15 Ideas For When You’re Stuck At Home With The Kids
Hello everyone! The kids are home from school and the adults are working from home – it’s a crazy time! Yet even in this crazy time, we’re not busy and we’re at least somewhat quarantined, so what is there to do? Why not enjoy some family time together? We’re excited to bring you 15 boredom busters the whole family can enjoy together – let’s get making some memories!
1. Have a memory show. Pop some popcorn and pull up some family videos/pictures to look through as a family. Often, you can easily get a computer program to turn these into a short movie complete with music to make the viewing more fun. This is one of our favorite family traditions for New Years, although it’s great for any time of year!
2. Play variations of popular board games. Played all the games in the game cabinet and don’t want to spend money to buy more? Look up variations to popular family games such as Uno, Jenga, Clue, and Hedbanz. Or, better yet, make up your own versions with different rules/variations.
3. Listen to an audiobook. It’s always amazing how much kids enjoy this! You could even get a load of laundry in while you guys listen together.
4. Write a letter to grandparents/other relatives. Even if you can’t go visit them in person right now, you can still write a letter and tell them what you’ve been up to. Have the kids color pictures and sign their names at the end. I’m sure they will treasure it and maybe you could even make it into a family tradition.
5. Match socks together – make it a job opportunity. Have a pile of socks that never seem to get matched and keep piling up? Now’s the perfect time to match those socks! Make it into a game and a job opportunity (kids are always asking for ways to earn money, aren’t they?), pay 10 cents per pair of socks and the pile will be gone in no time.
6. Create a scavenger hunt. You (or the older kids) could create a scavenger hunt around the house (or backyard) that led to a new family movie or game! Watch the younger ones have some fun and entertainment finding the surprise, then enjoy the movie or game together as a family!
7. Start a small plant garden. Always wanted to garden but never had the time? Well, now’s the time! You can easily buy seeds online and plant them in some pots, or go all out and till a garden to plant. Mint, tomatoes, basil, sunflowers, and potatoes are all super easy to grow and hey, you might even get the kids to eat them since they helped grow them!
8. Put together a photo book. Never have time to put together a photo book? Well, now you have all the time in the world! It’s not too late to put together a photo book from last years’ vacation. In fact, why not make it a family project?
9. Have a chalk drawing contest on the driveway. This is a fun activity that the entire family can participate in! Have older kids and parents team up with younger kids to have a family chalk drawing contest. You could even do themes and have a tournament!
10. Plan a family dinner and cook together. Pick something simple (spaghetti, homemade pizza, and mac n’ cheese are all easy to cook and are family favorites) and enjoy cooking together. Younger children could do something simple such as put pepperoni or sprinkle cheese on pizza, while older children could make a dessert.
11. Do a karaoke night. Have a karaoke machine that’s just waiting until the next big party? Put it to use for some family fun time! Jam to the family’s favorite tunes and have a little sing-off! Make sure to snap some photos and videos!
12. Video chat with friends and grandparents. Even though we can’t go visit them in person right now, that doesn’t mean we can’t interact with them at all! I’m sure lonely grandparents and friends would be happy to video chat and thanks to modern technology, it’s super easy! Facetime and Google Hangouts are both easy to set up on both ends!
13. Learn some fun hand-clap games. This is great for younger kids who are bored and even older kids too! You could make up a family handshake yourself or look up some handclap games/handshakes online!
14. Make your own stickers. Grab some sticker paper (label sheets) off of Amazon (here is an inexpensive pack of 30) and get drawing!
15. Learn the moves to a dance video. Need to get some energy out? Learn the moves to a music video/dance video. There are tons of dances/moves you can learn online and it’s a great fun way to get some energy out!
We hope these tips will be helpful for you and your family during this time! As always, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below! Let us know what you thought and if you’d like to see more blog posts from us in the future!
– The Way of Givenness Family
