Right now you are probably wondering what to do with an undetermined amount of time at home with your kids and how to entertain them.
First of all, don’t panic. Kids can sense when something is wrong and you don’t want to cause them anxiety or worry.
Second, we spend so much of our lives working, getting from place to place and just going through the motions of life – that we forget to stop and enjoy the small things.
Your kid(s) may get bored at home after some time and just playing by themselves won’t be enough.
I put together this list of things that you can do at home with your kids. I hope that you enjoy as many of them as you can do.
Take advantage of the FREE 30 day Amazon Prime membership and get some of the book downloads, movies and/or shows to watch.
Have a pajama party and let the kid(s) pick the movie.
Scholastic set up a free LEARN FROM HOME site. Take advantage of these opportunities to educate.
See if your friends have kids that want to do a pen pal exchange between the kids.
Make a family scrapbook.
Have a good time with simon says.
Khan Academy is offering free daily schedules for kids age 4-18. Occupy them with learning.
Do puzzles together.
Have themed nights. For example: throw a Christmas night and make hot cocoa and watch holiday movies.
Make a fun dessert like cake pops, rainbow cakes, fruity pebble rice krispie treats, sugar cookies, etc.
Pull a major flex on your kids and show them how to build a fort.
Read your kids books.
Make Play-doh from items at home.
Join them for a tea party with their dolls.
Have a mismatch day at home and let them wear whatever they want.
Don’t forget to play “the floor is lava” but be careful.
Break out all the board games and have a game night.
Sign up for Disney+ . Free for a 7 day trial.
Play iSpy.
Camp in your backyard, living room or basement.
Do thumb wars.
Build a family tree.
Play a game of hot potato.
Make rock candy with kool-aid.
Chores. Now would be a great time to teach them how to help around the house and contribute to the family.
Create a time capsule.
Make your own ice cream in a bag.
Start a garden. Your kids might be more willing to eat the produce if they know they helped create it.
Make sock puppets and let them put on a production.
Have a karaoke night. If you don’t have a machine, there are many apps you can download.
Learn sign language or start learning a spoken language.
Draw a fun map and send your kids on a treasure hunt in the house.
Make homemade bubbles for them to blow.
Have a costume night and everyone dress up.
Play truth or dare.
Teach your kids how to cook (age appropriate of course).
Host a Lego building competition with the people in your home.
Do a family photo shoot.
Let your kid(s) do your hair. And let’s be honest – we like it.
Listen to a book from Audible together. When you sign up for the 30 day trial, the first book is free.
Teach them great ways to be more productive in school and help them with their class work.
Build a house of cards and see how many you can stack.
Play “would you rather.” create fun lists of things to eat, places to go, etc. Keep it fun.
Write an early letter to Santa.
Get them to help you go through their toys to see what you can give to children to don’t have any.
Make them breakfast in bed.
Play dress up with the craziest clothes you can find.
Make milk and cereal breakfast popsicles!
Create a story or comic together and illustrate it as you go along.
Play charades.
Do crossword puzzles. Here is a bunch of free prinatables.
Make slime for them to pay with.
Make a vision board with magazines and things you have lying around.
Talk to them about their future. Find out where they want to be/what they want to do.
Throw a dance party to help them burn off energy.
Make them smoothies – easy way to sneak in some veggies too.
Spend time with friends and family afar with video calls.
Create your own bookmarks.
Educate with documentaries.
Meal planning – lets the kid(s) pick what to have for certain meals – within reason and share the efforts.
Make an indoor picnic. Bonus: let the kid(s) make a picnic basket out of whatever you have lying around. Color a box maybe!
Get them into a podcast. Here is a great list.
Make silly putty.
Create a trivia game about your family and friends.
Have a fun day of coloring. Crayola has tons of page you can download and print for free.
Make paper planes and see who can fly them the furthest.
If you have a pool and it is warm enough, use it.
Make necklaces out of pasta and have an Italian themed day.
Learn to juggle.
Coloring with chalk on the driveway or your sidewalk.
Get everyone in the house to come up with jokes and host a comedy night.
Keep them active by running, using a jump rope or other kid friendly exercises.
Let your kid(s) do your make up and then you do theirs. Bonus: video call friends and family afterwards and act like you don’t know why they are laughing.
Video games and game apps on your phone. I know you want to limit screen time, but also don’t drive yourself crazy.
Make your own pizzas.
Play hide and go seek.
Let them stay up late or sleep in.
Teach them the value of money.
