklaces

Draw a comic

Illustrate a favorite book or story

Listen to a song and “draw” what you hear

Origami

Make a flexagon

Gather up broken crayons make something new with them

Move like an animal; take turns guessing which animal the other person is being

Primal essential movements

Resistance exercise with (light) hand weights and resistance bands

Make an obstacle course

Jump rope

Hopping on one foot contest

Do a handstand

Play hacky sack (make your own filled with rice or flour)

Put on as many clothes as you can, then try to do jumping jacks or burpees

Learn to breakdance

Yoga

Meditate

Make a drum kit with bowls and buckets

Make “instruments” like castanets and boomwhackers with household objects

Build a pillow fort

Build a cardboard box fort, paint and decorate it

Build a catapult

Build a Rube Goldberg machine

Make a birdhouse

Identify birds or bugs in your backyard

Learn about animal tracks and make your own

Weed the garden

Dig a hole

Plant an indoor herb garden

Cook together

Learn about food preservation; make sauerkraut or yogurt

Smell boxes: place objects with a distinctive smell—a candle, an orange cut in half—inside an empty tissue box and take turns guessing what’s in there

Touch boxes: same as above, but you have to reach in and feel the object without looking

Learn to tie knots

Make a solar oven

Learn how to build a fire (supervised, obviously)

Make a sundial

Learn how to use a compass

Get a bucket of water and test what sinks or floats

Learn to sew

Follow a finger knitting tutorial

Crochet a small project

Make a t-shirt scarf out of an old shirt

Make tissue paper flowers

Play charades

Make puppets and put on a show

Play hide and seek

Play sardines (the opposite of hide and seek – rules here)

Make the letters of the alphabet with your body

Play 20 questions

Play I spy

Make a word chain

Dig out the old point-and-shoot camera and learn to take pictures

Cloud watching

Build towers and knock them down

Yard scavenger hunt

Find something in the house for every letter of the alphabet

Make a yarn spider web

Juggle

Speak pig latin

Learn a new language

Use a magnifying glass to explore objects up close

Freeze little plastic toys, marbles, etc. in bowls of water, then test ways to free the toys most quickly. Try different techniques like rubbing, spraying with warm water, or sprinkling with salt.

Blow bubbles; make your own bubble solution and bubble makers

Bring some flashlights in a dark room or closet and make shadow puppets

Balloon “hockey” with balloons and brooms

In the snow: fill spray bottles with water and food coloring and “paint” the snow

Give the Kids — AND YOURSELF — A Break

The idea isn’t to keep your kids occupied every minute of the day. It’s ok if they complain about being bored every once in a while. If they are like most modern kids, they aren’t used to having a ton of time on their hands. Present them with options, but let them figure it out on their own if they are old enough.

Your house might be messy and chaotic right now. Your kids might be too. They are certainly not immune to the stress and anxiety in the world, especially your older kids. It’s ok if you don’t have a schedule with neat blocks of school time, movement time, snack time, and chore time, and if your kids haven’t gotten out of their pajamas in a week. Your kids are going to be fine no matter what.

This is not nearly an all-inclusive list. What else has your family been doing to have fun while #stayinghome?

Resources

More play activities and lots of homeschooling resources from Unschool.school

100 Ways to Play from the Boston Children’s Museum

More play activities and homeschool ideas from Beyond the Chalkboard