There’s a pandemic going on right now. It’s scary. Our kids are so innocent and they really have no idea what’s going on, nor should they. Our job is to keep them busy, educated, and entertained while quarantined! You may or may not be quarantining yourself, but schools are closing all around the country. I put together some ideas that you can use to keep your kids entertained while staying at home.
- Cook! YouTube has so many videos for cooking with kids, like this one here! Make your favorite dessert with your kids or have them be the lead in cooking lunch. In an old blog post of mine, Bailey and I used a kid’s cookbook to make THIS together. It was so fun!
- Board Games: Get those board games out of the closet and have a family game night! Don’t have a board game? Play charades. Or download a game like “Heads Up” on your phone or tablet.
- Movie Night: Disney + and Netflix have such great movies! Build a fort and have the kids watch a movie and then act out their favorite scene afterwards. This could be done during the night or anytime during the day, really.
- Clean + Organize: Get the kids involved in cleaning and organizing their rooms. Have them find toys or clothes that they don’t need anymore and create a donation pile. Being stuck in the house is the perfect time to get the spring cleaning done!
- Go Outside: Even if you’re stuck in the house, you can still take a walk, ride bikes, or play in the yard. In most areas, the weather is nice, so if it is, take advantage of it! My daughter is in gymnastics so we are going to do a lot of gymnastics practice. I also want to start running with my kids. Let’s teach our kids how to stay healthy and active in a fun way! You can also do sidewalk chalk, create a reading corner by a tree, play tag, make a fort, etc.
- Arts & Crafts: Pinterest has so many ideas for arts & crafts, beyond coloring and painting. I will leave some images below of some that I found on Pinterest! This would also be a perfect time to have your kids make pictures and cards for relatives that are far away. Let them send some mail to family and friends. If your child is older, have them write a letter. I know that my grandma LOVES getting mail from us.
- Scavenger Hunt: Create a scavenger hunt for the kids, either outside or inside! Come up with a list of household items or toys. The kids will have fun racing to find all of the items.
- BOXES: Have you ever seen the show “Out of the Box?” When I was a kid, I loved creating spaces with boxes. Find some old boxes, have the kids paint and decorate them. Their box can be a fort, house, castle, or whatever else their imagination desires! I would lay newspaper and do this in the kitchen if you’re using paint 🙂
- Play with Toys: This seems simple, but sometimes kids are over stimulated by the amount of toys we have in our home. Treat this like school. Have 4 stations of toys (dress up, blocks, trucks, barbies) and have the kids rotate every 15-20 minutes. Depending on the amount of stations you want, you can use 1-2 hours doing this! This will also give the kids some structure like they had at school.
- Learning Games: Most of our kids are either in daycare or in school. Continue working on things that they were doing in school. Bailey has been working on sight words, so I printed out some sight word practice from Teachers Pay Teachers. We also have workbooks, dry erase boards, and learning apps to use. Designate some time each day to home school and keep their brains active!
Head here to see how to make this cloud dough!
Head here to learn how to make stress balls!
I hope some of this information was helpful to you. If you have anymore ideas, please let me know in the comments below or find me on Ig @ http://www.instagram.com/kayla.rae.nelson I would love to chat! Tag me in your stories if you do any of these activities. Stay safe everyone!
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