Activities Kids Can Do at Home – Fun, Affordable Easy Ideas & Inspiration

Help the kids have fun at home with these easy indoor and outdoor activities using simple household items, pantry staples, recycled materials and a little bit of imagination!

As families stay home to slow the spread of COVID-19, with the cancellation of countless upcoming events and travel at a standstill, we hope these ideas will come in handy for the days and weeks ahead, especially during the school holidays in April.  Keep the boredom at bay with:

♥️ Indoor Play

♥️ Online Adventures

♥️ Arts & Crafts

♥️ Backyard Fun

♥️ Baking & Cooking

ARTS & CRAFTS

Drawing

Grab a sketch pad and your choice of pencils, charcoal, pens or markers and sketch away.  Draw portraits of each other, your family pet or the landscape in your backyard. Try different mediums such as charcoal.

Colouring-in

There are countless free downloads available online to print off and colour in.   Some of our favourites include a selection of well known artists who have created free colouring-in sheets, a collection of Grug drawings and some free Bluey pages to download and colour in too.

Cut n Paste

You’ll need items such as coloured paper or cardboard, ribbon, cellophane, foil, wrapping paper or old magazines. Cut out random shapes from pieces of the different materials and stick them onto coloured paper or cardboard, forming a collage.  It can be of anything – there are no rules so let the kids imagination to create their own piece of art.

Emoji Emotions by One Tiny Tribe

A creative idea for young ones to play and express themselves at the same time by One Tiny Tribe.  All you need is cardboard, scissors and sharpies (use a small plate for a round template). Watch the video below:

Chalk Art

If you have large areas of concrete, such as footpaths or a driveway, let the kids draw with chalk.  Play hopscotch, noughts & crosses or simply draw pictures. Thick sticks of chalk are the best, but any chalk will do and washes off with water.

Photography

Still have a camera lying around?  Get the kids to use their imagination and take photos of random objects, moments or set up props and have a photo shoot. People, pets, plants, furniture – different times of the day will create various lighting affects. 

Paper Mache Bowls

Paper mache bowls make for a great, stay-at-home family craft project and they are great for storing jewellery, lego or trinkets in, and make wonderful homemade gifts for relatives and friends. Read more here

Design a Photo Album 

Use a scrap book to put together a photo album.  Let the kids choose which photos they would like you to print, them stick them into a scrap book.  Write a short description about each one.  Don’t forget to decorate the cover. 

Shadow Drawing

Get your child to choose some of their favourite toys, or objects from around the home, grab some paper and pencils, and head outside while the sun is shining. Read more here

Make a Movie

There are apps to make little movies from your own videos and photos – let the kids choose and use some of their own footage to put little videos together.  You can then share them with family and friends to let them know what you’ve been up to.

Create with Clay 

You can buy ready to mould clay packs (they are available online) and the possibilities are endless as to what the kids can make.  Use cookie cutters, tools, rollers and utensils to make different shapes and patterns.  Decorate with beads, tile pieces, glass, buttons or other craft supplies.  

Knitting

Teach kids how to knit!  You’ll only need two things – some balls of wool and some knitting needles.   Make a simple square, or keep going until it becomes a scarf.  There are plenty of online tutorials on the web too.

Decorate with Wool

If knitting isn’t your thing, use different coloured wool to decorate sticks – find some on your next walk or you may have some in the garden.  

Painting

Finger paints, watercolours, acrylics – set up a spot in the backyard or a nice quiet corner inside.  Use thick art paper, watercolour paper or buy a canvas to hang on the wall.  You could also use large sheets of craft paper and save them to use as wrapping paper.

Create from Recycling

It’s amazing what the imagination can come up with when put to the test!  Get the kids to use items from your recycling pile and watch what they come up with.  When they’re finished, it can go back in the recycling!  See our ideas for creating from recycling here.

 At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.

Image Source: Photos by Play & Go / Infographics as specified

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