60+ Things To Do With Kids At Home To Relieve Boredom: Be Productive And Have Fun

When news started trickling in of lockdowns in China over the novel Coronavirus, I started thinking, it could happen here. Fast forward a few weeks, and now every parent in North America is thinking the same thing: what are things to do with kids at home to keep them from boredom? What are fun kid activities to keep them happy?

Cabin fever will most likely set in in about a week or so. If China is any indication, we will probably be in lockdown for more than two weeks.

So coming up with things to do with kids at home will be key for families.

It’s time to get creative and create a plan for at-home activities for kids to do to keep the littles from going around the bend, and for you, as parents to keep your cool.

To help out with this, I’ve come up with over 60 ideas that may work for you to make your days seem a bit better as we wait out this horrible disease.

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Make A Schedule And Try To Stick To It

I’ve seen many tips floating around as to how to tackle the lockdown. The first

Some are saying to take it as an extended vacation. I like this idea. It’s a good one to consider. Everybody needs a little break from the mental craziness of what’s going on.

BUT, parenting experts are also saying that you still need to keep to routines and schedules. So keep your family’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner routines. Keep to regular daily self-care activities (bath/shower, brushing teeth, etc.).

Keep some time set aside for learning. Homeschooling is doable! Millions of other parents do it and there are tonnes of resources online (I share some fantastic sites below for you to tap into to keep them learning).

If your school has e-learning capabilities, have your kids keep committed to this. They will be on track when hopefully, life turns back to normal.

But now, I’m going to switch to the good stuff that you can layer on in your life. These ideas are things to do with kids at home when bored. Some can easily be adapted for single people!

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Fun Things To Do With Kids At Home When Bored

In no particular order! Here are fun activities for kids when they’re bored during a lockdown:

• Movie marathons: bend the rules and let them stay up a bit later to watch more than one movie
• Introduce your kids to your favoutie childhood TV shows
• Bake cookies together
• Pretend your home is a restaurant: have somebody pretend to be a server, chef. etc. (my son loves this – we’re also teaching him proper dinner table etiquette and good manners at the same time).
• Make it an art day: print out colouring pages, make construction paper trees and butterflies for wall art, or window art (check out the Friendly Faces project with printable face features to create-you-own)
• Make homemade slime
• Make a project out of updating the decor in their room: commission them to make their own wall art
• Play hide and go seek
• Start a puzzle together
• Set up a tent in your living room and camp out there for a few nights
• Play at superheroes.
• Write and record a movie, starring your kids
• Record an interview with your kids for posterity
• Teach them about their ancestors – go through old albums
• Make it a fun challenge: a geography contest with memorizing capital cities of different countries (fun + educational!)

• Do a kids version of Trivial Pursuit with cool prizing (candies, snacks)
• One of the best things to do with kids at home when bored: make a cave out of pillows and blankets using your sofa and chairs and play a game of pretend dragons
• Come up with funny things for a toy figure to do and have your kids take the photos
• Build a LEGO city using any and all pieces of LEGO you have around the house
• Play easy card games (Go Fish, War)
• Make popcorn and have an extra late movie night with a classic film (Star Wards, Indiana Jones…)
• Check-in daily with grandma and grandad daily on video chat
• Read out loud funny kid-appropriate jokes

• Have a fun, topsy-turvy meal: start with dessert and finish with the starter.
• Do a backward day: dinner in the morning and breakfast at night.
• Play charades.
• Make sock puppets
• Play cats cradle with a long piece of string.
• Do a play with shadow puppets.
• Make silhouette cutouts and make it art.
• Start a crafting project together: make-ahead Easter decorations, Christmas decorations
• Make an indoor obstacle course to keep them active.
• Play tag.
• Do the Marco Polo game or hide something and play “Hot” and “Cold” – when they are closer to the item they are “hotter”
• Let them play video games for a scheduled time each day.
• The best things to do with kids at home include keeping touch with the outside world: do FaceTime or video chat sessions with their friends.
• Write short stories: read them to each other
• Spend some time outside: be cautious of being around other people. If it’s quiet in your area, go for a short walk around the neighbourhood or play in the backyard, especially on a sunny day. Natural Vitamin D from sunlight is so important in helping you keep your immune system in top shape.
• Do origami or other paper-folding creations
• Build towers and cityscapes with toy blocks, empty boxes and your furniture – let your and your kid’s imagination run wild.
• Make jewelry if you have beads or embroidery thread (woven bracelets)
• Watch classic comedies: introduce your kids to old fashioned slapstick comedies (Laurel & Hardy, Three Stooges, Charlie Chaplin, Jerry Lewis). Explain to them any historical specific references.
• Pick a decade a day: listen to music and watch movies from a specific time period. Learn how to dance as they did then (e.g., The Twist in the 1950s)
• Do a day of ABBA, Boney M and other fun disco music
• Bring out the watercolour paints: have your kids paint pictures for family members.
• Sort your button collection!

