During this unprecedented time, many families are adjusting to a new normal with school closures and events cancelled. Being quarantined with your children for weeks on end is truly uncharted territory. So you may be wondering just how are you going to entertain your kids. Don’t let the Coronavirus affect your home, here is a list of 50 ways to beat boredom.
1. Board Games & Card Games – some of our favorites are UNO, Disney Candyland, Sorry, Ice Cool, Phase 10, and Kerplunk game.
2. Learn Something New – have each kid pick a topic and learn about it for 30 minutes
3. Get Baking and Cooking – even host a family bake off
4. Try Stop Motion Animation With Legos – download Stop Motion Studio app
5. Download Puppetmaster App – bring to life images, artwork, toys, and just about anything.
6. FaceTime Friends and Family
7. Give a Friend Close By a Walkie Talkies – we purchased a set of Motorola long range walkie talkies for the boys and plan to let them share with their friends.
8. Read Digital Books – Find new digital books to read online from your local library or Amazon
9. Write a Short Story and Illustrate It – buy hardcover blank books in any color or quantity
10. Activity Books, Sticker Books, Dot-to-Dot or How to Draw Books – check out the Disney Ultimate Sticker Book, Sticker Puzzles in the Wild, Dot to Dot Books For Kids, and Don’t Let the Pigeon Finish This Activity Book
11. Grow a Butterfly – Insectlore.com
12. Start a Garden or Plant Flowers – invest in a grow light if you don’t have suitable lighting options
13. Make Forts and Reading Nooks Around the House
14. Check Out Educational Sites with FREE Subscriptions – amazingeducationalresources.com
15. Read the Bible Daily
16. Make a Cardboard Fort or Playhouse – Makedo Cardboard Construction Toolkit works great
17. Homemade Moon Sand & Kinetic Sand – check out this post on homemade kinetic sand for the recipe
18. Homemade Play-Doh and Play-Doh Kits – few favorites are Play-Doh Stamp n Top Pizza Oven Toy, Melissa & Doug Created by me, and Play-Doh Kitchen Creations Magical Oven
19. Scavenger Hunt or Treasure Hunt – find online printable options from places like Etsy or make your own
20. Popcorn & Movie Night – stream movies from Hulu, Netflix, or even Disney + (Frozen 2 released early)
21. Pack a Picnic Lunch – go outside in your backyard or a park
22. Play Dress Up – try on costumes and put on a play for the whole family
23. Hiking – find less crowded areas to hike trails or explore parks
24. Organize Closets and Toys Around the House
25. Building Toy Sets – some kid favorites are Tinker Toys, Megna-Tiles, Zoob
26. Host a Family Talent Show
27. Reminisce – get out old photographs/scrapbooks or connect your phone to the TV
28. Make Sock Puppets – perform a puppet show
29. Puzzles and Puzzle Making Races – try out 3D puzzles like Ravensburger Disney Castle or educational puzzles like Ravensburger -Solar System and MasterPieces Explorer Kids – USA Map
30. Dance Along With Videos on YouTube or TicTok
31. Play Outside with Sidewalk Chalk
32. Craft Kits and Art Projects – jewelry making and other art & painting kits with some favorites like Craft-tastic – I Love Rainbows Craft Kit, Paint Your Own Unicorns, Made By Me Build & Paint Your Own Wooden Cars, and Creativity for Kids Make Your Own Paracord Wristbands.
33. Science Experiment Kits – here are a few kid favorites like Discovery Extreme Chemistry Stem Science Kit, Learn & Climb Science Kit, and Unicorn Slime Kit.
34. Listen to Audible or Podcasts – Adventures in Odyssey and Amazon Audible
35. Camp Out in the Living Room or Basement
36. Write Letters to Friends and Family
37. Subscriptions Boxes – KiwiCo Crates and We Craft Box
38. Plan a Formal Dinner at Home – perfect time to discuss etiquette
39. Festive St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast or Dinner – check out last year’s St. Patrick’s day breakfast
40. Beach Day – have the kids put on their swimsuits then add balloons to an inflatable pool and bring out the beach chairs
41. Glow Party – glow sticks and other glow in the dark fun
42. Virtual Museum Tours –
- British Museum, London
- Guggenheim Museum, New York
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
- Musée d’Orsay, Paris
- National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul
- Pergamon Museum, Berlin
- National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City
- The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
- Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
- Uffizi Gallery, Florence
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
- MASP, São Paulo
43. Read a Chapter Book Series as a Family – take turns or read to smaller children
44. Make Origami and Paper Airplanes – Ultimate Paper Airplanes for Kids and Easy Origami
45. Turn Your Day Upside Down – start with dinner for breakfast and end the day as you typically begin
46. Make a Family Time Capsule
47. Watch Zoo Live Cams or Facebook Live Streams – San Diego Zoo, Houston Zoo, African Watering Hole, National Arboretum Bald Eagle Nest, Cincinnati Zoo Facebook Live & The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis Facebook Live.
48. Workout and Get Moving – stream workout videos like zumba & yoga or exercise in personal home gyms. The Peloton bike has been one of our best investments
49. Cook Dinner Over Campfire – if you have access to a fire pit outdoors then cook hotdogs, s’mores, or whatever else you want outside
50. Spa Day at Home – include all the things like bubble baths, bath bombs, pedicures, and manicures
In the end, we are all in this together. Don’t let the circumstances surrounding us today steal you and your family’s joy and peace. It is important now more than ever that we stay calm and in control. Our children need to see this to feel safe and secure. Take this time to make memories at home and cherish this time given. If you have other fun activities then leave them in the comments.
