Coronavirus Lockdown- Indoor Activities To Do With Kids

Mar 14

Today, the Illinois Governor announced that they are shutting down schools for the remainder of the month as the Coronavirus situation escalates. I don’t know about you… But when my kids are out of school, that temptation to turn shows on more than we should gets pretty intense after about 5 days. Am I right!?!

So, I created a list of activities for you to do with your kids to make the most out of this time of isolation!

Enjoy!

Indoor Activities for Kids

Sardines- Try to get your house as dark as possible. Start with everyone outside and send in one person to hide. Then everyone else goes in to find the hider. When someone finds the hider they simply sit down next to them. The loser is the last person to find the group.
Decorate Cookies- This activity doesn’t have to just be for Christmas! Dig out some old cookie cutters and have fun decorating. For older kids, give them a butter knife and have them cut out their own shape!
Cards- Grab a deck of cards and introduce your kids to Rummy, Spit, Slapjack, War, Go Fish, or Solitaire. Or if you have the game Uno, change it up a bit by assigning an activity with each number to get some of that pent up energy out! Or introduce your child to the idea of a house made out of cards and watch them go.
GoNoodle- this is a youtube channel that is full of energy burning activities for kids! Go check it out!
Paper Airplanes- look up different paper airplane tutorials, test them all out and see which one works best.
Camp-out- Indoors of course! Complete with sleeping bags, a tent, board games, and s’mores.
Scavenger Hunt- Use this Scavenger Hunt Printable from Living and Life Designed to send your kids on a scavenger hunt around the house to collect the items you’ve listed. Make it more fun by including specific things like, “your favorite bath toy” or “a pink sock” or “‘something that begins with the letter T.” For an added challenge, set a timer.
Garage- sometimes when my kids are driving me bonkers but it’s too cold outside, I’ll move the car out of the garage and have them ride their bikes and scooters around in there.
Twister- If you don’t have this classic board game, NOW IS THE TIME TO GET IT!
Parachute- remember when we were little and we would walk into the gym class at school and the parachute would be out and we would get so excited! Now it’s time to recreate that memory but with a bedsheet! Put some small balls or balloons on top and try to fling them off.
Puppet Show- Grab some brown paper bags or those mismatched socks that have been hanging out for the last year and let your kids decorate them and put on their own puppet show!
Freeze out- Fill a small tub with water and put some action figures, a lego, and any other small trinkets you can find inside. Freeze it overnight. Then, have your kids try to get them out with spoons. This one is extra cool because it takes them a lot of time! :) We did this at my daughter’s princess birthday party. “Elsa” accidentally froze a bunch of princess action figures. They all had to dig them out with spoons. It worked well and they loved it.
Car wash- If the weather is nice out, take advantage of the extra hands and have them clean your car. Will it be perfect? Probably not. Will it take up lots of time and save you your sanity? Absolutely.
Water Painting- When I had my second baby and was trying to entertain the older one while nursing her, I would let her “paint the fence” with water. I gave her a giant paintbrush like what we use to paint walls and let her go to town on the deck, fence, and even the outside of our house. She loved it.
Pizza Party- Make your own pizza as a family. If the idea of your kids’ hands all over your food grosses you out. Do miniature ones. Check out THIS EASY recipe using Pillsbury Grands Biscuits as the crust.
Gratefulness- Practice a little thankfulness outside of thanksgiving. Use this opportunity at a time when everyone is complaining to introduce a healthy way to manage stress and anxiety and choosing to see good. Write thank you cards to all the people in the community who are still working hard to keep everyone healthy and safe during this time.
Toothpick Tower- Give your kids a box of toothpicks and some mini marshmallows. See how big of a house or tower they can build.
DIY Marble Run- Have them make their own marble run. It can be as simple OR as complex as they want. For littles, check out this tutorial from Babble Dabble Do. If you have an older one google “Ping Pong Ball Obstacle Course” and let the games begin!
Shadow Puppets- Look up how to make different shapes online and practice.
Lego Challenge- Have a lego building contest with your kids. Check out these 50+ free LEGO instructions that will show you how to build everything from unicorns and rainbows to Minions and Yoda!
Old Photos- Kids love to watch old photos and videos of themselves. Dig out all the old photos and videos you have, tell your kids stories about all the different corresponding memories!
DIY Flip Book- For older kids, all you need is a drawing pad and pencil. How it works: you draw an image in the same corner of the book on each page and each image changes slightly. A traditional “stick figure” is a good place to start, in different poses. Then, as you flip through the pages, watch the character “move.”
Magic Tricks- having a budding magician on your hands? Check out this tutorial for each magic tricks for beginners and kids!
Straw Bridge- for older kids, have them build a bridge out of straws that is strong enough to hold 100 pennies. Check out this tutorial.
Juggling- learning how to juggle is fun for kids of all ages. When I was young, I had a teacher that taught us how to juggle using walmart sacks first (they move slower), and then once we got that motion down, we graduated to bean bags, and then balls. If you need to brush up on your juggling skills, YouTube has LOTS of tutorials.
Charades- Make them as easy or as difficult as you want. For little kids, try having them act out an emotion using on their hands & facial expressions. No sounds allowed!
Virtual Art Class- my oldest wants to be an artist when she grows up. So one of her favorite things to do is learn how to draw new things via YouTube drawing tutorials. Her most recent one was an L.O.L. Doll.
Slime- Go ahead. Be the cool mom your kids have always wanted by letting them make SLIME! Here is one of my favorite recipes.
Skee Ball- This DIY skee ball game is SO much fun for kids of all ages. It’s simple to set up and it’s relatively quiet and mess free! Woot, Woot! Tutorial can be found HERE.
Decade Dance- Teach your kids a variety of dances that were famous throughout the decades. The Macarena, The Running Man, Disco. Again… thank you YouTube.
Origami- I learned how to make THESE origami Jumping Frogs when I was little and I loved it! My 7 year old was able to make it with little to no help!
Indoor Snowman- If your kids are as obsessed with Frozen as my kids, make sure you check out THIS DIY indoor snowman tutorial where your kid can build Olaf the Snowman over and over and over again!
Movie Night- Take a break from recent hits and visit some old classics. Introduce your kids to:
- E.T.
- Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (Netflix)
- Charlotte’s Web (Amazon Prime)
- The Wizard of Oz,
- The Princess Bride,
- A Little Princess (Netflix)
- Babe,
- Hook (Netflix)
- Mulan,
- A League of Their Own,
- Mary Poppins, Annie,
- Jurassic Park,
- The Goonies,
- The Karate Kid,
- Stuart Little (Amazon Prime)
- Mrs. Doubtfire,
- The Sandlot,
- Little Rascals,
- Matilda,
- Jumanji, (Hulu)
- The Parent Trap,
- It Takes Two, (Netflix)
- Free Willy, (Hulu)
- Space Jam (Netflix)