Fun Activities for Kids to Do at Home

While your family may be spending a lot more time at home these days, your child can still stay energized and on track with their development through engaging activities.

[Fun indoor activities:]

1. Writing or Acting out a Story:

Write or act out a story with a beginning, middle and end. If you want to act out your story, then practice a few times and act it out for your family later Or, help your child write the story on white paper, draw the corresponding pictures, and bind the white paper together to create your own book.

2. Build a Fort:

Collect as many pillows and blankets as you can to make a fort in your basement or living room. Find objects in your house that can support the weight of the blankets, such as chairs, couches or tables, to support the fort. Once your fort is secure, fill it with blankets, pillows and sleeping bags. Building a fort together is a great way to bond with your child and encourage teamwork and problem-solving skills. Once inside the fort, read a book, play a board game, or “camp” indoors for the night with the whole family.

3. Coloring and Painting:

Ask your little one to draw a picture of something they did today. When they are done, be sure to ask questions about what they did and other things. Drawing and coloring is a great time to develop communication. Ask questions about what is in the drawing to help develop vocabulary. If they drew your family, you might ask: Is Daddy short or tall? What color is mom’s shirt? Are there any pets in the picture? What is everyone doing?

4. Do Trivia:

There are so many ways to have fun with trivia with your family! You can look up trivia about general topics (food, animals, sports, etc.), or you can even make up your own questions and try to stump each other! If you’d like to make it a competition, keep track of points and name a winner at the end of the week.

5. Sock Puppet:

This is an easy crafting activity that will last a while. Do you have some lonely single socks lying around that can’t seem to find a partner? Have some fun making them into sock puppets with your child. Draw the faces with markers and cut out the mouths with scissors. Then you’re ready to put on a puppet show with your sock puppets.

6. Imaginary Creatures:

Let your child invent an imaginary pet. This can be a pet they wish they had, or it doesn’t even have to be a real animal. Sometimes a mythical, fictional animal is more fun. Does it have the body of an eagle and the tusks of an elephant? Can it fly? Can it swim, but only in a pool? Have your child come up with a name and story for their creature. Your child can draw pictures to tell how their creature was formed.

7. Tea Party:

Have your child dress up in a fancy dress and gather all their stuffed animal pals. Maybe you can play housekeeper and serve your child “tea” while he/she talks to his/her friends. We tend to think of communication milestones and language development when children learn their first words, but language development doesn’t end there. Did you know that your child is learning to have conversations and communicate socially while playing?

8. Close Your Eyes Guessing Game:

This is a fun game that will help your child’s senses develop. Just like the name suggests, you take turns closing your eyes to play this game. Brush a mysterious object on your child’s hand and ask them to describe how the object feels and then guess what it might be. Try a feather, a piece of fruit, or a book. This game allows children to use their sense of touch instead of sight, relying on sensory integration skills.

9. Scavenger hunt games for kids

Who says scavenger hunts are just an outdoor activity? You can set up a scavenger hunt indoors, put clues around the house and have your little one search for household products to find the next clue (which can be simple items like toilet paper rolls, paper plates, blue socks, etc.). Once they have found everything, there can be a fun game or prize at the end; maybe some ice cream, or a fun craft.

Reference

• pathways.org
• alexslemonade.org
• greenchildmagazine.com