Keeping the kids entertained and busy during the current situation going on in our country and be challenging at times, so we have picked our top 25 activities that should be a hit with the whole family.
Reading Challenge
A reading challenge is a great way to get the kids off their devices and into a great book. The challenge can be who can read the most pages or minutes for the week, or it can be who can read the most books. You can have milestones where kids can earn small prizes or even time on a device. There are set rules, so you are in charge of your challenge.
Family Dance Party
Turn on your favorite music and get up and dance. If you happen to have a strobe light or even Christmas lights will work, transform your living room into a dance room, and see who has the best moves. You can also turn it into a competition of who can dance the best or the silliest.
Movie Night
Pop that popcorn and get those snugly blankets ready for a family movie night. A fun thing to do is to throw some blankets and pillows on the floor for everyone to be able to stretch out and relax with their snacks and drinks.
Indoor Camping
Indoor camping is always a big hit with the kids. Pull those blankets out and make the kids a fort in your living room where the kids can sleep for the night. Make a fake campfire with a fan and streamers and serve up some s’ mores to make it feel like you are camping. If you have a small tent that fits in your living room, even better.
Cooking
Getting the kids involved in cooking with you is both fun and beneficial. Whether it’s cracking the eggs for breakfast or chop vegetables for dinner, they are learning valuable lessons that they will carry with them their whole life while spending quality time with you.
Playing Sports
Being stuck at home doesn’t mean being stuck inside, there are still many things you can do outside, like play soccer, football, baseball, tag, etc. with your siblings or parents. Just remember to stay in your yard and practice social distancing from your neighbors and friends.
Gardening
Now is a great time to start a garden and teach the kids how to grow their produce. You can find basic seeds and even some plants at your local grocery store. Also, some flowers are available for planting
Helping with Chores
Get the kiddos involved in daily chores if they already aren’t doing them. Of course, give them tasks that are suitable for their age. Some things you can get them to help with is doing the dishes, taking out the trash, helping with laundry, sweeping and vacuuming. If your kids need some motivation to help with chores, give them an allowance or some kind of reward after they complete the tasks for the week like screen time.
Become an Author
Get the kids to write and illustrate their book. They can come up with their story-line, or you can give them some direction. It could be about an adventure they would like to take or about a superhero, let them get as creative as possible, and then they can share it with the family once finished.
Family Workout
A lot of personal trainers and workout coaches have been giving free online classes to get you up and moving. Get the kids involved and make it a daily family event.
Pretend Salon
Set up a fake salon and let the kids fix your hair or fix theirs. Kids can schedule appointments for mom, dad, and their siblings, and everyone in the family can visit the salon. If you have leftover colored hairspray from Halloween, get it out and get a crazy hairstyle.
Kid Car Wash
Let the kids set up a car wash station and let them wash all the family cars. This not only gets them outside having fun in the water but will also leave you with a nice clean vehicle.
Family Game Night
Pull out all the board games and plan a family game night. If you have a large family, make teams, and the winning team gets to pick the movie or what’s for dinner the next night. Don’t worry if your family is small; you can still have just as fun.
Bathing the Pets
If the kids are bored, let them bathe the family pet. This might get a little messy, so if your dog is huge, washing them outside might be the best option.
Obstacle Course
Building an obstacle course in your backyard will keep the kids busy for a while and even tire them out. If you have pool noodles lying around, you can use those to make courses or set up mazes with patio furniture and rope. You can do timed races, and the winner can win a small prize.
Skee Ball
Take your extra laundry baskets and set them up, so they kind of resemble a skee ball game. The further away from the basket, the higher the points you get. If you don’t have small balls to throw, you can always make some socks or yarn if you have some at home.
Funny Face Flip Book
These cute little books will make the whole family giggle. Grab some plain white paper, markers, crayons, a hole puncher, and any type of ringed binder. Cut the paper in thirds, on a third of the strips make funny eyes, other third noses, and the last mouths. If you have face stickers, you can use that, but markers and crayons work. Then put the papers in the binder and get ready to laugh.
Chalk Art
Let the kids let their creativity flow as they transform your driveway into a work of art with chalk. Kids spend hours making beautiful and colorful paintings. They can even play hopscotch if they get tired of drawing.
Bubble Fun
Bubbles are an all-time favorite, and you can make the kids happy when you them fun bubble wants out of string and sticks. These wands create huge bubbles that the kids can almost fit in.
Make a Family Tree
This is a great way to spend quality time with your kids and teach them about their family and where they come from. A creative way to make a family tree is to use fingerprints to represent each family member. Draw a tree with just branches, branches represent off-springs, and then add your fingerprints as leaves and name them. Your kids will be amazed to see how many family members they have.
Plan a Scavenger Hunt
There are so many times of scavenger hunts you can create for your kids, from finding a hidden treasure to a color of the rainbow scavenger hunt. Set it up while they are sleeping and hand them their map or list as soon as they wake up. The older the kids, the harder the hunt.
Have a Puppet Show
Take all those socks that don’t have matches and create some puppets, if you don’t have any old socks lying around construction paper with pencils or straws works too. After you have created all your puppets but on a show for the whole family.
Make a Vision Board
Creating a vision board is an excellent way for kids to express who they are. Get all your old magazines, family pictures, markers, glue, scissors, and some poster board. The kids can cut out things that they like, places they wish to visit someday, a profession they want to have. After their boards are complete, let them share them with the family.
Call Family and Friends
We left the best for last, connecting with family and friends via phone or face-time during this time is one of the best ways to feel a sense of normalcy. Let the kids chat with their friends to see what they have been up to and exchange craft ideas. Call grandparents and other family members to make sure they are doing wel, this will brighten up everyone’s day.
We understand how difficult it has been for everybody lately, and we hope these activities help keep you and the kids busy and entertained. Remember, what we are all experiencing is only temporary; before we know it, we will go back to living our regular lives. Enjoy your family, make lasting memories, be kind, and patient.
