We here at SmallJoys collected the most interesting and entertaining activities for your children. Some of them are just crazily simple, whilst others require some learning and experimenting with new stuff. Luckily for you parents, everything you’ll need is right at your fingertips, so having fun won’t cost you a fortune. Try them out!
1. Make an outdoor hideout using a hula-hoop and a bed sheet.
If the weather is fine, the kids can even take a cat nap in these.
2. Let your children turn into sumo wrestlers using dad’s T-shirt and some couch cushions.
3. Use colored scotch tape to make car tracks on the carpet.
4. You can give some vegetable or flower seeds to your little gardeners.
It’s a great idea to let them plant some of the seeds on their own. Your child will feel responsible for doing an important job.
5. Transform your boring fan into a fun rainbow-colored one.
Together with your child, paint the blades of your fan different colors. Let it dry, and there you go — a brand new rainbow fan made by your little designer!
6. Use a hula-hoop to make giant soap bubbles.
You will need:
- 5 liquid gallons (19 liters) of water
- 10 cups (2.5 liters) of soap or dishwashing liquid
- 5 cups (1.2 liters) of glycerin (if you want to make the bubbles even stronger)
- a plastic pool
- a hula-hoop
Note: it’s better to suggest this activity on a calm, windless day. Mix all the ingredients together, and have fun!
7. How about participating in an archeological dig?
You will need:
- a balloon
- a small plastic dinosaur toy
- water
- food coloring (optional)
- a hammer
- a pair of safety goggles
Take your miniature monster and place it into the balloon. Fill the balloon with water, and add some food coloring if you want. Tie the balloon and place it the freezer for a couple of hours. When the water turns into ice, rip the balloon off and start digging to make a sensational discovery. And don’t forget about the safety goggles!
8. You can go camping at home! And don’t forget about the indoor ’camp fire’!
9. To arrange an improvised bullseye game or maybe your own darts tournament, all you need is a couple of sponges and some chalk.
10. If your children love playing with sand, try this fun activity. Using a box filled with sugar and a pencil, you can teach your children how to write letters and numbers.
11. Make your own edible play dough.
You will need:
- a glass of softened unsalted butter
- 2 tbps of thick cream
- 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract (optional)
- 6-7 cups of powdered sugar
- food coloring (optional)
Stir the butter and cream until they’re fluffy. Whisk the powdered sugar using an electric mixer. The dough should be thick enough to form a shape. Add some vanilla extract if you want. Mix the dough on a surface covered with powdered sugar. If you want to make multicolored dough, divide it into several parts and add different colorings. White dough also works fine. Now you can proceed to the most interesting part! Roll your dough, cut it, form different shapes — use your imagination. And the best part of this activity is that your little bakers can eat their cupcakes and cookies afterwards.
12. Arrange a real tennis competition using paper plates, some popsicle sticks and a few balloons.
This is probably the safest indoor sport for your kids. And don’t you worry, they won’t break your beloved vase while playing with this ball!
13. Make a rainbow ice cream.
Use different color juices to create different layers.
14. Organise a colorful archery tournament.
Your kids will achieve a whole new level of archery if you suggest the idea of dipping the arrows into different colored paints.
15. Stretch out some yarn across a hallway and let your kids feel like they’re real-life superheroes on a special mission.
16. Let your kid become fashion designers.
17. A plain shower curtain will make for a great canvas.
This one will definitely keep your child busy for some time, since the ’canvas’ is huge!
18. Make your own fireflies in a jar.
Take some light sticks or fluorescent bracelets and put the colorful liquid in a glass jar. Don’t worry, the liquid isn’t toxic. To get this pinky violet color shown on the picture above, mix red, white and blue liquid from the sticks.
19. Put a bar of soap in the microwave and get this soap cloud.
Please note that your microwave will smell like soap for some time. But the way your kids will react will definitely be worth it!
20. Let your children feel like they’re famous baseball players.
Hang some water bombs on a tree or other sturdy object and give your kid a plastic bat. Step back and enjoy their laughter!