Isolation is no joke. Even for those of us who are used to homeschooling or are introverts, staying home endlessly can start to get to the best of us! As homeschoolers, we aren’t accustomed to canceled sports, music lessons, field trips, or other extracurriculars. In fact, we are realizing just how much we don’t stay at home! Many of the amazing families in our homeschooling community are suddenly desperate for new ideas to entertain children now that trips to the library, co-op meetings, and play-dates are canceled. We understand, and we are right there with you! To that end, we’ve done some activities for kids research of our own.
Entertaining Activities To Do At Home With Kids
When we are self-quarantining with kids, many of us begin to go a little stir-crazy. We love our kids, but it can be a lot to handle when we are cooped up together. Here are tons of ideas to help you through this time of social distancing!
- Practice Handwashing. Handwashing is always important, but now is a vital time to practice proper handwashing techniques! A simple guideline: lather your hands with soap for twenty seconds, or while singing the “Happy Birthday” song twice!
- Family Board Games. It’s a good time to play board games together! Grab your classic favorites, or buy a couple of new games on Amazon Prime for two-day delivery!
- Movie Nights. You can make nights at home extra fun by watching a new or favorite movie together. Better yet, make popcorn and break out the candy!
- Baking as a Family. Cookies, cakes, pies, bread…whatever you like, Pinterest is full of great ideas for delicious baked goods. It’s a good time to teach the kids about baking science.
- Coloring Books. Coloring never goes out of style. Even if you don’t already have coloring books at home, there are lots of free coloring printables online.
- Drawing. Encourage your kids to draw pictures, whether with colored pencils, pens, markers, or crayons!
- Painting. Most kids love to paint. This is a good time to lay out paper, paintbrushes, and paint pots. Whether you use paint by numbers or leave it up to your child’s imagination, it will provide plenty of fun!
- Jigsaw Puzzles. Working on a puzzle as a family is always entertaining. Clear your dining table, because you’ll need plenty of space. Start with a smaller puzzle, like a 300 piece, and work up to solving a 1000 piece puzzle together!
- Calls to Grandparents. Nothing makes a grandparent’s day more than a call from their grandbabies. Now is a great time to spend time catching up with the grandparents or other relatives.
- Writing Snail Mail. Even in today’s technology age, kids get so excited to see their names on mail. Have your child write a letter to a loved one or friend, or help them write it if necessary. Your recipient will love receiving the note, and your child will be giddy with excitement as they anticipate a response.
- Card Games. There are so many different card games to play together! Whether you just use a classic deck of cards or a game like Uno, this is a good time to bring out the cards.
- Magic Tricks. Do you have a budding magician on your hands? It can be fun to learn magic tricks together, and you have plenty of time to practice! Whether you have a magic tricks kit or just some YouTube videos and household items, your kids are bound to have fun.
- Nature Walks. You can practice social distancing while getting fresh air. At least at the moment in the U.S., there’s no reason to always stay in the house — just keep at least 6 feet away from other people. Nature walks are a wonderful way to get outside, release some energy and cramped legs, and maybe even hands-on homeschool science with leaf collecting or nature exploration!
- Home Barbecuing. If you have a backyard, enjoy a family BBQ outside! Fire up the grill, cook your favorite food, and enjoy the time together. You could play outdoor games, eat on a picnic blanket, and maybe even stargaze when nighttime creeps in.
- S’mores Night. In addition to barbecuing, enjoy an outdoor s’mores night together if you have a firepit. Even if you don’t have a firepit or fires aren’t currently permitted in your county (I’m looking at you, southwestern states!), you can still enjoy the fun with indoor s’mores!
- T.V. Show Marathon. If your family loves TV shows, now is a good time to binge a marathon! Some of our favorites are Sherlock, Anne of Green Gables, Psych, and Monk! Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime make these marathons easily accessible.
- Movie Marathon. Similarly, why not do a movie marathon with all this extra time at home? Every so often, we love making a weekend out of a movie marathon with lots of popcorn and treats. A few of our favorites are The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Batman!
- Jumping Rope. Sometimes, you just have to get that energy out. As long as you don’t live in an upstairs unit, jump rope is a great idea for kids! And there’s good news: if you don’t already own a jump rope, you can purchase one from Amazon so you don’t even have to leave the house.
- Family Charades. Charades is an incredibly fun, classic group game! The biggest appeals to charades are that it doesn’t involve screens, gets people active, and is fast-paced. It’s a great way to strengthen your non-verbal communication with your family members!
- Face Painting. It’s a well-known fact: kids love getting their faces painted. They will pretty much jump on any chance they get! Why not harness that excitement by having a face painting session at home? It doesn’t matter how artistic you are, the kids will still have a blast. And, you can always try again!
- Homemade Greeting Cards. It is always so much more meaningful to receive a homemade card. Family and friends will love homemade birthday cards, anniversary cards, and holiday well-wishes.
- Video Chatting. When in isolation, it can feel lonely. Even as homeschoolers, it is still difficult because we are accustomed to going to co-op meetings, sports, and other extracurriculars every week. You can help minimize this loneliness by video chatting with some of your favorite people. It’s a good time to catch up!
- Tea Parties. It is always fun to have a tea party! Bring out the tea set, dress the table with your fancy tablecloth, napkins, and flatware, and put the kettle on to boil. Some of our favorite treats for tea parties are Krimpets, Swiss Cake Rolls, lemon bites, and butter cookies.
