Boredom Busting At Home Activities for Kids

Thanks to COVID-19, we may find ourselves in dire need of some at home activities for kids in order to keep your sanity! From educational activities right through to full on high-jinx, this list of in-home activities and games is just the ticket.

29 Parent Sanity Saving At Home Activities for Kids

It can be challenging enough to keep the kids entertained during school holidays, let alone unexpected stay at home events such as coronavirus spread. While there is nothing wrong with kids getting bored and inventing their own activities, it can be helpful to have a few up your sleeve for when things get rough. Here are some of our favourite at home activities for kids:

1. Toy washing - let them do some of the work. Fill a big plastic container with water and bubbles so they can wash their plastic toys.
2. Rubbish art - make a pile of old boxes, bubble wrap and egg cartons, then paint them!
3. Reading time - set aside a specific time for reading, either listening to stories, being read to or reading alone.
4. Screen time - you won't be able to remove it, and nor would you! But allocating a specific time for tv and devices will make them more desirable than if they were used all the time.
5. Wash the car - once again, put the kids to work cleaning the car. A bucket, sponge and the hose are all you need.
6. Stargazing - on a cloud free night, head outside for some stargazing. You could even spend time during the day learning about the constellations, then trying to pick them out that evening.
7. Look for 4-leaf clovers - read up about leprechauns and 4-leaf clovers, then head outside to find your own. 
8. Make a movie - here's something great for the older kids. Have them create a movie plot, and sketch out scenes. Then using an iPad, start capturing the movie, edit and then present it to the rest of the family at movie night.
9. Hopscotch - an oldie but a goodie, draw out a hopscotch grid outside using chalk. Or inside if you are staying indoors.
10. String games - bring back cats in the cradle and other string games.
11. Build a fort - inside with sheets or outside with items from nature, it's a great way to fill in a few hours.
12. Learn morse code - once you've mastered a few letters, send each other messages using an 'invention' you have made which could make similar sounds (blocks, microphone, musical toy).
13. Baking - spend an afternoon baking biscuits, learning about measuring and taste testing. Of course, they also need to do the dishes.
14. Make up a word find - once you have created a word find, swap it with someone else and do theirs.
15. Make a time capsule - what will you put in it? What would someone in the future like to learn about what is happening now?
16. Keep a diary - we're living in history right now. Keep a daily diary of what you are doing while avoiding the coronavirus.
17. Learn how to read a map - sure, paper maps aren't that common anymore, but you should still need to learn how to read one. You could even create your own map of an imaginary place too.
18. Crazy hairdos - give each other crazy or wacky hairdos. Make sure you capture those photos for their 21st!
19. Design a box car - large boxes make awesome cars. Make sure all of the essentials are added to it so it would pass a WOF.
20. Make playdough - a great fun activity. You could swap the playdough for salt dough and keep the creations for longer.
21. Tree climbing - head out to the garden and start some tree climbing. If you have walkie talkies, then you could chat between trees to each other.
22. Play hangman or noughts and crosses - a good solid stand-by
23. Art - get creative with the felts, crayons, pastels or paint.
24. Play charades - can you guess what movie, food, character or animal they are pretending to be?
25. House of cards - build a house out of cards, while stopping the dog coming and blowing them all down as he runs past.
26. Write a story - you could write one sentence, then they do the next. Or if they love writing, then why not write and illustrate an entire book.
27. Collect bugs - spend some time bug catching, identifying what you have caught, letting them go and then doing some research about the different types you found.
28. Build a bird house - you could go elaborate with wood, or a pinecone with string, peanut butter and bird seed.
29. Obstacle course - over chairs, around toys and under the table. Or go outside and burn off even more energy running between obstacles.

Do you have some more we could add to the list? Be sure to let us know what they are in the comments!