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Top 15 At-Home Activities for Kids

There probably has never been a single more frustrating endeavor than trying to entertain bored children when staying at home. They can easily become cranky or tired and seem to need a constant rotation of activities to stay entertained (and out of your hair). If you are a stay-at-home parent or working remotely, it can be hard to come up with new ideas on how to keep them occupied, especially when you have other chores and necessary tasks. You're not alone, and we can help! Here are the top 15 at-home entertainment activities for your children.

1. Build a Fort

Find empty cardboard boxes or sheets that are lying around your home and put them to good use! You can turn them into a reading cave or a fort! Use a flashlight to make a shadow show in the fort.

2. Create a Treasure Hunt

Treasure hunts are relatively easy and depending on how many items you have, the game could last a while. Hide 20 to 30 items around the inside of your home, or even outside in the front or backyard to keep the kids busy for a couple of hours.

3. Do Some Baking

Bake something delicious! Cookies, cakes, or even brownies are all good desserts to make. It's also a good lesson for kids to learn about measuring and the ingredients that are being used.

4. Download Educational Printables

Download free educational printables for all ages. These can cover an assortment of skills and a collection of levels of ability.

5. Spring Clean and Organize

Spring cleaning and organizing may not exactly be fun for kids, but with everyone at home, the house is going to get messy at some point. Carve out some time each day, even for an hour, and prioritize organization.

6. Break out the Board and Card Games

Play board or card games you and your children haven't played in a while.

7. Start a Book Club

Create a goal for your kids and have them read a new book every day. There are also online book clubs they can join that have discussions and thought-provoking questions about the books your children just read.

8. Have a Read-a-Thon

This activity is great for older kids. Set a challenge to see how many books/chapters they can read during the day.

9. Listen to Podcasts

There are plenty of kid-friendly podcasts for all ages that are available. Do some research and find which ones are best for your children.

A few Recommended Podcasts are:

• But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids – This podcast answers questions that are submitted by kids.
• Smash, Boom, Best – This is a debate podcast that is fun for the entire family.
• Story Time – Each podcast includes a kid-friendly story that is read out loud by the author of the story.
• Ear Snacks - This musical podcast offers a wide range of fun-filled topics
• KidNuz –Kid-friendly news followed by a short and fun quiz at the end.

10. Create a Vision Board

Ask your kids what they want this year, print out a collage of images, and then glue them on either a poster board or computer paper. When finished, hang the vision board on either the fridge or somewhere else where it can be seen.

11. Do Some Coloring

If you don't have coloring books lying around, you can print some free online. Grab all your pens and crayons and create a coloring station at the kitchen table. Once the artwork is finished, hang them around the house for everyone to see.

12. Host an Indoor Picnic

Grab a picnic blanket, snacks, drinks, plates, and napkins to enjoy an indoor picnic.

Tip: Toys and stuffed animals make great guests for the little ones.

13. Create an Indoor Obstacle Course

Create an obstacle course with climbing, crawling, hopping, jumping, and falling on cushions, pillows, or even mattresses, and let the kids make it a competition to see who has the best time.

14. Make Homemade Playdough

Making homemade playdough is always a hit, especially for the little ones. It's relatively easy and not very time-consuming. You can look up playdough recipes online to see how to make it.

15. Indoor Hopscotch

Use masking tape or painters' tape to set up a grid for hopscotch.

Finding at-home entertainment activities to do with kids can be tricky but with these at-home entertainment activities, your kids should be entertained for a while!