List of Activities for Quarantined Kiddos

We’re about a month in to strict social distancing or quarantining here in Ohio. If you’re like me, you may be struggling for ideas of things to do with your kids all day. Since Paul and I are both working full time from home, and our kiddos are in very different places developmentally, we need projects or activities that are easy to set up or prep, simple enough to understand for a pre-schooler without a ton of direction, and educational or entertaining enough to capture Ethan’s interest for at least 20 to 30 minutes.

Enter Pinterest. Now, at first I figured that’s what everyone will do, no need to post a list. Then, I spent 20 minutes looking for ideas on Pinterest, pinning everything somewhat interesting, and I was quickly overwhelmed. So, I figured I’d pick a few ideas out to have in my back pocket (and to share with you, of course) so when I’m planning our week, I can just add a few activities from the list to our schedule. For me, this ensures that 1) I can pick projects for which we already have supplies, 2) I can gather said supplies the night before so things move as smoothly as possible, and 3) that we actually do more than park the kids in front of the TV or have free play all day.

I separated my list into three categories: ART, STEM, and MOVEMENT. Then, I added a fourth category for free online resources that are educational and I don’t feel too bad about that kind of screen time.

Each project is a link directly to the source. If you find broken links, let me know! Also, if you have ideas that have worked for you, let me know and I can link to you!

GET MOVING:

  • SPOON/EGG CARRYING
  • SCAVENGER HUNTS: Earth Day theme; Indoor hunt
  • PAINTERS TAPE CITIES
  • BALL/STRAW BLOWING RACES
  • PAINTERS TAPE HOPSCOTCH
  • NEIGHBORHOOD HUNTS: collaborate with your neighbors to make rainbows or eggs to hang in your windows or the outside of your house and then take turns exploring the neighborhood to see how many you can find
  • AT HOME OBSTACLE COURSE: use what you have, whether it’s pillows and blankets, chairs and broomsticks, etc. to make an obstacle course in your home; you can even make it a family tournament
  • SEARCH & FIND HIKING LISTS: list of 100 things to look for on a nature hike
  • PLANT A GARDEN: You can buy seeds online or even at the grocery/Target/Walmart; start the plant in an inside container and then transplant with warmer weather

FREE ONLINE RESOURCES:

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