Staying at home for over a year is quite challenging for us parents. Some kids aren't used to staying at home. They miss going out and doing outdoor activities, especially with their friends.
If you're running out of ideas on how to keep your kids entertained while being quarantined at home, I recommend fun activities you can do with them on this blog post. Hopefully, my list can help you.
Here are some fun activities that you and your kids can do during the quarantine:
1. Watch and explore different kinds of animals in their natural habitat or in an aquarium live on cam!
There are lots of livestream feeds to choose from on the Explore website. We enjoyed watching the different animals in the oceans, birds, wildlife from Africa, the bears, especially the pandas--they are so cute! You can even watch the Aurora Borealis - Northern Lights!
2. Explore Mars surface from the comfort of your home.
Access Mars welcomes anyone with an internet connection. Take a guided tour of what some scientists have experienced on Mars. Check it out here: http://g.co/accessmars.
3. Play board games like Scrabble, Snake & Ladders, Monopoly, Chess, etc.
Playing board games is a fun bonding activity for the family. It also keeps your mind engaged and helps improve critical thinking.
4. Build a blanket tent or fort
This is also a fun activity that your kids will surely enjoy. Building their own fort will develop your kid's fine motor skills and boost their creativity and imaginative skills.
It's an amazing activity where they can do role plays, or just hang around their tent or fort and read a book or watch a movie.
5. Create a Boredom Jar with a list of random activities
Creating a Boredom Jar helps kids to be active and productive. It’s a great way to reduce their screen time. In this activity, you will only need a jar, paper, and make a list of things or chores that your kids can do whenever they say "I'm bored."
(Note: I made this list before the pandemic happened, so you can just omit the outdoor activities on the list)
6. Draw, Color and Paint
Kids love to draw, color, and paint. Let them be imaginative and creative. It helps increase their emotional intelligence and reduces their stress levels.
My daughter loves to draw. She learned to draw her favorite movie characters on Art for Kids Hub's YouTube channel. You can check it out too. I'm sure you'll also enjoy watching and learning together with your kids.
7. Bake yummy treats
Bake cupcakes, cookies, or brownies and eat them together. In this activity, your kids will learn how to measure the ingredients, boost their creativity and develop their fine motor skills.
8. Exercise together
Exercising together is a healthy way to bond with your kids. It keeps them active, maintains their healthy body, and improves their posture.
9. Connect with family members and friends
Staying at home reduces our kid's engagement with other people, especially our family members and friends who live far from us. It's a good thing that there are messaging apps like Facebook and Viber where we can chat and do video calls every time we miss them.
My daughter received a tablet from her Grandmother as a Christmas gift last year. I've installed Messenger for Kids and added our family members and her close friends to it. She's very happy that she can now chat and talk to her cousins, former classmates, and her best friend Nati anytime (except during online class hours), all thanks to our reliable internet service provider - PLDT Home.
By the way, you can restrict your kid's usage on Messenger for Kids. There’s an option in the app where you can turn on the sleep mode at specific hours. In our case, I let the app sleep during mornings until after lunch, so it would not disturb her when she is having her online class.
10. Learn to Edit and Create Amazing Designs
Recently, my daughter got interested in creating designs using Canva. She enjoyed creating different designs using my account, and I am happy that she learned a new skill.
By the way, Canva is a free-to-use graphic design platform where you can create graphics, edit photos, and style images. It has a lot of tools and features that you can use to help you create amazing designs. It is actually one of the essential tools that I used when I was still working as a Social Media Manager.
Here's the sample photo of my 9-year-old daughter's design using Canva. :)
11. Listen to Audiobooks
I've recently discovered this Disney Audiobooks playlist on Spotify. It has a lot of stories from Disney movies that my daughter enjoys listening to before we sleep. She also gets to discover old Disney movies because of this playlist, like the Emperor's New Groove, The Rescuers Down Under, and Oliver & Company.
12. Plant seeds and watch them grow
Gardening is fun, and it helps kids learn more about plants. It will keep them busy, too, taking care of their plants every day and monitoring their progress. Plus, growing your own food can be rewarding and help you save money.
So, those are just some of the activities that you and your kids will enjoy doing at home. I hope these fun activities with your kids will help strengthen your bond as a family and reduce the stress that this pandemic has brought us. Have fun!
Related Post: Toddler Activities
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