By Sarah Lyons
Nothing is more boring than being stuck at home. Lounging in bed or curling up with a good book may sound ideal to parents, but most kids are unwilling to spend their day this way. Here are a few ideas to beat the boredom busters.
Host a Movie Marathon
Pop some corn and put on some your favorite movies to enjoy with the kids to pass the time. Consider choosing a theme for your movie marathon such as Disney princess movies, a movie with several sequels, or old school movies from your childhood.
Craft Time
Paint, sculpt play dough, or make bead bracelets. Allow the kids to get creative by making their own scrapbook or finding items in your own recycle bin they can make into sculptures. Hit up your closets and rummage in the garage to purge and possibly repurpose some old items. Now you will have fun decorations for the house as well entertainment for your children.
Take a Field Trip Through Your Neighborhood
You don’t have to stay cooped up in your house. When’s the last time you walked through the neighborhood and actually looked at the houses? Play a game of I Spy, come up with a visual scavenger hunt or make up Bingo cards of things you might see if your neighborhood. Any excuse to get the kids out of the house for a little while so they can run and play while burning off some energy.
Mud Pies
If temperatures allow, change into play clothes and then head outside with your rain boots and allow the kids to jump in mud puddles. Make mud pies and just enjoy the fresh air. When you head back inside draw a warm bubble bath to get cleaned up and wind down.
Experiment
Since you are stuck inside, amuse yourself and your children with a science experiment. Not only will time slip away, but you will also be providing a science lesson. Ideas could be creating a volcano with baking soda and vinegar, combining water dyed with food coloring, or mixing salt with ice to see what happens. Check out Pinterest to provide a lot of great ideas.
Fun in the Kitchen
Bake some cookies or other homemade treats with your kids and they are sure to think you’re sweet. Pull out some old family recipes and teach your kids how to make them. In addition to learning about their family’s culture and traditions, they are sure to proud of being able to serve them for dinner that night.
Get Active
Have a dance party in your living room, play a game of keep away, or create an obstacle course to get the kids active and help burn off some of the restless energy that can build up when they are stuck inside all day. Check gonoodle.com for free kids’ workout videos.
You are stuck at home, but that doesn’t mean your day has to be boring. Parents can get creative and involve the kids in their plan to fill the time. Besides all the things listed above here are some other activity ideas your child can do.
- Build a fort
- Make cards for soldiers
- Make ice cream
- Write letters to their friends
- Bake cookies or a cake
- Paint or draw a self portrait
- Put on a puppet show
- Do a puzzle
- Play cup pong
- Learn a card game
- Read books to your friends via video chat
- Paint rocks
- Sketch or color
- Practice making shadow puppets
- Play dress up with mom and dads clothes
- Make a bird feeder
- Camp out in the back yard
- Have a scavenger hunt
- Have a picnic
- Learn orgami
- Have a treasure hunt
- Read a good book
The possibilities are endless with a little imagination.
