If you’re a Victorian, and anything like me, you’ve been bracing yourself these past few weeks. Listening to the news. Watching the world. Feeling your mood rise and fall with the daily release of set of numbers that track how that awful COVIID-19 virus is affecting our community. And holding your children very close.

Depressingly those all-important daily infection numbers have been on the rise, and so, in response to the ongoing health crisis we are back in lockdown: Stage 3 in my region, Stage 4 in metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire.

As adults we must find ways to navigate through this most challenging time. As parents we also have the extra responsibility of helping our young ones to navigate this tricky journey, keeping them safe, guiding them along a stressful path that we’ve never walked before, and for which no guidebook has been written. Our priority is to keep our children happy and healthy and our community safe. To do that we need to stay informed, trust the experts, have faith in the lockdown and do the right thing.

We’re being asked to spend more time at home with our family in order to stop the community spread of this virus. The problem is big, and though our actions are small they are very important. All that we can control is the little stuff, the day-to-day, the moments together. We can help our children stay positive, get creative, get musical, get cooking, get resourceful. We can have lots of simple and fun activities up our sleeves that can be done while we’re stuck at home, and now is the time to use them.

Segue to the paper plate! No fanfare required for this humble and accessible art material, and no trip to the art shop is required. Grab the cheapest home-brand packet of uncoated paper plates from the supermarket shelf (a pack of 20 is usually less than $2) and include it in your making box. Dish one out (pardon the pun!) every now and again and let the kids use it as a starting point for a creative activity. There are so many quirky and creative projects that begin with a paper plate, and below I offer 3 of my favourites. Each has a simple twist that magically transforms it into something special with just a a splash of colour and a few snips.

A spinner

• Decorate one or both sides of the plate with anything you have on hand: pencils, textas, paint, crayons, collage

• Draw a spiral shape and cut along the line from the edge toward the centre, rotating the plate as you go

• Attach a length of string to the middle section with tape or a staple.

• Hang in a dry spot that catches the breeze and watch it spin.

A fish

• Decorate one side of the plate with anything you have on hand: pencils, textas, paint, crayons, collage

• Cut a ‘pie-slice’ shape from the edge - the gap becomes the fish’s mouth. Attach the piece to the reverse of the opposite edge using tape - now it’s the fish’s tail.

• Hang it up.

• You could dangle it from a home made fishing rod (a string taped to a stick)

• You could even make a fishing game by taping a string loop to the fish. Bend a paper clip into a hook shape and attach to your homemade rod. Try catching the loop in the hook to catch the fish from the floor.

Possum

• Cut 2 arcs from the bottom edge of your plate 2-3cms apart- this leaves the shape of a pointed nose. Reattach these as ears at the top of your plate using tape on the back of the plate.

• Decorate with anything you have on hand: pencils, textas, paint, crayons, collage

• Tape onto a stick for an easy puppet.