During this difficult time due to Covid-19 all of us in California and the rest of the U.S. are mandated to “Shelter in Place”. We are all safely staying at home so we can help flatten the curve and do our part to stop this virus from spreading.
While we are all staying home with our kids, I know a lot of us are trying our best to keep our kids busy and entertained. I was scrambling to find different fun and educational activities to keep my kids active and engaged even while we’re at home. On top of finding new activities for them, I wanted it to be with items we already had laying around the house to lessen our trips/deliveries for essentials.
So to help all my fellow parents who were just as clueless as I was, I’ve put together a list of all the activities we’ve tried! I’ll keep updating this post with all the new activities we find. I usually pick 3-5 activities/games for the day and alternate them throughout the week.
Hopefully sharing this list will ease some of the stress of figuring out what to do with your kids every day. My kids are 3 & 1, so a lot of these are for toddlers, Pre-K and Kinder age group. But even if your kids are older try changing the activity to cater more for their age group. I’d love to hear what you all come up with!
If all else fails, get some snacks, put on a movie and enjoy this extra time you have with your kids!
Stay Safe, Stay Healthy & Stay Home <3
Letters & Numbers
Sticker Name
materials - paper, dot stickers
write child’s name out & have your child cover the letters with stickers
Erase the ABCs | materials - window dry erase markers, paper towel
Write out the alphabet mixed up on a sliding glass door, large window or mirror. Then, call out letters and have your child find on the glass and erase. you can also try this activity with shapes or colors!
Sticker Addition | materials - paper, colored stickers / dot stickers
Write out simple math problems and have your child used colored stickers to add up. You can also color code the numbers to match the colored stickers (for example - 1 (in blue) + 2 (in red) = )
colors & shapes
Scavenger Hunt shape Game
Materials - large piece of paper, post-it notes
Draw various shapes on a large piece of paper. Then draw the matching shapes onto post-it notes. Hide the post-it notes and have your child find all the post it’s til the poster is filled
Contact Paper Art
Materials - contact paper, colored tissue paper or construction paper, pom poms, pipe cleaner
Tape contact paper up on wall with the sticky side facing out. Tear up old gift tissue paper, gift wrap scraps, or construction paper. Have your child stick on the tissue paper, pom poms or pipe cleaners to decorate contact paper. Try using clear contact paper and stick it to a window to create “stained glass” art
Pom Pom Scoop & Sort
Materials - pom-poms, small tongs or spoon, muffin tray or ice cube tray
- assign a color for each spot in tray
- have your child pick up pom poms with tong or spoon from a bowl and transfer/sort them to the matching color on the tray
fun
Bubble Wrap Runway
Materials - Bubblewrap, Painters Tape
Tape bubble wrap on the floor & let kids run/jump all over to pop the bubbles.
Indoor Bowling | Materials - plastic cups, ball
stack up plastic cups as the bowling pins and roll any ball to knock them over
Pom Pom Racing | Materials - straws, pom poms, painters tape
Create a race track on the floor with painters tape. Instead of a straight start to finish line, try making the race track with zig zags and loops! Kids will race and see who can get their pom pom to the finish line by blowing the pom pom with a straw.
Cardboard Tube Music Shaker | paper towel or toilet paper roll, duct tape, rice / beans or beads
Create a musical instrument or rain stick with the cardboard tube from a paper towel or toilet roll. Seal one end with duct tape. I put a piece of paper before I sealed it so the rice/beans wouldn’t stick from the inside. Then have your child decorate however they would like. Fill with rice, beans or beads then seal the other end.
Busy Bags | Materials - mesh bags, dollar section items, bubbles, stickers, a deck of cards, puzzles, toys saved from bday goodie bags, note pads, markers / crayons
Create small bags filled with simple activities. Kids pick a random bag from the "busy bin" and try the activities inside the bag. Busy Bags are also useful to keep kids occupied on a long ride or at a restaurant.
Water Activities
Pouring Station
Materials - large shallow plastic bin, water, funnels, various cups or bowls
Fill various cups or bowls (anything you have laying around that can pour out water and have your little one pour out bowl. You can fill with water mixed with a food coloring or try the Bubble Foam!
Bubble Foam | Materials - bubble bath soap, water, food coloring, whisk
Put 2 parts water 1 part bubble bath soap, few drops of food coloring in a bowl. Mix all together with a whisk till it becomes a frothy foam. My kids used the bubble foam with their kitchen toys & played “restaurant”!
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