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Stuck at home? 15 fun activities for the whole family during social distancing
By now, you’ve probably spent quite a few days cooped up at home and are running out of ways to keep the kids occupied. They are full of energy and want to play. What’s the best way to entertain them with something that’s both fun and educational, you ask? The most important thing is establishing a daily routine, involving them in household to-do’s and ensuring they do some amount of physical activity.
According to American teacher and psychiatrist, Rudolf Dreikurs, “routine is to a child what walls are to a house; it gives boundaries and dimensions to his life. No child feels comfortable in a situation in which he doesn’t know exactly what to expect. Routine gives a feeling of security,” he explained for The Magic School Bus. Here are 15 ways to have a great time at home when everyone needs to stay in:
1. Cooking as a family
Getting everyone to participate in preparing simple recipes with ingredients you already have at home is something we all can do. Cookies, cupcakes and gelatin desserts are excellent options to sweeten up the day. But cooking isn’t only limited to making desserts and sweets, the little ones can also help out with savory meals for lunches and dinners: meatballs, lasagna, crepes and other dishes. The experience will teach them to work as a team, follow instructions, try new foods and appreciate things they’ve made for themselves.
2. Indoor activities to burn energy
You can set up little obstacle courses in the living room or other rooms with less furniture using plastic cups, empty plastic bottles and other objects around the house like stuffed animals and couch cushions. Make sure everyone takes turns and the kids will be overjoyed.
3. Jump rope
This isn’t just a game for kids, it’s also a great form of exercise with a lot of health benefits like strengthening the legs and improving coordination. It also helps with muscular and cardiovascular endurance and keeps your body toned. Everyone can take turns if you don’t have a lot of room or do it at the same time. The kids will burn off all that extra energy that’s common in healthy children.
4. Family dancing
There’s a reason why dance is an ancient form of artistic expression and today it is even sometimes referred to as dance therapy. Body movement helps us have fun, release stress, share joy and it’s incredibly healthy. Dancing helps lower your resting heart rate and can improve lung capacity. You can follow a dance video online, dance with a partner or even create your own choreography.
5. Connect with themselves
Let them do activities that allow them to harness their energy; yoga is a great option. You can find videos online that are designed specifically for children that use simple postures. They can practice in pairs as well to make it even more fun. The benefits include increasing flexibility, coordination and balance. It also improves self-confidence, self-control and self-awareness.
6. If you have outdoor space
Being able to play any of the classic games with a ball depend on how much space you have. If you’ve got a lot of room—even indoors—you can have fun with your own versions of volleyball, soccer or catch.
7. Set up an inflatable pool
An inflatable pool—weather permitting—can help the kids have fun and relax while staying at home. Water can help everyone to relieve stress and fun will flow on its own. Keep in mind you should teach them not to waste water, so this is an activity they can do from time to time. Show them to reuse the water for other things around the house, like watering plants.
8. Coloring and mandalas
Coloring mandalas is another activity that can help your kids align with their inner selves. This is a great option to let their emotions flow and express them on paper. The shapes and colors they choose will allow you to find out what their state of mind is. You can download mandalas online for them to color or make your own circles using a bottle or compass and then letting them color them in.
9. Let them get creative
Origami or the art of paper folding comes from Japan and consists of making shapes out of paper, without using glue or scissors. The options are endless and the level of difficulty can vary based on the size of the paper, complexity and age. We all know how fun it is to play with paper airplanes and boats. With this craft, you can make cups, bookmarks, cards, butterflies, penguins, dinosaurs... there are tons of options.
Its benefits include improving coordination, focus and creativity. It also stimulates their imagination, memory and self-confidence. You can start with simple and traditional objects and work up to more complex designs following online tutorials.
10. Drawing
Even if they aren’t great at drawing or sketching portraits, trying it out is a great art project that involves sharing and concentrating. They are sure to have fun during the process and it lets them learn a little more about themselves.
11. Connect with their affectionate side
Try making cards for when they go back to seeing their friends, teachers and family members. During this time spent at home, it’s important for them to express their emotions and their affection for the people they care about. That’s why you can let their creativity soar and bring out their crafty side using supplies you already have at home like cardboard, construction paper, scissors, markers, crayons, fabrics and even magazine clippings.
12. Putting on a play
We cannot leave out reading as one of the activities to include in our kids’ routines because it helps them to develop their personalities, improve concentration, build a strong vocabulary, be imaginative and be creative. But to add a fun twist to it, have the whole family choose a story and put on a play or puppet show. Each family member can play a role and you can use socks to make puppets or dress up in costumes to act it out.
13. Homemade playdough
With just a few ingredients in the pantry, you can make the fun playdough that kids for generations have loved. You only need water, flour and food coloring. The best thing about this recipe is that if they put a little bit in their mouth, either accidentally or on purpose, it’s not a problem. Making the playdough is a fun activity on its own and the little ones will appreciate using their imagination when they play with it.
14. Board games
It all depends on the children’s ages, although they can always play on teams with the adults if they’re too little. Games like Scrabble, memory, Chinese checkers, chess, dominoes, Monopoly, Twister, Scattergories, Pictionary or any other game you have in the closet works. They’re a lot of fun and a great way to spend some healthy family time.
15. Sing your favorite songs
Karaoke is always a lot of fun: just grab a microphone and record everyone singing their favorite songs.
This is just a short list, but you can make up a lot of other activities as well such as telling jokes, playing hide-and-seek, creating a treasure hunt and doing arts and crafts with recycled materials. You can even start a project building something like a robot, a race car track or a dollhouse. This may even be a great opportunity for everyone to learn how to play an instrument. Now’s the perfect time to think back on your childhood!
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