- Make playdough (loads of recipes online)
- Grab a torch and make shadow puppets on the walls
- Fold a piece of paper accordion-style, cut out paper dolls holding hands then colour them in
- Indoor obstacle course (create zig zag laser lines in the hallway with string and get the kids to wriggle underneath or hop inbetween them)
- Make a den under the kitchen table and take in torches, cushions and snacks
- Think of five things beginning with a letter
- Junk model – make an animal or an alien out of empty tissue boxes and toilet rolls (see our attempt at the end!)
- Have an empty chocolate box? Make pretend chocolates out of plasticine to go in it
- Build a spaghetti and marshmallow tower
- Put on a show!
- Line a baking tray with foil, fill it with water and freeze – it’s an ice rink for toys, or a science experiment to see which items have the most traction when you slide them around
- Finger painting – draw faces onto your prints afterwards to create bugs, people and more
- Make flower perfume with water and flowers in the garden
- Gather leaves, paint them and press them onto paper
- Have a dance party! Glow sticks add extra fun.
- Play hide and seek
- Set a Lego challenge (can you build me a dinosaur? A spaceship?)
- Write a story, or you write it for them from their ideas
- Learn how to tie shoe laces
- Teach them how to knit or sew
- Write funny sentences onto slips of paper, fold them up and put them into a hat then pull them out one at a time, reading aloud to hear your hilarious story unfold!
- Use up any old craft kits/colouring books
- Make paper bag puppets
- Bake something using simple ingredients
- Make faces using bits and pieces from the garden
- Choose a fairytale (or any book), and have each person pretend to be a character with one of you as an interviewer/journalist to ask you all questions. Make sure you answer them in character!
- Do a simple science experiment such as a volcano, or pour lukewarm water over Skittles sweets on a plate to make a rainbow
- Make invisible ink
- Do a jigsaw puzzle
- Make origami flowers and spritz with a tiny bit of perfume
- Create a sock puppet
- Make up a story by each taking it in turns to write/say a line
Make something out of a cardboard box! Pic credit: Vivian Fung
- Repurpose cardboard boxes into a dolls house, hospital, vet, parking garage – anything you like!
- Make a peg dolly (wooden pegs are best)
- Put on a fashion show
- Play I Spy
- Do yoga (Cosmic Kids is great)
- Learn finger knitting
- Make a time capsule
- Cut out pictures from a magazine then glue and stick
- Create a “Favorite Memories” or “Thankful” jar
- Make bookmarks
- Build a cardboard castle and paint it
- Make a paper boat then float it in the bath
- Paint rocks from your garden
- Make a suncatcher or a dream catcher
- Draw a self portrait
- Have a treasure hunt
- Plant cress heads
- Let the kids do your hair (if you dare!!!) and makeup
- Have a “Virtual Bake Off” contest with your friends – post your pics (or videos) online in a Whatsapp group and have a bonus prize for the messiest!
- Do a blind taste test (blindfold the kids and feed them a range of sweet, salty, sour flavours and let them guess what they’re eating)
- Decorate biscuits (any cheap biscuit will do if you don’t want to bake your own, make up some icing and use sprinkles)
- Home cinema trip – make some tickets to sell, watch a movie day, have popcorn
- Do a chore together
- Plant some veggies in the garden
- Write letters to grandparents
- Create a secret code
- Start your own newspaper and have the kids write about what is happening. They could interview relatives and friends over the phone for quotes
- Request a song over the radio – challenge friends to do the same and see who gets theirs on first!
- Make a bug hotel with things from the garden
- Ask the kids to make a reward chart – for the parents!
- Dig out old board games
- Do a limbo!
- Have a pillow fight
- Write a journal
- Play Simon Says
- Learn some card games
- Play charades
- Pick a country and learn all about it
- Read a book together
- Do a mini history project; choose a person/event, research it and write about it or make a poster/cartoon
- Play hangman
- Learn a few words of a new language
- Play skittles (use action figures or tin cans and a ball). My son likes shooting his action figures down with nerf guns
- Have a World Book Day – dig into the dressing up box and do crafts themed around a book
- Make up a quiz
- Have a tea party
- Make friendship bracelets
- Play hopscotch
- Make chalk drawings on the patio or garden wall
- Take a “virtual tour” of a museum
- Make homemade pizzas
- Host a mini Olympics (wheelbarrow race, etc). Friends can take part online!
- Play marbles
- Make a party hat/crown
- Create your own board game
- Have a bubble bath and take some toys in
- Explore the garden with a magnifying glass
- Make paper planes and see whose flies the highest!
- Do the Conga around the house
- Make paper outfits for dolls and action figures
- Record your own podcast
- Play musical bumps and musical statues
- Make saltdough ornaments/shapes
- Dig out scraps of coloured icing/baking supplies and let the kids decorate a sponge cake
- Who can build the tallest tower?
- Make fluffy paint
- Create masks using paper plates
- Download a movie-making app and make movies with your toys
- Make musical instruments – it could be as simple as a drum kit with kitchen pans and spoons! Or you could use elastic bands as guitar strings, or dried rice for shakers.
That’s it! I hope you have fun doing some of these, please send in any of your own to add to the list.