Keeping The Littles Busy | 40+ Indoor Activities
If you're like me, you can't afford to binge shows during this time of social distancing because your kids don't appreciate shows like The Office or Friends like you do. So, what are you to do when you're going stir crazy and your kids are bouncing off the walls? What do you do when Disney+ isn't keeping the toddler's attention and they've started to cause mayhem to occupy themselves?
It's rough, right? To be honest, this mama is starting to go stir crazy -- literally feeling like the walls are swallowing us up. I'm a stay at home mom, but we typically interact with the human race on normal days. Being stuck inside for 3 weeks is starting to reaaaaaalllllly get to us, so I've decided to share a contemplation of resources / activities that will keep the little ones occupied while you stay in. There are many resources for school-aged kids out there right now, but if we're being honest, it's the toddler parents that are going nuts... especially in places where the weather doesn't permit them to be outside in the backyard.
So without further ado, here's some stuff to keep everyone sane and having fun!
Virtual Tours :: this is a link to a comprehensive list -- a lot of them are museums that adults can enjoy (hey, mama has got to stay sane too), but the zoos and aquarium section is perfect for little people.
Other tours that your little ones may like: National Parks and Farms.
Roller Coaster Rides :: my little guys love watching these on youtube. Here are some of our favorite youtube channels that provide hours of entertainment. This is probably my favorite because they keep the boy's attention for more than 10 minutes!
⚙ CoasterForce
⚙ Sharp Production
⚙ PewPewPew
⚙ ThemePark HD
⚙ iThemePark
Virtual / Audio Books :: a great way to spark the imagination on a rainy day. We use StoryLine and we listen to Disney audiobooks on Spotify -- here's a link to our playlist. We also have the kids listen to Bible Stories here.
Photo Shoot / Silly Selfies :: Instagram + Snapchat Filters to the rescue here. Not even joking here. We can spend like 45 minutes sounding like chipmunks and taking pictures of our faces looking silly.
Karaoke :: nothing better than kids singing Baby Shark at the top of their lungs, am I right?
Those are all things that you can do utilizing the screen, so here are some other activities that you can so with your little ones that don't involve technology.
⚙ Build a Fort
⚙ Bake Cookies
⚙ Chores -- let them wipe the windows and push around your heavy vacuum
⚙ Prepare a Meal together -- let them put a sandwich together, make a pizza or let them pour the juice in the glasses.. anything to make these little people feel like they're doing the best job in the world as your assistant.
⚙ Make Sock Puppets
⚙ Set Up A Race Track -- crank out the painter's tape and go, go go!
⚙ PLAAAAAY DOH -- messy, but so worth it in these desperate times.
⚙ Stickers -- also kind of messy, but we have a designated notebook for them to stick on.
⚙ Coloring Pages -- my guys love these. If your kids are like mine, they like to color images of things they see on the screen / from their favorite shows, so we get our sheets from here. To keep things fun, one day they'll color with crayons, but the next day they'll use fingerpaint or watercolors!
⚙ Arts + Crafts -- I just drop a bunch of supplies on the table and let them get creative because what's the point of directing people who avoid listening to directions. Pinterest has so many ideas, but keep it simple with cotton balls, glue, markers, and googly eyes.
⚙ Slime -- again, desperate times call for desperate measures.
⚙ Play House / Store & Cops and Robbers -- orrrrr be a patient at the toddler's hospital, get silly.
⚙ Bubble Baths, Wands + Machines
⚙ Make Crowns + Tiaras -- out of tin foil and stickers.
⚙ Camp Indoors -- and go make smores in the air fryer.
⚙ Cardboard Box Coloring -- get a box + crayons and let them go to town.
⚙ Paint -- with brushes, fingers, sponges, cotton balls + swabs, macaroni // on paper, cardboard, rocks, pots, wood -- again, get creative, you have so much time to waste.
⚙ Make Paper Airplanes
⚙ Set Up a Car Wash -- for all the toy cars in the house.
⚙ Build a Rocket out of Cardboard -- or a fort, town, car, anything really.
⚙ Drumming Concert with Pots + Pans -- have some advil on hand mama, things may get wild.
⚙ Flour in A Baking Pan Art -- so messy, but the kids love it.
⚙ Bowling Tournament in The Hallway -- empty water bottles are my favorite pins!
⚙ Make Some Hats + Masks -- cardboard, markers and tape and waaaaa-laaaaa!
⚙ Go Fishing In The Living Room -- use a laundry basket as a boat, salad clippers as a rod and then toys as fish or you can cut out fish from construction paper if you're bored during naptime.
⚙ Read a Book Together
⚙ Floor is Lava Trail -- throw some pillows on the floor and ruuuuuun!
⚙ Have A Balloon Party -- blow up some balloons, toss them in the air, play catch, draw faces on them, go wild.
⚙ Play Hide & Seek -- now is the time to go old school, mama.
⚙ Play with Flashlights -- make some animal shadows with your hands or just let the kids have some fun before bedtime.
⚙ Sing Silly Songs -- head shoulders knees and toes on repeat people!
⚙ Play with Magnets -- letters, animals, planet magnets from Amazon or whatever you have on hand.
⚙ Toss Toys + Soft Balls into a Laundry Basket -- make them future into stars of the NBA & WNBA
⚙ Jump On Some Bubble Wrap
⚙ Play Dress Up & Throw A Fashion Show -- old clothes and accessories have never been so in!
⚙ Have An Indoor Picnic
⚙ Coffee Filter Art -- let them use markers and then sprinkle water over them or dip them in colored water.
⚙ Mountain Climbing -- pile pillows in the middle of the living room and challenge them to a climb off
⚙ Practice Cutting with Plastic Knife & Banana
⚙ Play Some Guessing Games -- animal sounds, vehicle sounds, etc.
⚙ Stack Blocks Until The Tower Falls
Soooooo, yah, so much fun to be had at home, am I right? What are some of the things y'all are doing to keep your little ones occupied during this time of social distancing? I'd love to hear in the comments.
3 comments
I love playing bowling in the hallway!! Personal fav. Great ideas♥️
This is my kind of list!! I just wrote down a bunch of your ideas. Thank you so much for sharing these!!
These are such great ideas!!! More than half of them I never thought of but we can totally do tomorrow and for the rest of the month!
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