Quarantined: Fun activities for kids to do at home

It ain’t easy for them too! I’m talking about kids, as they haven’t stepped outside, haven’t met their friends, missed all the park fun and the crazy school fun with fellow children. They get stressed, yes kids do get anxious. They too get frustrated, excited, worried, anxious, annoyed, just like us. They do feel the change but many times they “don’t have the right words to express” their emotions. We’ve been doing many activities together and believe me engaging kids in activities does keep their excitement alive. This is the reason, to list down fun activities for kids to do at home.

Kids’ will have mood swings, they might even have severe meltdowns. They might cry out their hearts or show their anxiousness by keeping mum. They might show their anger by throwing away things, countering your (wise)words, refusing to eat or show more behavioral changes. As a parent, we need to understand that this “New Normal” is certainly not Normal for them. It is difficult to make kids sit in one place even for seconds, it has been more than a month of them being indoors. Do you think it is easy for them? Hence it is important to engage in some fun activities for kids. 

10 Fun activities for kids to do at home:

1. Indoor Workout, Yoga:

Mornings are calm and peaceful, start the day with a Family workout. Physical exercise triggers the right set of happy hormones, to make you feel better all through the day. We have been doing our exercises together and honestly, family workouts are fun and also ensure consistency. It’s a good time to teach meditation to kids. Spare 5 minutes after a physical workout. You can read the beginners guide for Meditation here (according to my Meditation experience of 20+years)

2. Storytelling and Enacting:

While reading storybooks is has been our favorite activity for a long time now, storytelling, enacting, one word-story building has been our favorite in this quarantine season. It not only boosts kids’ verbal and imaginative skills, but it also helps them gain self-confidence.

3. Board Games and Puzzle Solving:

Well, I’m sure board games would have been a favorite at your end too. Board games like Scrabble (Scrabble Junior for younger ones), Brainvita, Sequence, Chess(for older kids) are entertaining yet full of learning for kids. Playing together as a family promotes bonding as well. You can read out 10 good Board Games for kids here. 

4. Art and Craft / Best out of Waste:

The world of art and craft is boundless. Pick up, assemble the items that are waste and hola! you can come up with new decor for your kid’s room. Even simple arts like finger painting, help them develop their fine motor skills and even sensory skills. Make your own playdough, slime, make edible colors (with vegetables), involve in easy origami crafts, draw characters from storybooks. It’s so vast to engage your kids in some creative craft. It is a form of play for them and that’s how they learn while playing.  

You can check out some of our crafts on Instagram or click here for Hanging Planters, PineCone Spider, Fun Science Experiments. 

5. Baking with Kids:

Utilize this golden time to cook, bake with kids. Let them try their hands on No-fire recipes, or while baking cakes, cookies, muffins. Well, this task can certainly get messy, but they learn life’s lessons. We have been enjoying this phase doing almost lots of baking together and it makes kids feel so much involved. You can read more on our recipe of Banana Cinnamon Walnut cake, Orange cake, No-bake Chocos vanilla sandwich.  

6. Helping in daily chores:

This is the best activity that starts and continues throughout our day. Involving kids in tasks like, cleaning the door-knobs, their toys, cleaning leafy vegetables, dusting their bed, wiping the table, (and more), makes them feel involved. Kids are usually ready to help you out in many daily chores, which comes not just as an activity to keep them busy, but is also loaded with learning life skills in various forms. Do involve kids in age-appropriate tasks. 

7. Spend time in nature, star-gazing:

Nature is certainly therapeutic. Few quiet morning hours amidst nature (in the garden, in the balcony, on your terrace) act as an energy booster for the whole day ahead. Spend time gardening (click here to read gardening activities for kids), watering the plants, talking to kids in the peace of nature, let them listen to the songs of birds. Now, in this lockdown phase, I feel blessed to see the beautiful starry night sky. Stargazing is one activity we love doing these days. Spotting the constellations, planets (Venus, Mars), and stars have become a fun activity for us. 

8. Watch some good documentaries and happy movies:

It’s always fun to have a movie party with popcorns as a family. Organize such evenings at least twice a week. Show kids movies that impart values, spread happiness. Show them some documentaries to help them understand various aspects of nature, earth, and our lives. Here are some Disney+ Hotstar movies and documentaries that we have enjoyed lately.

9. E-socializing:

This phase when we all are locked down in our homes, due to COVID-19, E-socializing, is one of the best Quarantine activity for kids. Kids also feel anxious, they are missing out on all the school and their outdoor fun with friends. Why not make them video chat with their friends, cousins, and Grandparents too? Socialization at any age boosts your mental health.  

10. Quizzes and Mental Math:

A perfect creative activity while you’re sitting ideal. Kids are just so inquisitive beings and this is a perfect time to cater to their curiosity in a fun way. You don’t need to pull out extra time for Quiz, and Mental Math. While doing chores, cooking, enjoying your Nature time, before sleeping, engross in some constructive mindful activity, that will make their gray matter work more. It’s time to build their neuron and neural connections, so start with age-appropriate mental Maths with them.

Besides these, you should also set aside time for worksheets and academics, storybook reading. If you have older kids, Journaling, Gratitude diary should be an activity for them. With so much ambiguity around, let’s try to be more gentle with Kids. Hug and cuddle them multiple times a day to make them feel more loved. Engage them in the smallest of these tasks, to make them feel involved.
What are the Fun activities for kids you are doing? Share them in the comments below.

Stay Safe!