As stay-at-home orders remain and we are spending more time with our families in the house, having a list of activities to do with your children can help keep everyone occupied and happy. From crafts and games to educational family activities, here is the at-home activity guide you should definitely keep handy during quarantine!
Craft Activities for Kids
Craft activities for kids are a great way to keep your family entertained for a whole afternoon at home. Don’t worry about running out to buy a bazillion art supplies either because these crafts are as fun as they are simple!
DIY Thumbprint Family Tree
Help your little ones learn about their family history with this simple craft activity for kids! Whether you want to use extra art supplies sitting around your house or prefer to print out templates and buy a couple ink pads, the end product will be tree-mendous!
DIY Fairy Jar
It’s time to catch a fairy with these DIY glow-in-the-dark jars! If you’re a parent, you know that glowing objects are a hit with the kiddos, which is why this craft is such a blast. All you need is mason jars, glow sticks, glitter, and a serrated knife to make this project come to light.
DIY Foam Paint
Who doesn’t love a foam party? Grab some shaving cream, craft glue, and food coloring to help your young ones create a 3-D masterpiece with DIY foam! The foam dries overnight and makes for a unique art piece you can hang on the walls of your home.
DIY Face Flip Book
For hours of entertainment, get the family excited about this hilarious DIY flip book. With three different card sections, your kids can practice their drawing skills as they create eyes, noses, and mouths to make a book full of silly faces. The supplies list isn’t too long either. Grab white cardstock paper, cardboard, three metal book rings, a hole punch, markers, and scissors to get the project going. Add in optional googly eyes for an extra touch of goofiness!
Family-Friendly Games
While crafts are a creative way to keep the kids busy, family-friendly games are another route to fun. Bring all your children together (including tweens and teens) and have a family game night with these classics!
Twister
Have your family try their hands (and feet) at Twister to see just how flexible they are! This game has been around for ages and never ceases to provide its players with a ton of laughs. What’s even better is that almost all ages can participate in this one.
Apples to Apples
Apples to Apples is another family activity perfect for days at home. If you have young ones, it’s not only a great way for them to practice their reading skills, but it’s also a good word association game. Have them choose words or phrases that appropriately match the phrase at hand, or keep it silly by opting for the craziest card!
Charades
One of the best parts about Charades is that you can play without spending any money! Have your kids make up the topics to act out and you’ve got yourself a fun home activity for free. Split your family up into teams and choose fun prizes for the winners to heat up the competition!
Pictionary
When you’re looking for fun home activities for the whole family, Pictionary should be at the top of your list! This game is all about drawing in a pinch because there’s a timer counting down the seconds. If you can’t draw a stick figure to save your life, don’t worry too much. Poor art skills make this game even funnier! Keep in mind that kids ages 8+ are recommended for this one.
Backyard Bonanza Ideas
As summer slowly comes to an end, it’s important to get the family outside to soak up some vitamin D. Get ready for a backyard bonanza with these stay-at-home kids activities!
DIY Kiddie Car Wash
You don’t need a car for this fun home activity! Throw some bathing suits on the kids and have a blast watching them go through the kiddie car wash. While it takes a longer list of supplies and a little bit of building time, it’s a water-ful way to cool down in the summertime heat. You can even have your young ones be a part of the building process to teach them valuable lessons about measuring and more!
Pool Noodle Obstacle Course
Play “Eye of the Tiger” and host your very own pool noodle obstacle course right in the backyard! All you need for this stay-at-home kids activity is duct tape, pencils, and pool noodles. It’s easy to assemble and great for kids ages 2+. A few rounds of this obstacle course will help your little ones exercise and tucker themselves out for nap time!
Water Balloon Toss
Save the water balloon fights for another day and try out this fun home activity instead! Water balloon toss is a carnival-like game that requires some hand-eye coordination and a small DIY project. Cut out some circles in a foam board, paint in point values for each hole, fill up your water balloons, and get the game started! Whoever ends with the most points can win an exciting prize.
Beach Ball Bowling Game
Bowling alleys may be closed, but that doesn’t have to stop you and your family from having a backyard bowling tournament! This family activity is great for all ages and only requires pool noodles, empty soda bottles, a yoga mat, serrated knife, toothpicks, beach balls, and beans or sand. Set it up on a beautiful summer day and see which family member strikes out!
Educational Activities for Kids
Who says you can’t learn while also having fun? Go through these educational activities for kids to teach your young ones a thing or two during stay-at-home orders.
Giant Rhyming Game
Kill time with rhyme! This giant-sized rhyming game tests your kids phonological awareness, as well as their memory skills. Eight plates, scissors, glue, and print-out rhyming templates are the only things you’ll need for this stay-at-home kids activity. Head outside to a level area and break the children up into groups (or play solo games) to see who can get the most matches.
Invisible Ink
You can’t have a complete at-home activity guide without including at least one cool science experiment. Write out a letter or draw pictures with invisible ink you can find around your house (onion juice, fruit juice, etc.) and activate it with heat. Use this experiment as a chemistry lesson on how invisible ink works, while also having fun creating hidden messages with your children!
Decoder Wheel
Have your family try their hand at uncovering coded messages with this creative at-home activity! The decoder wheel is perfect for adolescents and young teens because it requires a higher level of thinking and patience. Simply print out the decoder wheel, write out your message, and use the wheel to encrypt it. Task your kids with solving the mystery note and see who finishes first. You can even turn this activity into an extended scavenger hunt with the coded messages as clues!
Pop Top Math Game
Give your kids a pop quiz with this pop top math game! Collect as many bottle tops as you would like and place plain stickers on the top and bottom. Write out short math equations (multiplication questions fit perfectly) on the top of the lid and add the answers on the bottom. Lay them out and time your kids to see how many they can guess correctly!
From creative crafts and backyard fun to educational activities for kids, this list has all you need to keep your family entertained while staying at home! Download your own family activity guide below to bring the fun ideas with you anywhere you go!
