It can be difficult to keep your children entertained at home. Unfortunately, with new stay at home orders and shutdowns it can be difficult to participate in the same social events you used to. However, staying home doesn’t have to be boring for your little ones. There are some fun activities that will help you and your family bond and spend quality time together.
Staying home? “ But, mom there’s nothing to do!” Sometimes, all children need is a bit of inspiration and the right tools to get their creativity going. As a parent, you can foster their imagination and get them having fun in all the right ways! In this article, we will give you some fun ideas to share with your children from the comfort of your own home!
Board games
We know, you just bought your child a thumb glove to help them stop sucking their thumb! If they get bored, they may start again!! Don’t worry, it is common for children to feel bored and unamused– but you can easily get them out of it.
Board games are a great way to pass time with your children. Depending on the size of your family, you can all participate in a fun board game together. There are some games that only require two players while others need more. Bottom line, you can activate a spark of competitiveness and strategy in your child which is good for their brain.
Some fun board games that are kid-friendly include monopoly, life, and clue. There are also educational games like Scrabble that allows your children to use their analytical mind to put words together. Depending on their age, some games may be better than others.
Puzzles
Puzzles are also a great way to challenge the brain and bring some educational fun into the day! By giving your children a way to build something, they will feel accomplished and happy after they finish. There are different ones out there available for toddlers and older. Some include matching shapes or helping them identify a theme.
Cooking together
One of the best ways to promote family bonding is to cook or bake in the kitchen together! While many kids may prefer watching tv or playing games, cooking together will teach them to engage their sense and make decisions. Get your child involved and ask them for input on ingredients and amounts to add. Making your own pizza is an excellent meal to begin with if you’re cooking with your little ones.
Throw on some music in the background and get those pizza skills going! Pizza allows more freedom for toppings and dough size– giving them more freedom to decide what they like on their pizza. Once they get to eat the delicious food, they will realize how fun it was and you can make it a weekly routine! Moving forward, your children will feel more included in meal time if you allow them to be a part of the preparation.
Build a fort
Engage your kids’ imagination by building a fort with them. They can pretend it’s a castle or battleground. Forts are a great way to get your children off the screen and involved in real world play. You can use many different resources to build an indoor fort like cardboard boxes, blankets, and empty paper towel rolls. You can help them build the fort but allow them to have control over how they like it done. If you have multiple children, it’s a great idea to have them each build a fort and then battle it out! You can give them rolled up tissue paper to throw into eachothers “battlegrounds”.
Arts and Crafts
There are many great arts and crafts projects for both girls and boys. By purchasing a few simple items like markers, beads, paint, and tongue depressors– the creativity is endless. Don’t be afraid to help your children find some other items that are laying around in the house like paper plates, Q-tips, or shaving cream. There are some great resources on the internet for craft ideas. As long as your little ones get the freedom to create what they want, they will be entertained for hours by building a fun craft!