Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.
100 Things To Do At Home With Kids
During this crazy time of isolation, us parents are looking for things to do at home with kids. Day after day, we’re battling boredom while trying to keep up with household chores and possibly working from home. Since distance learning does not fill the entire day, we need more fun, learning, activities to keep our kiddos busy.
To help you get through these days of isolation and social distancing with young kiddos, I’ve created a list of 100 things to do at home with kids ages 4-8.
Fun Things To Do At Home
- Play cards: war, go fish, and crazy 8’s are great for kids
- Yoga: There are plenty of free yoga for kids videos available online. My youngest daughter loves Cosmic Kids Yoga.
- Legos: Use a combination of large and small lego bricks to get creative.
- Listen to music: find new artists
- Fashion show: Since the kids are staying in their pajamas all day, have them put on school outfits and have a fashion show.
- Play “The floor is lava”
- Read a book
- Twister
- 3 Marker Challenge: You blindly grab 3 markers from the box. Whichever colors you choose, those are the only ones you can use to color a picture.
- Clean toys: I know it sounds funny, but kids often love to clean. Give them simple tasks, such as wiping toys and doorknobs.
- Color: one of my favorite childhood memories is coloring with my brother. It is such a calming activity 🙂
- Make homemade playdoh
- Bake cookies
- Paint rocks
- Have a singing contest
- Play the silent game ??
- Create obstacles: You don’t need a lot of room to create a Ninja Warrior mini-course. We live in a 950 square foot house, and my daughter can create a course in our tiny living room.
- Have a movie day: popcorn, snacks, and your favorite movies all day.
- Rediscover old toys: Tell your kiddo to pick out 5-10 of their favorite toys. Then, put those up and away for 1 day. Take note of how quickly they find interest in their old toys. It’s almost the same level of excitement you see in the toy aisle at Target.
- Play school
- Make a blanket fort
- Try a new cake recipe: There are lots of great baking cookbooks for kids.
- Walk the pets
- Simon-Says
- Take a nature walk
- Clean out the car: make it a game to see who can collect the most.
- Hot potato: If you don’t have the “Hot Potato Game“, use an actual potato or a stuffed animal to toss around while singing.
- Look at old pictures and videos
- Face-time family or friends
- Clean out closets
- Write (or draw) your own stories
- Listen to positive affirmations
- Learn how to braid hair
- Hackey sack
- Jump rope
- Plant flowers: here are some writing and drawing activities to go along with your flower planting day.
- Paint:
- Play hide-and-go seek
- Rearrange the furniture
- Learn how to sketch
- Follow videos for directed drawings
- Build with blocks: if you don’t have blocks, use boxes. We all have amazon boxes sitting around…use them for creativity.
- Make pillow towers
- Make a menu and create a restaurant
- Have chill days: I know it sounds silly because you’re looking for things to do at home, but sometimes we all need a day to chill. No schedule, no expectations, stay in your jammies, and go with the flow.
- Bead Bracelets: Use beads and pipe cleaners to make simple bracelets. You can see our bead bracelets, here.
- Build a bird feeder
- Family game night
- Make a maze through the house
- Virtual classroom field trips
- Make sock puppets out of old socks
- Learn new poems or nursery rhymes
- Have a tea party with your stuffed animals or pets
- Practice rote counting and skip counting: Count by 1’s, 2,’s, 5’s, and 10’s.
- Play tag: A classic game of tag or flashlight tag is so much fun for the kiddos.
- Nerf guns
- Puzzles
- Pokemon: my youngest is currently obsessed. She uses construction paper to make the character tails, tapes them to her shirt, and runs around the house.
- Arts and Crafts: If you don’t have materials around the house, you can check out these awesome arts and crafts subscription boxes, here.
- Put on a performance
- Tell jokes
- Truth or Dare
- GoNoodle
- Bake cookies
- Do a “Write the Room” activity around the house.
- Make slime
- Have a science day
- Shaving cream sight words, letters, or numbers
- Scavenger hunt around the house
- Go for a walk or run
- Do a cloze story (fill in the blanks), then build the characters with blocks or legos, making the story come alive 🙂
- Ride a bike
- Do a taste testing challenge: blindfold, and give kids different foods to sample. See if they can guess what it is.
- STEM activities
- Dress up like Superheroes: you don’t need superhero costumes- be creative and use things from around the house.
- Create a vision board: yes, kids can do this, too!
- Exercise
- Have a crazy hair day
- Indoor bowling
- Build a Poem: Give the kiddos a popular nursery rhyme poster and word cards. Then, they build the poem on their bedroom floor. You can see a video of my daughter doing a Build a Poem, here.
- Make a youtube video
- Sink or float challenge in the sink or bathtub
- Make a sensory bin
- Tie-dye an old shirt
- Upcycle something old
- Decorate donuts: some local donut shops, like Peace, Love, & Little Donuts, offer take out boxes with plain donuts and all the toppings needed.
- Name writing activities: the older kids can try to write their name in cursive
- Eat the Rainbow challenge: eat something for each color of the rainbow (red peppers, orange carrots, etc)
- Math talks
- Make a school memory box
- Create a kindness jar: You and your kiddo come up with ways to be kind, write them on post-it notes, then pull one from the jar everyday.
- Window markers
- Make an art gallery: fill up a wall with your kiddos favorite artwork
- Ball pit
- Make a map of the house
- Roller skate in the garage or basement
- Learn a new language
- Create a photo booth: Hang a fun backdrop on your wall, and find props from around the house.
- Set up a writing center: Include paper, construction paper, word cards, markers, crayons, stickers, scissors, glue, and old magazines
- Play Red Light, Green Light, Duck Duck Goose, Red Rover, or other classic games for kids
Get your FREE printable list HERE.
Conclusion
You’re not alone! Most parents, grandparents, and caregivers are doing whatever they can to get through this COVID-19 pandemic. It’s not easy, but I hope this list of things to do at home helps you get through your days. Stay positive, and just imagine the creativity your child may gain from this whole experience. #stayhome
Before you go, here are a few blog posts you may enjoy:
My 10 Favorite Nursery Rhymes for Kids
13 Free CVC Worksheets and Word Family Activities
100 things to do at home with kids
Printable Things to Do at Home with Kids
