Suddenly stuck at home with kids?
Hear me out- I’ve always felt the role of “cruise director” is the most analogous to the lives of moms.
We orchestrate everything- from figuring out what everyone is eating, to the schedule of activities for the day, to monitoring the sickbay.
And now we’re going to have to step up our game even more as we look at the possibility of having our kids at home for an extended period of time, whether under quarantine, or because schools have closed.
It’s left a lot of parents wondering what on earth they’re going to do, and how they’re going to pass the time without losing their minds.
Step 1: Change Your Mindset
The first step is to change our mindsets.
Scenario 1- “I’m looking down the barrel at 3 weeks with my kids at home, and nowhere to go. I can practically hear them whining, “I’m bored,” right now. This is going to be a nightmare.”
Scenario 2- “I’m going to be home with my kids for 3 weeks, and I’m looking forward to getting to spend more relaxed quality time with them than we usually get. This is going to be a great opportunity to reconnect.”
It doesn’t take a degree in psychology to know which mom is going to have a more pleasant experience.
There’s nothing inherently different between the two moms in my example. (They could even be the same woman on different days of the week!)
The difference is all in how we approach the situations given to us.
Step 2: Planning out Your Activities for Kids at Home
A good cruise ship also needs a solid, yet flexible schedule. For everyone’s sanity, you’re going to want a schedule, too.
I can go into depth about how schedules are incredibly helpful for kids, but the best way to sum it up is: When things aren’t normal, do normal things.
So, you’ve got a shiny new perspective on things, and a blank schedule ready to fill out! But you’re still left with the question, “What am I going to do with these kids all day?!”
Here are 55 free activities to do with kids at home!
Free Activities to do with Kids at Home
- Play board games
- Create your own board game
- Create paper bag puppets and put on a show
- Have the kids write and star in their own play
- Let them use a camera (with supervision) to create their own movie
- If they’re old enough, you can even show them some free editing software they could tinker with online! (Again, recommended with supervision.)
- Go on an alphabet scavenger hunt where they have to find something in the house that begins with each letter of the alphabet- pictures in books can count if they get stuck!
- Create an obstacle course with pillow cushions, blankets and chairs
- Collect twigs and leaves and whatever else they can find in the yard to build a fairy house or fort; let their imagination carry them away!
- Play “the floor is made out of lava”
- Sneak some math into your day by having the kids measure everything. Ev-er-y-thing. It’s weird, but they’ll love it.
- Bake some cookies (and sneak more math in! Fractions, this time!)
- Have read-aloud time; maybe start a big new series with the kids
- Plant a garden, or at least start some seedlings in a cup.
- Draw cards for nursing home residents who may be feeling lonely, because they aren’t allowed to have visitors right now.
- Find a penpal and write to them.
- Have a dance party
- Play hopscotch outside
- Listen to music as a family, and try some genres that you may not typically turn on! And who knows? You may find that you have an opera fan on your hands!
- Have a sleepover or campout in your living room.
- Let them stay up late to look at the stars. See if they can spot any constellations!
- Read a book to a cousin or friend via Marco Polo or Facetime (or another favorite app)
- Go on a virtual visit of a museum
- Write a bunch of letters, shapes or numbers in chalk on the driveway or a fence, and have your kid use a water bottle to erase all the letter A’s, or all the squares.
- Write letters to grandparents and great-grandparents (and ask for a reply!)
- Listen to audiobooks as a family and color your own illustrations!
- Take an inventory of all the living or moving things in your backyard, from bugs to clouds.
- Teach them old-fashioned skills, like knitting, baking a loaf of bread, or making your own cleaning products
- Try making your own caramel. It can be fascinating to watch how sugar goes through different stages.
- Practice sports that have been canceled with your kids! Get out there and shoot a basketball, throw a baseball or kick around the soccer ball with them!
- Learn to identify wildlife in your neighborhood or backyard. Use field guides to identify different plants and birds. They can even try and listen for the specific call of each animal!
- Pack bagged lunches for soup kitchens to hand out, especially if the ones near you are not allowing people to congregate for meals.
- Built an indoor fort
- Take an indoor toy outside
- Create a time capsule
- If you’re missing events like Stations of the Cross or Fish Fry’s, create your own! Try letting the kids lead, they’ll have a ton of fun with it. (They can even create a sign for the family fish fry!)
- Do ‘field day’ type races in the back yard
- Play some card games, or learn new ones
- Go through the house and find items to donate, sell or throw out
- Make your own bread and butter
- Play with legos
- See if you can color in all the pages on old coloring books
- Create the most massive tower you can with all the building supplies you have (legos + build blocks + k’nex = FUN!)
- Cover the bottom of a muffin tin or cake pan with baking soda, and then do a ‘science experiment’ with medicine droppers full of vinegar and see what happens!
- See how strong of a bridge they can build with pipe-cleaners
- Puzzles
- Yoga for kids
- If there’s warm enough weather, wash the car!
- Create a mason-jar terrarium
- Learn origami
- Have a family movie night, with actual home-movies of your family!
- There are a bunch of educational sites offering free memberships or discounts at this time, too. (I have to give full credit to Amazing Educational Resources for this!)
- Learn how to make shadow puppets.
- “Paint” the garage door/side of the house/fence/whatever with water and a big paintbrush.
- Create instruments
- Use those instruments and have a parade around the house or backyard!
Enjoy The Time With Your Kids At Home!
If (when) things get hard, try to think about how you want to be able to look back on this time with your kids. Remember, this will pass.
If you have any other ideas for activities to do with your kids at home, please share them in the comments!
Stay calm. Stay healthy. Have fun 😁
(Thanks to the friends and family who shared ideas for this post!)
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