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Fun activities for kids at home – suitable for any age!
Your priority is to keep all family members safe and healthy. That is why all activities must be actually within your apartment or house. But don’t worry – you won’t get bored since the stay-at-home activities with kids are not just limited by the binge-watching of TV series and cartoons (though, it is a great way to entertain for a while).
Those parents who seek more entertaining and interesting activities has such options:
Art activities are awesome!
Painting or just doodles are great because they help a child to become more open-minded and creative. And you probably have some art supplies somewhere in a house. Though, it is easy to order any art supplies online these days, without even a necessity to leave a house. By the way, if you don’t have any supplies for the below mentioned fun activities for kids.
A few art techniques that you should try with your child:
- Raised salt painting;
- Body tracing art;
- Shaving cream marbling;
There are many free art school programs and courses to teach your kid and make him or her learn something.
Do simple science experiments!
Kitchen science is awesome. You can teach your children the basics of physics and chemistry by demonstrating simple and safe experiments. Here is what you can create together:
- Make a rainbow milk, melting ice, slimes and other creative things – YouTube is stuffed with such videos for small kids and teens;
- Put a piece of soap in the microwave, and after a couple of minutes you will surprise your child with a soap cloud;
- Create cardboard models on various topics (marine inhabitants, cars or the castle of the princess, for example);
- Create a model of the solar system;
- Make colorful stars glow in the dark;
- Make homemade play dough together from starch, glue and dyes;
- Decorate the fan blades in different colors and get a rainbow palette that shimmers beautifully while the device is working;
- DIY paper is also super easy to make. To make paper, you will need recycled paper (newspapers, old forms or blank sheets). Grind the materials and combine with water until it becomes gruel, then spread out a thin layer on the grid. After drying, iron the product – a paper sheet is ready! You may supplement the content of DIY paper with paint of the desired color, plant petals, leaves, threads, a drop of perfume to give it a smell.
Consider building a LEGO city!
LEGO and similar constructors can occupy the whole living room and help to create a whole brick-based world. Sure, there are video games like Minecraft, but many kids really like doing something in real life with actual LEGO bricks. I recommend buying a homemade mat to build a LEGO city.
Build a fort or blankets and pillows together!
The fort-building is always fun, no matter your age. Just grab all those pillows and blankets to create a cozy fort where your child can play or sleep.
Home Puppet Theater
Kindergartens and schools are closed, but staying at home is no less interesting if you turn on your imagination. It is not necessary to go to the children’s theater to watch a favorite fairy tale. It can be played at home, in the family circle. The main characters of the children’s puppet theater can be soft toys and finger puppets. You can sew them from gloves and socks.
Origami for kids
Just hand your child a set of colored paper for origami. Surprisingly, after a simple manipulation, a real work of art can turn out after a few simple manipulations. You can start practicing in origami with the simplest figures – a crane, tulip, dog, fish or a grasshopper. Making beautiful crafts with your own hands will help your child to develop spatial thinking, artistic taste.
Start a garden on the balcony!
Do you have a balcony or backyard with enough space to place a few pots with plants? You may grow a flower or some veggies without even leaving the house. Buy the seeds or starts, amend the soil and watch the beautiful plants grow.
Just do some creative cooking!
Kids love to do dough and play with food. Use simple recipes to teach your kid how to cook the basic meals. You may buy The Ultimate Kids’ Cookbook that gives a few interesting tips on how to prepare family meals together.
Fun activities for kids aged from 5 to 8 years old
At the age of 5-6 years, children are very energetic and curious. A golden time when kids are happy to learn new things. At the same time, exploring the world and its possibilities together with parents is almost the most favorite thing. It is quite easy to entertain a child of 5-6 years old at home.
Things to do with preschool children at home:
- Podcasts and radio shows for kids. Create a cozy fort or just rest with your child on a bed while listening to fairy tales performed by voiceover actors. It is a perfect way to make a child asleep when you need to do other chores around a house;
- Creative afternoon time with playdough of bright colors. In combination with various pebbles, beads, threads and even beans, modeling with playdough will become even more interesting;
- Educational toys for the kids over 5-6 years. Buy various puzzles, creativity kits and similar toys designed specifically for this age period;
There are countless options for what to do with preschool children. You can use both already known methods, and invent your own methods taking into account the interests of your child.
Fun things to do with kids at home: how to entertain a child of 7-8 years old
At the age of 7-8 years, children prefer to learn new things, to explore the world around them. They are interested in more difficult games and activities that require more attention. Basically, kids willingly play role-playing games – imagine themselves as scientists, police officers, spies and heroes of their favorite cartoons.
Indoor sports are very important for kids of this age. Swimming in a pool, jumping with a rope and just dancing to rhythmic music with parents will help a child to stay in a positive mood and good shape. Check the amazing VR sets for consoles and PC – VR games help kids to immerse into virtual games where they can play and dance. Just make them move without boring sports exercises.
It is great if your child has a hobby. In this case, the problem of how to keep the child of 7-8 years old at home will disappear on its own. Embroidery, drawing, music, modeling and even cooking (under parental control) – everything is awesome if your kid is into it.
Choose board games instead of TV shows and movies
Kids love playing board games with siblings and parents. You just need to find a board title that will be fun and entertaining for all participants. A few classic choices immediately come to mind when I think about the best board games for family gaming nights.
Family-friendly board games that deliver fun activities for kids and adults at home:
- Jenga is a board game invented by English game designer Leslie Scott in the 1970s. One by one players try to keep the tower of wooden blocks stable by pulling the blocks out. With each new round, it becomes less stable. The key rule – three upper rows can’t be touched. Children of all ages are usually thrilled with this game. And adults like it too.
- Junior Alias offers a board game title with 300 cards containing the words, six chips and an hourglass. This game helps to develop associative thinking in children aged over 5 years. This is a great choice for little kids who want to be spies or secret agents.
- SpinMaster’s “101” game. This set of games will allow you to survive through any quarantine term. Just try all the varieties of games this set has to offer. The figures in all sets of board games are made of plastic. The playing fields are made of thick cardboard.
- Hasbro’s Monopoly. This is a classic monopoly game. Up to 6 players can become millionaires for an hour. Get rich and bust the other players. In such a way, you can teach your child how to make money and fight for your business. Please, buy the original game title – it is expensive but will serve you for many years.
- Arial Snorter is basically a Twister with classic rules. If your kids are hyperactive, this is a great choice. You just have to prevent your kids from being too involved and get hurt by accident. As for the rules, all participants move around the playing mat or rug with colored circles. With the help of a tape measure, the judge determines the color of circles where the players should move an arm or leg. The task is gradually becoming more complicated, due to which the participants take more and more twisted poses.
Fun is guaranteed for both children and adults. Plus, it is an entertaining way to make kids do gymnastics and stretching.
Final thoughts
Do not turn quarantine into a boring or scary time when you have to stay at home. Instead make it fun and memorable – it is a great opportunity to learn your kids better. At times like these we have to stay strong, cautious and optimistic.
