Staying home with the little ones could be an especially important time in both your life and the life of your kids. As long as there are interesting and entertaining things to do, that is. Children’s attention span is usually lower than that of an adult and it may be a true challenge to keep your kids happy and entertained for a longer time period while staying at home.
At first, it may be exciting for both of you, especially if your lifestyle is fast-paced and predominantly oriented towards work and the outside world. However, chances are that in no time the little ones will become impatient and in search of more fun things to do.
Before you start to worry, say goodbye to all the stress as we’re here to save the day with a list of cool ideas for activities that will help you keep the kids entertained at home. Without further ado, here we go!
- Kitchen experiments
The kitchen zone is certainly one full of mysteries from the viewpoint of your little ones. Most parents try to keep the children away from the kitchen to avoid regular messes and extra cleaning time. This is why the kitchen can be a place to start when entertaining the kids at home. Choose a few recipes and experiment with new meals together. Make your children feel involved and important in the process. This will not only keep them occupied, but will also leave them with some valuable know-how in the kitchen that will surely come in handy in the future.
- Create a new game together
Yes, you could always play games that are already created and sold in physical stores or online. There is so much to choose from nowadays. But the chance of the kids getting bored is quite high, considering that they’ve probably already played a ton of games suitable for their age. To spice things up and add excitement, why not create your own homemade, unique game? You could start by brainstorming together about what your little ones find most interesting at the time. This could be a hobby, something from their educational curriculum, or more.
- DIY projects
Who said DIY projects are for adults only? Maybe not all do-it-yourself ideas will be suitable for the kids, depending on their age, but there are plenty of cool things to try at home. For instance, together, you could create a homemade candle holder, a handmade lamp or a concrete decorative object for your interior. There are numerous DIY projects that can be found online, which you and your kids are bound to love!
- Children’s quiz with rewards
Spending too much time at home without any educational activities could have its drawback for your little one’s development. And what better way to stimulate learning than with a fun quiz with rewards? Choose a few of the fundamental subjects such as mathematics, science, literature, art, and technology and create a quiz using facts from each subject. You could get creative and separate the questions into levels of difficulty. For instance, answering correctly a question from each section could get a different amount of points. Whoever collects the most points at the end becomes the winner. And the rewards? Use your imagination and offer something that you know will be of value. For example, this could be an extra hour a day playing online games, a visit to a favorite place, or something else that your little ones will truly enjoy.
- Mystery hunt
Most children enjoy a good mystery and easily become involved in roleplay or a certain story setting. To help them have fun at home and stay occupied, you could play a Sherlock Holmes type mystery game indoors or create your own mystery hunt. For example, hide a certain object somewhere in the house and create a story that explains what the purpose of the object is, include characters involved in the story, and ask your little ones to find the object considering the clues you’ve provided.
Try to give our regular hints if you see that the kids are starting to lose patients and help them successfully complete the game. It may also be a good idea to stay away from scary stories to avoid negative thoughts getting stuck inside the little ones’ minds.
- Puzzle time
Puzzles are an amazing way to stay entertained, even for adults. There is a great variety of beautiful images that have been crafted into puzzles. There are also wooden puzzles to choose from that your kids could enjoy even more. When choosing the best puzzle, do your research well and consider your kids’ age before making the decision. You don’t want to give them something too hard, which is likely to make them irritated and certainly uninterested. On the other hand, if they solve the puzzle too quickly you will need to think of another fun activity soon.
This is why choosing one that perfectly suits the level of the participants is essential.
- Animated movie marathon
Movies do remain one of the best ways to make sure that a child is occupied and satisfied. They are also a great way to help the little ones learn new things, build morale, and be introduced to a number of life situations that would otherwise be difficult to imagine. Why not organize a fun animated movie marathon and spend a few hours in front of the big screen? Kids tend to love sharing these moments with their parents. You might be surprised to hear their feedback from the movie, see their reactions, and learn more about the things that go on in their little heads.
- Science experiments
Kids’ curiosity is limitless. This gives you the opportunity to show them something they’ve been wondering about, teach them something new, and of course, let them have fun while doing it. Science offers a lot to us and the best news is that there are many ways in which the little ones could benefit. For instance, show them how to make a lava lamp, how chemical eruption in your mouth works with an orange fizz, or create a rainstorm in a glass. These amazing experiments are available step-by-step online and can be an unmatchable way to stimulate your children to learn more about science and how things work underneath.
- Painting
Painting brings joy to all of us, even if we’re not really great at it. Let your little ones go wild with colorful paint and show them that art is in everything surrounding us. Of course, do your best to protect your home from any long-term damage and prepare in advance by covering the floor, any furniture around the painting zone, and any clothes that you or the kids will be wearing. Choose a large canvas and create a family masterpiece together.
You could look at something already made and show your kids how to get the end result. However, it could be way more fun to be creative on your own and get your children inspired to be brave in showing their inner art motives.
- Build a LEGO city
LEGO is great fun for children of all ages, and not only. Be careful as you may find yourself with a new hobby that you simply can’t ignore. Building a LEGO toy or LEGO house is one thing, but imagine a whole city! Now, this will certainly require some time, space, and financial investment but it is a genius way to keep the little ones entertained and stimulate their minds as well. You could use the opportunity to teach them a few things about the importance of building a solid foundation, for examples.
- Indoor gardening
Even if your house doesn’t have a large backyard where you can plant vegetables or fruit, there are plenty of ways to take gardening indoors. Choose an area in the house, which you could sacrifice in terms of space for a while and get your little ones involved in building an indoor gardening zone. Teach them some of the basic things about the way different vegetables or fruit grow and let them to the planting themselves. Strawberries, cherry tomatoes, or herbs such as parsley or basil are great for starters. And the best news is that they don’t even take up that much space!
- Home gymnastics
Last but not least, let’s not forget about physical activity. Spending time at home could make your little ones a bit lazy and physically inactive. You could help them stay active by arranging a home-based gymnasium. If you have any professional equipment, that’s great. However, you don’t really need to dig a hole in your pocket to get this up and running. Use a mattress, a yoga matt, even comfy pillows and help the kids do some stretches, teach the how to roll forwards and backwards, and more. Again, there are plenty of materials that could be found online, which will certainly help you with home gymnastics for kids.
There we have them! There are plenty of other ways to help your kids stay entertained and active at home so feel free to add on to this list and embrace fully the time you have with the little ones at home!
