Whether you're stuck at home with kids because of illness or because it's a rainy day, you'll be looking for fun things to do with the kids in your house or garden.
4. Try these simple at home science experiments
5. Plant some fast-growing vegetables like salad leaves, rocket or cress
6. Get kids involved with household chores, make it fun
7. Make a simple bird feeder
8. Cut potatoes and do some printing
9. Have a movie marathon with pop corn and snacks
10. Set up a salad or sandwich station at lunchtime
11. Send kids on a colour treasure hunt to find things every hue around the home
12. Spot birds at an RSPB site
13. Set up a toy washing station on a tuff tray or in the garden
14. Make potions or perfume from plants, flowers and essential oils
15. Dye eggs with Skittles
16. Learn to sew
17. Play old parlour games like charades
18. Set up a floating and sinking investigation
19. Make a collage
20. Role play cafes and prepare and serve real food
21. Go on a push and pull walk to talk about forces
22. Teach your child how to garden
23. Go for a walk in nature every day to look for signs of animals and the changing seasons and weather
24. Start a nature journal to sketch and record what you see
25. Bake cakes - try this easy fairy cakes recipe
26. Have a virtual afternoon tea with grandparents via Facetime or Skype
27. Play chess - or learn together
28. Make a sensory bin
29. Make crafts from loo roll tubes
30. Have a themed day with costumes, food and activities, e.g. pirates, Disney Frozen, mermaids
31. Make a treasure hunt at home or in your garden
32. Compete to make the tallest towers out of blocks against a timer
33. Set up an indoor obstacle course with masking tape, cushions and bean bags
34. Create another obstacle course outside with hoops, balls and other garden toys
35. Start a scrapbook
36. Make play dough
37. Have a dance party to your old '90s tunes
38. Cut out paper dolls and decorate them
39. Make your own bath salts
40. Grab some magnets and go on a magnet hunt around the house and garden
41. Build a robot or a space ship out of junk
42. Make a treasure basket for heuristic play
43. Teach them to draw flowers, a bowl of fruit or a favourite toy
44. Make a fairy garden
45. Play shops with real food items, prices and real coins - great hands-on maths!
46. Make a mud kitchen outside with old pots and pans
47. Sort through and re-organise their toys, find some to go to charity
48. Raid your recycling or plastics drawer for containers, pour a basin of water and let kids learn about capacity
49. Practice salt tray writing
50. Learn to knit
51. Add water to flakes of chalk to make chalk paint
52. Make costumes from newspaper and masking tape, then put on a fashion show
53. Build a blanket fort
54. Play word and memory games like 'I went to market...' and 'The Prime Minister's cat...'
55. Make a flick book from a notepad
56. Make a Very Hungry Caterpillar sandwich
57. Have a family karaoke session
58. Build a huge train track across your floor
59. Engineering challenge with straws and Blu-tak: who can make the tallest structure
60. Do activity books
61. Make pizzas
62. Tell stories using story cubes
63. Learn a poem by heart
64. Take dollies into the garden and build dens and gardens for them
65. Colouring: in books or print out some free coloring pages
66. Play the bean game
67. Make a map of your local area
68. Play sardines
69. Make up jelly in silicone ice cube trays and then add to trays for sensory play
70. Paint pictures and make your own art gallery
71. Learn origami and make some fun animals
72. Show the kids classic films from your childhood
73. Have a pamper afternoon
74. Make smoothies
75. Make cards to send to grandparents and other people stuck at home
76. Grab all your biggest boxes and make a fort, a tractor, a car, what else?
77. Take imaginative play outdoors
78. Bake cookies
79. Set up a water play table outside
80. Make ice lollies