- Fort Building. Kids pretty much love nothing better than building a cool fort. Whether you choose to build on in a bedroom, the living room, or even out on the porch, this is a good home activity that the kids are sure to totally flip for.
- Chalk Driveway Drawings. As a child, I remember loving drawing on the driveway with chalk! Again, at the moment in the U.S., we can get fresh air as long as we still stay away from close contact with other people. So, grab the chalk and head outside!
- Bike Rides. Another great idea for exercise is a family bike ride. If you have quiet streets around your home, it can be fun for everyone to ride bicycles together.
- Tic-Tac-Toe. This is a simple but classic game! Going crazy at home with bored kids? Play tic-tac-toe!
- Backyard Bocce Ball. Do you have a bocce ball set? You can either play in your backyard, or head to a local park to play together. This is a fun, easy game and the results are different each time.
- Family Soccer or Basketball Game. It would be best if you have a basketball hoop at home or a yard big enough for a soccer game, however, you can still play these together at a local park with a field or court. Just make sure it’s empty first!
- Create an Enormous Domino Line. One of my favorite pastimes as a kid was playing with dominoes. You could always play actual domino games, like Mexican Train or Chickenfoot, or challenge yourselves to build a domino line around the house!
- Kite Flying. Make use of the spring weather by flying kites together! Even if you don’t have a large yard, you can fly kites at a public park field.
- Makerspace Fun. Have you heard of makerspaces? All this downtime at home can be a great chance to build your own for STEM creativity with your kids!
- Scrapbooking. Do you have a bunch of random photos in a shoebox or a disorganized photo album? This is a good opportunity to either organize your photo albums or create scrapbook pages with these photos!
- Spring Cleaning. Cleaning is probably the one thing all of us have already done in our self-quarantine! If you haven’t yet, though, this is the perfect chance to do all the cleaning you’ve been pushing off “until you have time.” For me, spring cleaning means scrubbing all the nooks and crannies, moving furniture for deep cleaning, laundering all the things (blankets, curtains, bathroom rugs, pet beds, etc), and decluttering for charitable donations!
- Make Your Own Playdough. Sure, you could just use store-bought playdough, OR, you could use the extra time on your hands to learn how to make your own and have fun with the process! As a bonus, you know exactly what ingredients your kids will be playing with and don’t need to worry about any nasty chemicals.
- Homemade Paper. Most of us have never thought about making paper, but it’s a fun activity to try with the kids and a great learning experience!
- Learn to Make Animations. Ever tried your hand at animation? It would be a fun project to learn and create an animation featuring your kids! Even better, help your kids learn simple animation and then let them have at it. Hours of entertainment!
- Blow Bubbles. Blowing bubbles is exciting for all ages. Even if you don’t have bubbles at home, you can make your own with water, corn syrup, and dish soap!
- LEGO Building. Challenge your kids to build something they’ve never made before, or find instructions off the internet! You could even order a kit off Amazon if you want to get serious about it.
- Race Marbles. It may not sound that exciting, but I loved racing marbles with my brother as a kid! Kids accustomed to video games and technology may not be particularly intrigued, but it’s always worthwhile to try.
- Paint with Bubbles. Have you heard of bubble artwork? This is an incredibly unique and immersive activity for kids to try. Not only that, but the results are amazing!
- DIY Slime. If you’re a parent, you likely didn’t make it out of the slime phase of 2016-2017 without hearing about making your own slime. Kids (and adults, too!) are obsessed with it! I’m looking for things to do at home, so it sounds like a good idea to me!
- Study Geography. Learn about the countries around the world, the 50 U.S. States and those most affected by COVID-19.
- Home Scavenger Hunts. When all else fails, nothing beats a good scavenger hunt. These are a timeless activity for everyone!
- Duolingo Lessons. Take advantage of this free time by learning a new language! Duolingo is free and easy to use. You can also consider these other free options for helping your kids learn a foreign language.
- Plan a Fancy Dinner at Home. Enjoy your family dinners at home by putting on a fancy night! Plan for everyone to dress in their finest, set the table with a tablecloth, cloth napkins, candles, and the fancy dinnerware you never use. Turn on low jazz music and enjoy your night! If you want to have even more fun, you could make it a theme night, like the Roaring Twenties! If you’d rather not have a kitchen to clean, consider getting delivery takeout from your favorite local restaurant.
- Family Concerts. If your kids are musical, put together a family concert! Your children could perform their favorite pieces for you as the audience, or you could all play music together if you like.
- Preparing International Cuisine Together. This coronavirus pandemic is affecting everyone around the globe. As you discuss the various countries struggling with the virus, consider planning themed international cuisine nights in their honor! It is always fun to try a new cuisine, it creates wonderful memories to cook together, and everyone can learn about different cultures.
- Home Workouts Together. Still need ideas for letting out pent-up energy or relieving boredom? Exercise together! There are hundreds of free workout videos on YouTube. You could even follow this 14-Day Quarantine Workout Plan from Blogilates! Even better, all of the exercises in that workout plan are apartment-friendly!
- Homemade Pizza and Games Night. You could lay out a spread of toppings for a pizza bar! Everyone chooses their toppings on certain slices or for personal pan pizzas. Along those lines, you could also have a taco bar — or sundaes for dessert!
I hope these ideas spark some inspiration for your family and provide hours of entertainment now that we are all in lockdown at home. My heart and thoughts are with the families affected. We are all in this together, and we will get through it! Social distancing is so important for slowing the spread, so even though it is difficult, please try to stay to yourselves. Stay safe, friends!
