Indoor Activities to do With Your Kiddos!

It’s no secret this year has been weirddd. Normally we would not be spending so much time at home! We would probably have more play dates and definitely have some sort of “class” or weekly activity to take Wesley to! But, thanks a lot coronavirus!! If your kids are like mine, they get tired of doing the same old things (tv, running around outside, reading, etc), so here are some ideas of things to do with your kids indoors! They aren’t all original to me, but maybe they’ll inspire you to mix it up a little!

1. Make salt dough shapes and paint them! If there’s a holiday coming up, you can make shapes that coordinate with that holiday. For example, we made stars for Memorial Day! My oldest had so much fun making these and waiting for them to bake! Then he painted them and it was a blast! Plus the recipe is super easy and cheap! Here it is: 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, 3/4-1 cup of water. Mix flour and salt, then add water. Roll dough out onto a floured surface and cut out desired shapes. Bake on parchment paper lined cookie sheet for 30 minutes at 200! Once they’re completely cooled, paint! 🙂

2. Make “calm” play dough! It may seem silly to make play dough when you can buy it, but making it is fun for the kids and pretty easy! Plus if you add some lavender oil, it has the added bonus of calming 🙂 here’s a recipe: 2 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar, 1/2 cup of salt, 2 tablespoons of oil (any!), 1 1/2 cups of boiling water, gel food dye, lavender essential oil. Add first three ingredients to a bowl and mix, then add and mix in oil, pour in boiling water and mix carefully until dough forms. Let fully cool and add desired color(s) and lavender oil! Ready for play! 🙂

3. Go on an indoor scavenger hunt! Make a list of 10-20 things for your kiddo to search for! Extra points if you make it educational! For example, “find something that’s red” or “find a snack that starts with the letter A”! At the end give them a little prize (an episode of their favorite cartoon, special snack, playing a video game, etc)!

4. Have some down time and make a “movie fort”! We like to build forts with blankets, chairs, pillows, etc and put a movie on for Wesley for some “rest time” (he doesn’t take naps anymore, but still needs quiet time). It’s perfect because he feels like it’s so special, but it’s super easy to do! Sometimes I even let him have some popcorn or chocolate milk or something to make it even more special! It’s not the most educational or interactive activity, but they feel so special AND mama gets some down time from it too (😂).

5. Create an ocean! This one is a little messy, but easy to clean up. Grab a plastic container or bowl and fill it with water and bubbles. Then add some sea creature toys! You can find them super cheap on amazon HERE ! Wesley loves to do this! Sometimes he adds other animals that wouldn’t do so well in the ocean, but oh well (lol). Bonus if you make it educational and share some facts about the ocean and ocean animals! 😉

6. Make marshmallow slime! I found this recipe and it was supposed to be “puffy paint” but it was far too thick and a messss. So we just went with it and decided to treat it like slime instead! It has a really fluffy texture, thus the name we chose! It’s so easy. Just equal parts glue and shaving cream/ gel, and food color! We decided to make ours light pink because why not! Wes loved it and had so much fun, but beware! It is messy!

There are tons more activities you can find on Pinterest or instagram, these are just a few that we have tried and loved! If you try them, post about it and tag me so I can see! (Instagram: @ashlea.mama.mizell) or if you have any great activities to share, let me know!!! Hang in there friends, I know this time can be tough, and we are all just doing our very best to get through. Not everyday will be a magical education experience for us and our kids (lol). But hopefully these ideas can provide some entertainment or inspiration for your day!