81. Role play being a vet, doctor, shop owner, chef, animal ranger etc
82. Make and draw out your family tree
83. Paint with fingers, hands or feet
84. Play hide and seek
85. Organise a birthday party for teddy, or have a Mad Hatter unbirthday party for everyone
86. Jigsaw puzzles
87. Write a story or make a book
88. Put the chairs together to play trains or buses
89. Make Easter crafts
90. Play in shaving foam - add food colouring and toy animals for fun
91. Have a newspaper snowball fight
92. Make stained glass windows
93. Play dominoes
94. Have a carpet picnic
95. Make a sock puppet
96. Make a video
97. Make these simple bird feeders and see who comes to your garden
98. Make and decorate paper aeroplanes or boats
99. Make and bake bread
100. Play with bubbles
101. Make papier mache sculptures or a pinata and decorate
102. Compete to keep a balloon or ball up in the air the longest
103. Play party games like musical chairs, musical statues etc
104. Make superhero capes and play superheroes
105. Play pass the parcel
106. Put on a play or act out a traditional tale
107. Write a poem
108. Make a phone out of tin cans or yogurt pots and string
109. Build a bug hotel
110. Use old clothes and bits of fabric to make clothes for dolls and teddies
111. Learn some jokes
112. Wash the car
113. Have a tea party for teddies or dolls
114. Design your dream bedroom or house
115. Make nature art
116. Play outdoor games like Chase or Stuck in the Mud
117. Make jewellery
118. Print some holiday quotes and hotel details out to play travel agents
119. Play I Spy
120. Draw with chalk on the patio or path
121. Play with a garden parachute
122. Make soup
123. Make sand castles in your sand pit
124. Play hop scotch, elastics or skipping games
125. Make postcards to send to loved ones
126. Enter online competitions
127. Play with your pet
128. Make up your own board game
129. Find out about the history of your area and plan some visits
130. Learn a card game
131. Dance in the rain
132. Make your own newspaper
133. Go on a bug hunt
134. Play sharks - get around without touching the floor
135. Learn a magic trick
136. Practice your football skills
137. Freeze small toys in ice blocks then use tools and salt to melt it or excavate them
138. Make your own comic book
139. Learn some words from another language
140. Learn to juggle
141. Make a nature collage
142. Make a picture with stickers
143. Learn how to crochet
144. Go for a family nature walk and make a journey stick
145. Listen to a piece of music
146. Learn about a famous artist and paint or create in their style
147. Play rounders, tennis or croquet
148. Practice yoga
149. Explore a new country in books or online then make their food, listen to their music etc
150. Make clothes peg or wooden spoon dolls with fabric scraps, pens and craft bits
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Cabin fever can kick in very quickly, especially if children are used to going to school, so here is a list of 150 quick and easy at home play activities to keep them (and you) entertained.
Most of these ideas for stay at home indoor and outdoor fun use things you already have in your kitchen or backyard, so they are minimum prep and maximum play.
Most of these ideas for stay at home indoor and outdoor fun use things you already have in your kitchen or backyard, so they are minimum prep and maximum play.
A few are outdoor activities that can happen well away from other people.
I hope these fun activities keep you and your kids happy in the weeks ahead.
150 Fun Things to Do at Home with Kids
1. LEGO
150 Fun Things to Do at Home with Kids
1. LEGO
Build something amazing with LEGO - what could you all make together?
Check out these fun LEGO challenges:
2. Play board games
Try these board game ideas:
3. Go on a scavenger hunt outdoors, either on a family nature walk or just in your back garden:
Check out these fun LEGO challenges:
2. Play board games
Try these board game ideas:
3. Go on a scavenger hunt outdoors, either on a family nature walk or just in your back garden:
4. Try these simple at home science experiments
5. Plant some fast-growing vegetables like salad leaves, rocket or cress
6. Get kids involved with household chores, make it fun
7. Make a simple bird feeder
8. Cut potatoes and do some printing
9. Have a movie marathon with pop corn and snacks
10. Set up a salad or sandwich station at lunchtime
11. Send kids on a colour treasure hunt to find things every hue around the home
12. Spot birds at an RSPB site
13. Set up a toy washing station on a tuff tray or in the garden
14. Make potions or perfume from plants, flowers and essential oils
15. Dye eggs with Skittles
16. Learn to sew
17. Play old parlour games like charades
18. Set up a floating and sinking investigation
19. Make a collage
20. Role play cafes and prepare and serve real food
21. Go on a push and pull walk to talk about forces
22. Teach your child how to garden
23. Go for a walk in nature every day to look for signs of animals and the changing seasons and weather
24. Start a nature journal to sketch and record what you see
25. Bake cakes - try this easy fairy cakes recipe
26. Have a virtual afternoon tea with grandparents via Facetime or Skype
27. Play chess - or learn together
28. Make a sensory bin
29. Make crafts from loo roll tubes
30. Have a themed day with costumes, food and activities, e.g. pirates, Disney Frozen, mermaids
31. Make a treasure hunt at home or in your garden
32. Compete to make the tallest towers out of blocks against a timer
33. Set up an indoor obstacle course with masking tape, cushions and bean bags
34. Create another obstacle course outside with hoops, balls and other garden toys
35. Start a scrapbook
36. Make play dough
37. Have a dance party to your old '90s tunes
38. Cut out paper dolls and decorate them
39. Make your own bath salts
40. Grab some magnets and go on a magnet hunt around the house and garden
41. Build a robot or a space ship out of junk
42. Make a treasure basket for heuristic play
43. Teach them to draw flowers, a bowl of fruit or a favourite toy
44. Make a fairy garden
45. Play shops with real food items, prices and real coins - great hands-on maths!
46. Make a mud kitchen outside with old pots and pans
47. Sort through and re-organise their toys, find some to go to charity
48. Raid your recycling or plastics drawer for containers, pour a basin of water and let kids learn about capacity
49. Practice salt tray writing
50. Learn to knit
51. Add water to flakes of chalk to make chalk paint
52. Make costumes from newspaper and masking tape, then put on a fashion show
53. Build a blanket fort
54. Play word and memory games like 'I went to market...' and 'The Prime Minister's cat...'
55. Make a flick book from a notepad
56. Make a Very Hungry Caterpillar sandwich
57. Have a family karaoke session
58. Build a huge train track across your floor
59. Engineering challenge with straws and Blu-tak: who can make the tallest structure
60. Do activity books
61. Make pizzas
62. Tell stories using story cubes
63. Learn a poem by heart
64. Take dollies into the garden and build dens and gardens for them
65. Colouring: in books or print out some free coloring pages
66. Play the bean game
67. Make a map of your local area
68. Play sardines
69. Make up jelly in silicone ice cube trays and then add to trays for sensory play
70. Paint pictures and make your own art gallery
71. Learn origami and make some fun animals
72. Show the kids classic films from your childhood
73. Have a pamper afternoon
74. Make smoothies
75. Make cards to send to grandparents and other people stuck at home
76. Grab all your biggest boxes and make a fort, a tractor, a car, what else?
77. Take imaginative play outdoors
78. Bake cookies
79. Set up a water play table outside
80. Make ice lollies
81. Role play being a vet, doctor, shop owner, chef, animal ranger etc
82. Make and draw out your family tree
83. Paint with fingers, hands or feet
84. Play hide and seek
85. Organise a birthday party for teddy, or have a Mad Hatter unbirthday party for everyone
86. Jigsaw puzzles
87. Write a story or make a book
88. Put the chairs together to play trains or buses
89. Make Easter crafts
90. Play in shaving foam - add food colouring and toy animals for fun
91. Have a newspaper snowball fight
92. Make stained glass windows
93. Play dominoes
94. Have a carpet picnic
95. Make a sock puppet
96. Make a video
97. Make these simple bird feeders and see who comes to your garden
98. Make and decorate paper aeroplanes or boats
99. Make and bake bread
100. Play with bubbles
101. Make papier mache sculptures or a pinata and decorate
102. Compete to keep a balloon or ball up in the air the longest
103. Play party games like musical chairs, musical statues etc
104. Make superhero capes and play superheroes
105. Play pass the parcel
106. Put on a play or act out a traditional tale
107. Write a poem
108. Make a phone out of tin cans or yogurt pots and string
109. Build a bug hotel
110. Use old clothes and bits of fabric to make clothes for dolls and teddies
111. Learn some jokes
112. Wash the car
113. Have a tea party for teddies or dolls
114. Design your dream bedroom or house
115. Make nature art
116. Play outdoor games like Chase or Stuck in the Mud
117. Make jewellery
118. Print some holiday quotes and hotel details out to play travel agents
119. Play I Spy
120. Draw with chalk on the patio or path
121. Play with a garden parachute
122. Make soup
123. Make sand castles in your sand pit
124. Play hop scotch, elastics or skipping games
125. Make postcards to send to loved ones
126. Enter online competitions
127. Play with your pet
128. Make up your own board game
129. Find out about the history of your area and plan some visits
130. Learn a card game
131. Dance in the rain
132. Make your own newspaper
133. Go on a bug hunt
134. Play sharks - get around without touching the floor
135. Learn a magic trick
136. Practice your football skills
137. Freeze small toys in ice blocks then use tools and salt to melt it or excavate them
138. Make your own comic book
139. Learn some words from another language
140. Learn to juggle
141. Make a nature collage
142. Make a picture with stickers
143. Learn how to crochet
144. Go for a family nature walk and make a journey stick
145. Listen to a piece of music
146. Learn about a famous artist and paint or create in their style
147. Play rounders, tennis or croquet
148. Practice yoga
149. Explore a new country in books or online then make their food, listen to their music etc
150. Make clothes peg or wooden spoon dolls with fabric scraps, pens and craft bits
Pin it:
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