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Please excuse this break from my usual ukulele-related content to address what’s become an immediate pressing issue for my community…
Yesterday I learned that my kids’ school is closing and, starting on Monday, we’ll be doing remote learning with the kids at home. My peers and I are trying to figure out what this means on a practical level. How will we manage our own work, assist our children with their school work, endure prolonged social distancing, and maintain our sanity, all at the same time? It’s a tall order, isn’t it? I cope better when I feel prepared, and planning for how I will manage the kids and our schedule helps me feel composed in this very unpredictable reality. You’ll find that many items on this list of ways to keep your kids entertained as we live through the Coronavirus pandemic are geared for elementary-aged kids (my kids are 9 and 7 years old) but many of them can be adjusted depending on the developmental stage of your kids. Here we go…
50+ Things to Do at Home with Your Kids During the Coronavirus Pandemic
First Things First: Prepare Yourselves
Adjust Your Expectations
If your family’s routine has just been upended, of course your daily life is going to look completely different for the foreseeable future. So accept that and try to assess what you’re realistically able to accomplish in a given hour/morning/day.
Make a Schedule
My kids love calendars, lists, and anything that lets them know what’s going to happen. Draft a daily or weekly schedule (subject to change, of course), and make sure you include time for a morning snack, “recess,” and choice time. Let the kids decorate it or make their own copies, and post the schedule where everyone can see it.
Designate Zones for your Activities
Figure out where and when you will work, where the kids will do schoolwork, and get your supplies ready— pencils, pens, binders, notepads, laptops, chargers, headphones, etc. We’ll be doing school in our dining room, with our supplies on a rolling cart to make clean up easy.
Get Basic
You may want to start out with some classic toys, then introduce novelty as the days or weeks go on. Many of these may already be in your regular rotation, but it’s common for kids to completely forget about toys they already own:
Legos
Modern Lego sets are fun to assemble, but I love seeing what my kids come up with when we build the old-fashioned way. Maybe watch an episode of Lego Masters together to get inspired first?
Coloring and Activity Books
If you secretly recycled all of the coloring books when your kid wasn’t looking, you can find a number of free printable coloring pages, kids sudoku puzzles, word searches, and color-by-number pages on Google Images and Pinterest. I even have a few right here on my blog:
Board Games + Puzzles
The Fairy Game, Bingo, Chess, Monopoly Jr, Jenga, Connect Four, Guess Who, Rummikub, Uno, Sorry, and Rack-o are all winners in our house. And don’t forget all the games—Old Maid, Go Fish, War, Crazy Eights, Hearts—that you can play with a regular deck of cards!
Make a Hot Wheels Track
What kind of track can you make using materials lying around the house? Can you make a ramp out of cardboard? Toilet paper and paper towel tubes are the perfect size for car tunnels.
Get Creative
Face Paint
We bought a face paint set from Amazon a while back, and it’s provided for many hours of screen-free fun. Occasionally my kids ask me to paint something on their faces, but more often than not they want to paint themselves! Sometimes I let them paint my face, too. :)
Puppet Show
Have your kids make up a play with their stuffed animals or puppets. Or, with some paper and wooden craft sticks, they can create their own puppets. Make sure they spend a lot of time rehearsing, then let them perform it for you (or let them record it if you have a phone or camera available).
Build a Fort
Give them the raw materials—blankets, pillows, old tablecloths, couch cushions, etc—and see what they can create.
Make a Family Tree
Have the kids call older relatives and ask them for full names, birthdates, etc. Use a template or create your own.
Make a Musical Instrument
These DIY egg shakers are made out of things you may have lying around the house right now!
Have a Family Jam
To have a family jam, get out your kid instruments, crank up a song, and play along to the music! If you don't have a basket of instruments, break out the wooden spoons and pots and pans, or take a quick look around the house to see what else might be turned into a noise maker.
Write a Letter to a Relative or Friend
Is there anything more exciting to a kid than sending and receiving mail? Perhaps your child can strike up a penpal relationship with a cousin or classmate they’re missing from school.
Play School
My kids love to play school! One of them will be the teacher, while the other is the student, nurse, and principal. I don’t get it, but who cares? They play school for hours!