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Learning And Productive Kid Activities When They’re Bored

While silly things to do with kids at home when you’re bored are a fun way to while away the time, you can also do productive and educational things as well.

Productive at-home activities for kids may be a bit more tedious, but they will help you all feel more organized and relaxed in the end. Doing chores together is a time to teach your kids life skills.

Some of these activities may seem boring to your kids, especially if they involve house chores. Make them more inclined to do them by offering them an incentive to do so (extra half-hour of screen time), if they’re resisting.

As for educational activities for kids, they will keep their minds growing and active. Make these part of their scheduled learning time.

Educational And Productive Activities

• Do a family house-cleaning day: your kid’s room is their own responsibility (with a little bit of help from parents)
• Pick a new book a day: your kids take turns reading it out loud to the whole family.
• Play a game of how many balls/candies in a jar. Teach them how to do a close estimate using math.
• A great at-home activity for kids: travel the world from your couch by learning about the cultures of the world.
• Teach your kids how to read recipes and measure out ingredients while cooking together.
• Do an inventory of items at home: have your kids be your assistants and keep their math skills up.
• Introduce your kids to different genres of music: make it a history lesson with Classical music, Classic Rock, etc. Talk about the pop culture of the 20th century.
• Do some painting: teach colour theory
• Run a spelling bee for prizing/special reward.
• Do a virtual museum visit: check out the famous works of art and items on display in museums around the world by visiting their sites.
• Watch a biographical/historical movie together (age-appropriate of course!)
• Bring out your reference books and coffee table books on subjects: if they have illustrations and interesting info, they can offer hours of interesting reading
• Teach your child how to use a point & shoot camera
• Have your kids learn new things online: check out Readworks (includes US History and other free content), Education.com has a whole slew of resources (see longer list below)
• Print out colouring pages and work with your kids to perfect their colouring skills (colour inside the lines!)
• Show your kids how to properly clean the bathroom and toilet
• Reinforce kitchen cleanliness – clean the kitchen counters and skin together
• Do a clean-out of the closets: sort through what doesn’t fit anymore and can be donated.
• Show your kids how to shine shoes

• Have your kids help you with the laundry: explain all the instructions to them. Have them set up the controls and push the on button.
• Teach your kids to fold clothes and put them away in closets and dresser drawers.
• Get down on the ground: vacuum and wash floors, getting at all the corners and behind furniture. Have your kids help you clean baseboards.
• Have your kids help rake the dead leaves and garbage in your garden in preparation for Spring.
• Plant seedlings together for Spring/summer planting.
• Have your child help you declutter your shared living areas: sort out old toys and store them away, organize books and video games, etc.

Online Resources For Fun Education

General Resources

Brain Pop Jr – for littles up to Grade 3, arts, social studies, math, reading, etc.

Brain POP – Grade 4 and up, same but for older kids

DOGO News (current news written for kids)

How Stuff Works – learn how things work!

KidsRead – a great source for little readers

Scholastic Learn At Home (has many educational daily projects for preschoolers up to Grade 6+)

NASA Kids Club – a whole slew of fun facts, activities and other ideas related to Space

Science Bob – science knowledge and activities for kids

Starfall – a fun resource for little readers

PBS Kids – so many cool shows, resources for kids

National Geographic Kids – the kid version: a fantastic resource for curious little ones

Spatulatta – kids teaching other kids how to cook

Canadian-Specific Resources

Canadian Geographic – Animal Facts For Kids

TVO KIDS – Programming based on Ontario’s curriculum

A Kid’s Guide To Canada

Virtual Museum Of Canada (perfect for Canadian history lessons)

The History Museums of Canada (online exhibitions)

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Make It Fun – Make It Worthwhile

Kids love to do fun things with family members – it’s a great way to make family memories.

I have several from my childhood – card games, baking together and days spent learning how to play baseball in the backyard.

Whatever you do, pack your patience. I know it’s hard at times when you’ve got lots on your plate. There are days I force myself to remember that time is fleeting.

Make it worthwhile for you and your family!

I’ve shared a long list of fun activities to do on rainy days for adults that you can certainly enjoy, and when there’s a snowstorm. So get inspired and enjoy some “me-time” as an individual, not just a parent.

If you’re all feeling bored, check out my list of over 200 fun and productive things to do when bored.

If you enjoy playing games on your phone, check out this great list of game apps from Joshua from This Daddy Life.

TIP: Read this if you need some ideas for celebrating New Year’s Eve at home with your family.

QUESTION: What family indoor activities would you add to the list?

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Feature photo by Krzysztof Kowalik on Unsplash (of my two favourite Polish cartoon characters: Bolek & Lolek – check out the Youtube videos of old cartoon clips – many of which feature no spoken words, so they can be enjoyed internationally).