Are you running out of ideas to keep the kids busy and happy while they are home? I thought about some of the things we did when I was young long ago. I also included some of the things my four kids did with an abundance of time, no video games or tv, and limited videos. My daughters, Emily and Amy, then added their ideas as well. Some ideas are things to do with kids, and some they do without you. All in all, we came up with 131 things for kids to do without electronics!
Here we go!
- Blow bubbles
- Catch fireflies
- Make homemade ice cream
- Read a book together
- Child reads alone
- Play in the sprinkler
- Ride bikes
- Play with balls
- Play dolls
- Kickball
- Play with cars and trucks
- Learn to play jacks or marbles
- Have a pillow fight
- Water balloons
- Science experiments
- Picnic under the stars, under a shady tree or under the kitchen table with sheets over it
- Sidewalk chalk
- Whittle sticks
- Playing outside
- Dig in the dirt
- Play in a sandbox
- King of the hill or play set
- Jump roap
- Play in a creek
- Build a fort with sticks or blankets
- Find the thimble
- Skits
- Exploring
- Trampoline
- Roll down a hill
- Play catch
- Wiffle ball
- Badminton
- Volleyball
- Hopscotch
- Obstacle course
- Climb trees
- Garden
- Look for 4 leaf clovers
- Mow the lawn
- Cook together
- Blow leaves
- Pick wildflowers
- Make homemade jam together
- Pick blueberries or strawberries or apples
- Make slime
- Bake cookies
- Go to a drive-in
- Make ice pops with water, juice, yogurt or pudding
- Sing
- Dance
- Teach your dog tricks
- Karaoke
- Dance party
- Write a letter to the grandparents by snail mail
- Play in a home pool big or small
- Fashion show
- Overnight hammocking challenge
- Make a play or skit
- Reenact a movie
- Wash the dog or pet
- Write and perform poetry
- Read a play together with parts
- Weirdness contest
- Staring contest
- Walk
- Run
- Puzzles
- Slap jack
- Race hotwheels
- Race bikes
- Sing lots of rhymes and kids' songs
- Egyptian Rat Slap card game
- Spoons game
- War card game
- Go Fish card game
- Board games like Monopoly, Battle Ship, Chutes and Ladders etc
- Paint a room
- Reading Marathon
- Manicures and pedicures
- Dress-up
- Makeover
- Private concert for the stuffies (stuffed animals)
- Bake cookies
- Blind taste tests
- Lemonade stand
- Gymnastics for fun— somersaults, cartwheels, etc.
- Trampoline
- String games
- Clapping games
- Magic tricks
- Scavenger hunt
- Ice cream run (in pajamas one night)
- Flash mob with just your family
- Volunteer
- Make daisy chains
- Play house (this includes plant soup)
- Climb a tree
- Identify birds, wildflowers or trees
- Get ahead on school
- Field trip
- Ride a bike
- Crafts ~ Shrinky Dink, Clay, Play Doh, make bracelets etc.
- Wash the car in the driveway
- Write stories
- Swing
- Adopt a kitten or puppy
- Take pictures
- Draw pictures
- Play the game "Twister"
- Play hide and go seek
- Eat popsicles (and try to get them open without scissors)
- Sleep all night on a trampoline
- Coloring
- Charades
- Blind man's bluff
- Simon Says
- Teach them to knit, crochet, or embroider
- Make a family and world timeline on a long sheet of paper hung on your hallway wall.
- Follow a paper map to a destination
- Hike a nature trail
- Play in a creek
- Catch polywogs aka tadpoles
- Watch the sun set
- Coin collecting ~ or any other collections they think of
- Star gazing ~ Remember Starlight star bright first star I see tonight, I wish I may I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight? Don't forget Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
- Talk about memories, yours and theirs.
- Make a scrapbook together
- Nerf gun battles
- Fly a kite
- Water gun fights
- Water balloons
- Play at the park
- Play make believe (anything they want)
- Sidewalk chalk
- Swim
- Lie on the grass and look for cloud pictures
- "Build" things with wood, nails, hammers, and saws (with supervision as needed)
- There are also lots of outdoor games that can be played by a group of kids outside. Traditionally, the older kids taught the younger kids, but you can always introduce a group of kids to a game.
My daughter, when she was 18, added the following:
"And above all, give your kids freedom in their play. A lot of amazing childhood memories are made by kids using their imaginations and parents being loving and being supportive! Have fun with your kids, but let them also go and act like pioneers together, or build a fort with random things they find. This builds so much character, forms those memories (and isn't that what we want to do for our kids? Help them create wonderful memories?), and teaches them lots of good lessons. To learn, and be healthy, kids need to do things by themselves (and this can be with help). In doing so, they learn, and also learn independence, knowledge, and ultimately maturity, and sometimes wisdom (even from learning a hard way at times)."
Enjoy this time with your children and teens. You may never have this much time together again. Make it count for good.
I'm now a grandma to one little boy. Oh how he's brightened my world. This list is for grandparents, too. We need to share the joys of our simpler childhood with our littles and not so littles. In it, we'll relive our joys, and enjoy a new level of joy with them.
So, which of these things have you done? What have I forgotten or missed? I cannot wait to hear your thoughts.
Hugs to you all! Thank you for joining me here at Harvest Lane Cottage.
Laura
Happy at Home
P.S. Please share ideas that I've missed and your prayer requests as well.
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