DIY Board Game
Make up an entirely new game or riff off of one you already have. My daughter created a Fairyland version of Monopoly Jr by copying the game board layout and creating her own properties. Instead of “Boardwalk” and “Park Place,” players can buy “Enchanted Forest” and “Mermaid Lagoon.”
Make play dough or slime
Play Dress-Up
Engage in Pretend Play
Play store, library, nail salon, or post office.
Get a Cardboard Box
Who needs toys when there’s a cardboard box lying around? The possibilities are endless! Here’s an incomplete list of things my kids have turned a cardboard box into:
A Time machine
A Transmogrifier (a la Calvin and Hobbes)
A car
A ship
A monster
A robot costume
A play fort
A reading nook
Don’t have a cardboard box in the house? Use a laundry basket.
Get Crafty
Making fairy wands out of wooden dowels and rainbow yarn
Dig out your craft supplies or try one of the following craft kits, all of which have been hits here in my home. I like these because they include everything you need for the craft, are easy to clean up, and don’t take up a ton of space:
DIY Jewelry Kit (or string some Fruit Loops onto yarn for an edible necklace)
Perler Beads (you can find more downloadable templates on Pinterest)
Paint by Sticker book
Get the Wiggles Out
Have a Freeze Dance Party
Host a Recital
Does your kid play a musical instrument? Have him put on a performance for you! Have a ballerina in your house? Have her make up a routine to perform for you all.
Watch Some GoNoodle Videos
My kids were introduced to GoNoodle on a rainy day at school, and occasionally we will watch some through the app on our Apple TV. They love the Koo Koo Kangaroo videos!
Play Indoor Sports
We have many indoor versions of outdoor games— we have an indoor basketball hoop, an indoor soccer ball, an indoor hockey set, latex balloons for indoor volleyball, jump ropes, and ping pong balls that get used for all kinds of inventive games.
Get Domestic
Have a Taste Test
Last summer we bought ten different apples and did a blind taste-test to see which varieties we liked the best, and everyone got really into it! You could do this with any number of fruits, vegetables, beverages, or snacks.
Have a Tea Party
Make it memorable by using a proper tea set and serving finger sandwiches or biscuits.
Take Turns Preparing Snacks/Meals
My kids love playing what we call Kid’s Diner, where they decide what’s on the lunch menu and then prepare the food for everyone themselves! Here are three kids cookbooks we enjoy: Pretend Soup, The Disney Princess Cookbook, and The Forest Feast for Kids.
Bake Cookies
If you’re going to be stuck at home, you’re going to need something sweet! If your kids are old enough to read and understands fractions, they’re old enough to bake chocolate chip cookies on their own.
Have a Reading Party
A reading party is a concept I invented one day because I wanted to be able to read my book while my children were awake. All we do is grab some books and sit down and read together, but somehow calling it a party makes it feel more special. You could make it fancy by setting out a fun snack or making tea or cocoa to drink while you have your own reading party.
Organize an Area of Their Room or Play Room
Clear out a closet, some desk drawers, bookshelves, a toy chest, or—if you’re really brave—the area under their bed. Sorting through their long-lost treasures will likely keep them busy for a while.
Put the Kids to Work
Families take care of each other, and everyone should pitch in to take care of the home. Your kids might be old enough to put away their toys, empty the dishwasher, set the table, dust, sweep, mop, etc.
Get Tech-y
Kids seem to unanimously love screen time, and there are plenty of educational ways to engage with screens. Here are a few ideas:
Create Your Own Word Search
Use your word processing software to create a word search, then print out a copy for each family member.
Create a Slideshow using Keynote, PowerPoint, or Google Slides
Does your kid have an obsession? Ask them to create a presentation teaching what they know.
Practice Typing Skills
Make a Movie
iMovie makes video editing pretty accessible, even for kids.
Watch a YouTube Tutorial to Learn Something New
Try searching for tutorials on: drawing, painting, dancing, crafting, magic trick, do yoga, or learn to play ukulele.
FaceTime Friends and Family Members
I’m sure your kids are missing their classmates and family members. Keep the relationships going by scheduling FaceTime playdates!
