By Ava Salado
There is no hiding that 2020 has not been the best overall. The COVID-19 pandemic has been, for most students, the most significant and most life-altering thing that has ever happened to them. It has been challenging, but we need to get through it safely. Unfortunately, the TVE community has not been able to do its regular events, such as Park Days, Seminars, Science Fairs, classes, and dances. Although these things can’t take place at the current moment, there are activities you can do to pass this time, and our job as writers is to make this time just a little more enjoyable.
TVE will hopefully get back to regular scheduling in the future, with the Teen Formal still scheduled for Sat, May 8th, 2021, safety guidelines permitting. The beloved Harvest dance may be taking place in late October 2021, but we are still waiting for further notice for both of these. In the meantime, you and your family can do lots of things, such as taking an exploration through your bookcase to uncover your new favorite story. Maybe an adventure on your couch to discover a brand new movie; or a journey past your favorite music app to find a song you haven’t heard before. Maybe take an online class to learn more about something you love.
Other activities you could enjoy with friends and family are virtual games played over zoom. These are fun, easy games that take minimal prep. Very simple to understand games are quite fun with younger children. Consider having a virtual game championship by playing all the games, and in the end, whoever has the most points total wins.
Learn more about your friends on Zoom – This is a fun virtual game you can play with your friends on Zoom. You select one person to be the reader, and all others write in the Zoom chat three things they like and three things they dislike. The reader then reads each person’s likes and dislikes aloud, without saying their name, and the others have to guess who it is.
Memory game over Zoom – Choose one person to be the leader. This person sets out some random items on a table in front of their computer camera. If you do not have a computer camera that points down, try to use a phone camera and point it towards the table. In the first round, the rest of the players have a 7 second period to write down and remember all of the items before they turn the camera off. After that, the leader turns their camera back on and announces all the items. If you get them right, you get a point. In the second round, the leader selects a new group of items for the table. The players get 7 seconds without writing anything down. You can talk amongst the other players to try and remember better. If you remember them correctly, you get a point. The only difference in round three is that the players must remember the new set of items with their microphones off and attempt to remember the items independently. Afterward, you add up all of your points, whoever has the most points, wins!
Guess that Picture on Zoom – One person selects several photos. First, they share their screen, very zoomed in on the picture. Then, they slowly zoom out. The players write what they think the image is in a private chat with the person who selected the photos. If they guess right, they get a point. Then the process is repeated with multiple different pictures, and whoever has the most points wins!
Virtual Movie night on Zoom – It’s so much fun to watch your favorite movies with your friends. You can achieve this with Zoom or any video chat website. Collaborate with your friends, so you start your favorite movie or show at the same time.
While 2020 has brought up some unexpected challenges, we are committed to making it the best we can. Not seeing friends and family has been one of the hardest parts for most students. These virtual games provide a simple solution, an easy way to connect safely. Hopefully, we will be able to interact in-person again in the future, but for now, we can make do with fun activities like these.
The Lighthouse 