Activities to Keep Kids Busy During Quarantine
Activities to keep kids busy inside during quarantine
While quarantine has been difficult and uneventful for most, it has been especially difficult for parents and their young children. As the weeks have passed and we continue to practice social distancing, I guarantee you aren’t the only one running out of ideas to keep your kids occupied. Here are some activities for you and your children to partake in during these unprecedented times.
- Grow a garden in the backyard.
This will give the kids something to look forward to as the flowers, fruits, or veggies grow and as they are able to check in on them each week to see the growth and development. You can even let each kid pick what exactly they want to grow, so they individually can keep track of their own plant.
- Facetime or video chat family & friends.
Your kids will deeply miss the family and friends that are not safe to currently visit. Keeping in touch will create a sense of normalization for the kids and give them needed social engagements. Try to do this once or twice a week so they keep a routine and continue to see those certain, special people in their lives.
- Let the kids bake/cook with you.
Letting your kids help in the kitchen is a great way to get them up and excited. Make sure you are giving them some independence during this, such as letting them dump in the ingredients or stir the mixture, to keep them engaged and wanting to do more. At the end, let them lick the spoon too!
- Create a DIY project together.
Tie-dying has been a current trend and a pattern that looks cute on everyone. Get cheap white t-shirts or tank tops, etc. and set up a station in your backyard. Let the kids do their own designs and colors. They will love repping their handmade tie-dye tees!
- Have movie nights with the whole family.
Movie nights are a must during quarantine. Bring the popcorn and candy and your kids will go crazy! If possible, do this once a week to keep your kids wanting more. If you have multiple kids, switch off who picks the movie each week so everyone gets to choose. Don’t forget to snuggle up with too many blankets!
- Make time for a summer book!
Whether it is a summer reading book for school or not make it enjoyable for them! Create time during every other day or whenever you feel works best dedicated specifically for reading. If you can try to all read the same book together and have discussions about important chapters or moments in the book. This will help them want to keep reading and stay motivated knowing you are reading with them.
- Do a puzzle or a board game.
Puzzles are a great way to stimulate a young mind and keep them busy. Make sure when you are starting the puzzle to help create the border for them to get going. Then you can slowly begin to give them independence with the rest of the puzzle. With board games, they are such a fun way to get the whole family together and even do teams!
- Have an art/painting day.
Get small canvases for everyone and a couple different paint colors to use. Set up a little art station outside to avoid a mess and let your little ones paint freely. If they are a bit older, you could all chose to paint the same thing and see all the different designs that come out. If you find a space to use, you can hang up all the canvases as a memory!
- Have the kids write in a journal/diary.
Writing down your thoughts is a great way to keep the day moving. Even if it is simply about what activities they did that day or what they are looking forward to doing in the near future after quarantine. Looking back on these when they are older is going to be a wonderful and hilarious memory for them! Make sure they write the date!
- Do a themed dinner night!
A current trend that has been taking place is families taking part in a themed dinner night. An example of this can be that everyone dresses up as a Disney character and then the meal is planned around that as well. You can just pick a certain movie or TV show you all love and recreate it and its characters!
- Have your own camping trip.
Since we can’t go out and camp for real, bring it to your very own backyard! Set up tents with sleeping bags and have your own camping experience with the kids. To keep it in the camping theme, make a fire at night, roast some marshmallows, sing campfire songs, play card games, etc.!
- Have a water/pool day.
On a hot, humid day set up your sprinklers in the backyard so that your little ones can run through. If you have a slip n slide or a pool that would be awesome too. You can also fill water balloons and have a water balloon fight! Getting outside during quarantine is still super important, even if it is just in your backyard, so try and make it extra enjoyable.