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If you are following the social distancing guidelines, chances are you’ve been stuck at home for the last few weeks. With schools being closed, your kids are also stuck at home with you. When there is nothing better to do, this kind of isolation can lead to cabin fever, which in turn will strain the relationships of everyone in the family and have a huge impact on your mental health.
Luckily, there are great workarounds to all this. If you want to make this stay-at-home period a little more fun especially for the kids, here is a list of epic activities that you can do.
1. Put on a puppet show
Puppets are an absolute hit with kids. The good news is that their imagination does all the heavy lifting, which is why puppets do not have to be made out of expensive, high-quality materials. Neither does the puppet show have to have a high production value. You’d be surprised at how creative your kids can get.
Things like old socks and household items like brown paper bags can be converted into wacky characters in no time at all. Ask your kids to put on a show for you and record a video of it with your phone!
2. Dress-up theatre
If your kids love acting, or if you just want to take things to a whole other level, let them raid your closet and play dress up. You can then enjoy improvised performances of their acts thereafter. Again, do not forget to hit record on your camera!
3. Play board games and do puzzles
As we all stay at home during this time, it is important to take advantage of this opportunity to reconnect with the kids. Board games and puzzles are a great way to do exactly this. They offer a chance for you to take part in the activity, and of course, they are always lots of fun. So get into it with the kids or have every member of the family take part in team matches.
4. Hallway soccer
This is a great way to get the kids to run around and exercise. If you have a nice, wide hallway, let your kids have a little unsupervised fun playing soccer with each other. Be sure to get everything breakable out of the way before the match starts!
You will be surprised at how long this simple game can keep them occupied. The best part is that they’ll get to make up their own rules as they play, making it even more fun. And if they invite you to join in a game, don’t be afraid to say no!
5. Indoor scavenger hunt
This is a great way to get their creative juices flowing. Craft a map with clues based on how your house is. Just make sure that the clues are easy enough for the kids to understand. Let them follow the map to find the treasure at the end, which could be treats or toys. Alternatively, you can simply hide treats or toys all over the house and let them try to find them.
6. Create arts and crafts
Granted, there was very little time to prepare for a possible arts and crafts session when the lockdown started. However, even if you have very limited supplies, you still have options. Get creative with stuff you have around the house and see what you can come up with. For inspiration, there are thousands of websites and YouTube channels dedicated to arts and crafts that you can check out.
7. Dance
With the limited exercise options that we have these days, it’s important to take whatever you can get. If your child loves to get down whenever their favorite song comes on, join in! You can also organize dance competitions and let everyone vote for their favorite dancer. The winner gets to decide what everyone has for dinner.
8. Watch a movie
There are unlimited streaming options for movies right now. With barely anyone having early morning obligations anymore, organize a movie night for the whole family. Snuggle up with the kids on the sofa and sleep through two hours of their favorite animated film.
9. Improve your kids’ design skills
How about learning a new skill to keep them busy? There are a lot of great design programs that your kids can play around with. Entry-level programs like Canva have great templates that kids can figure out how to use. Ask them to design something simple like a flyer for the family business or their birthday invitation. That should keep them busy for a few hours.
10. Play video games
Video games can be very entertaining. However, moderation is the keyword here, because it is very easy for them to get carried away playing some games. If you enjoy playing the occasional video game yourself, there is no shame in picking up the other controller and getting beaten by your kid, before claiming that you let them win.
11. Build a fort
Kids’ imaginations are just begging to be let loose. This is a great way to indulge them. A pillow fort may look like an ordinary fort to you, but to them, it is a mighty castle and the floor is lava, or caves on an alien planet with an enemy lurking in every corner, or an amusement park made entirely out of cardboard.
12. Read a book
It sounds so obvious, doesn’t it? But when was the last time you read to your kids? When was the last time you had a quality reading session with them, sans the nighttime routine where you’re just hurrying to get out of there? Use this time to crack open a new book, and really get into reading it with them. Or better yet, write a new story together!
Final Thoughts
A lot has changed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Although it may be difficult sometimes, the frame of mind that you are in is what will pull you through this. Adopt a positive attitude towards all this. If there isn’t much that we can personally do about the situation we are all in, and if we all have no choice but to wait it out, we might as well make the wait epic and fun, right?
