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Indoor Activities for Kids: 20 Fun, Indoor Activities for Bored Kids
by Amanda Formaro
When it's raining, snowing, or just plain too cold to play outside, your
household can fall victim to the "I'm Bored Blues". With a little
creativity and imagination, you can turn the tables and find fun things
to do without running to the store or turning on the television.
Keep this list of ideas handy, or write each idea on a slip of paper and
put them in a hat. The next time the kids are bored, let them draw a
slip of paper from a hat to decide which activity to do first!
1) Plate of Bubbles - All you need for this fun activity is a small
plate, a plastic drinking straw, dish washing liquid and tap water.
Place two drops (that's all you need!) of dish washing liquid in the
center of a plate. Carefully run tap water onto plate, pointing water
over the dish soap to create some foam or bubbles. Carefully place the
plate on a flat, sturdy surface, such as the kitchen table, and have
your child point his straw into the water. To create bubbles, blow
gently and slowly into the sudsy water. Not too fast, it won't work!
Slow and steady will create huge bubbles!
2) Animal Jumble - This works best with 3 or more children, but can
certainly be adapted for 2 kids. Assign each child a 'secret" animal
part, the child choosing the animal. Have them draw their part on white
or construction paper. The idea is that each child does not know what
the others are drawing. For example, have Bobby draw the head (maybe he
chose a dog), Cindy draws the legs (she chose an elephant), and so on.
When they are all finished drawing, have them cut out their parts and
tape the animal together. Have fun choosing a name for their animal. You
may be the first to discover the "Dog-aphant-monk-iraffe"!
3) Cartoon Strip - Many parents will remember this from their own
childhood! You will need a pad of paper and something to draw with. At
the bottom of the pad, starting from the left, draw a stick figure, a
box car, cartoon dog, anything you want to put into motion. On the next
page, draw the figure again with a slightly different pose and a
positioned a little bit to the right of the page before. Repeat this
process on each page until you reach the right side of the pad. Now fan
the pages with your thumb to watch your character move across the page!
4) Coffee Can Stilts - Turn 2 coffee cans upside down so that the
plastic lids are on the bottom. Poke a hole on each both sides of each
can using a screwdriver (parental supervision is recommended). Use rope,
bailing twine, or several strands of yarn braided together for strength
and thread through one hole. Thread the other end of the rope through
the hole on the other side and tie off inside the can. Be sure that the
rope is long enough so that when your child stands on the cans, the rope
is high enough for them to hold in their hands comfortably without
hunching over.
5) Cookie Cutter Glitters - Pull out the construction paper, glue,
glitter, stickers and cookie cutters. Kids can trace around the cookie
cutter shapes, spread glue over the shape and decorate with glitter and
stickers. This can be a messy craft, so be prepared with a disposable
table cloth and garbage can for scraps. Using a vacuum with a hose
attachment is a much easier method of cleaning up glitter than a broom.
6) Feely Box - Use any box that closes or has a lid, a shoebox is ideal.
Cut a hole in the side of the box large enough for a child's hand to fit
inside. Place an object inside the box and see if they can guess what it
is. If they can't guess right away, let them ask questions or provide
them with clues until they figure it out.
7) Hide the Object - Using any ordinary object (stuffed animal, vitamin
bottle, drinking cup, etc), play this fun hide and seek game with your
children. Simply have your child hide their eyes, then place the object
somewhere in plain view (on the fireplace mantel, on top of the TV, near
the front door, etc) and then have them look for it. Another idea is to
use objects relating to a particular theme each day. For example, if
your Kindergartener is focusing on the letter "A" that week, use objects
that begin with "A" (apple, alligator [stuffed of course!], etc) You can
adjust this game for older kids by hiding the object a little deeper.
You might place the vitamin bottle halfway behind the picture of
Grandma, or maybe tucked halfway down the side of the couch.
8) Writing Box - If your house has kids, you need one of these. You can
find shoe box sized plastic containers with lids from your local dollar
store. Stock the box with crayons, markers, colored pencils, small plain
paper pads, stickers, stencils, a pencil sharpener and an eraser. This
box should be kept stocked so that when needed, everything will be at
your fingertips. Explain to children that this is a "special" writing
box and that everything that comes out, must go back in for the next
time they want to get creative.
9) Picnic Indoors - Pack a basket with paper plates, utensils and cups.
Make sandwiches, pack fresh fruit, pretzels, a thermos of juice, and
yogurt for dessert. Spread a blanket on the living room floor and serve
a picnic lunch indoors! Add to the fun by dressing in summer clothes or
beach attire. Be sure to wear your sunglasses and your sunscreen!
10) Paper Bag Puppets - The easiest form of this requires only a paper
lunch bag and crayons or markers. Simply draw on a face and you have a
puppet! To make the characters more elaborate, decorate with yarn for
hair, buttons for eyes, and glitter for cheeks. Ribbon can be added to
the hair or made into a bow tie for the "neck". Draw on eyelashes and
lips with colorful markers.
11) Collages - Save old magazines and catalogs and store them in a
cabinet just for this purpose. Have the kids cut out pictures and paste
them onto a piece of cardboard or construction paper. You can let them
cut out whatever they want, or assign each child a letter of the
alphabet or a theme to go by for a more challenging project. Keep a
trash can close by for the scraps and be sure to keep a stock of glue
sticks on hand!
12) Coloring Pasta - Place a handful of dry, uncooked pasta, such as
ziti, rotini or farfelle, into a plastic zipper baggie. Add a tablespoon
of white vinegar and 2-3 drops of food coloring. Close the baggie and
have the kids shake the bag until the pasta is completely colored.
Spread out onto a paper plate or paper towel and allow to dry. Use
several baggies to create different colors. Once the pasta is dry, kids
can use yarn to string together pieces to make necklaces and bracelets,
or glue them to paper plates or construction paper to create a work of
art.
13) Shadowboxes - Paint the inside of a shoebox with black or dark blue
poster or acrylic paint. If you don't have any paint handy, you can glue
black construction paper inside the box. Using white crayons or
stickers, create a nighttime scene with stars and the moon on the black
background. You can use small plastic toys to create a scene inside your
shadowbox, or make your own with construction paper and glue. Cut out
small pictures from coloring books and color and adhere to your scene.
Hang a spaceship or shooting star with a piece of string and glue.
14) Indoor Hopscotch - If you have a cement basement floor, use chalk to
draw out a hopscotch board. When you are finished playing, the chalk
will wash off with a mop and warm water.
15) Family Memory Game - Play a family memory game with your kids by
asking questions like "What is Grandpa's first name?" and "Who is
married to Aunt Tammy?" Look through old photo albums and see if kids
can guess who is who in each picture.
16) Hot Beanie - This variation of the old favorite "Hot Potato" uses a
beanie type toy. Have everyone sit in a circle and toss the beanie from
one person to another, never knowing where it's going to end up.
17) Name That Tune - Hum tunes from popular songs and see who can guess
it first. Whoever guesses correctly becomes the next "hummer".
18) Create a Story - You can do this out loud or have kids write their
entries on paper. Someone starts the story with "Once upon a time there
lived a...", that person chooses the character and setting (princess in
a far away land). The next child tells the next part of the story, and
so on around the room, the story changing with each new addition.
19) Never Ending Adjectives - Ask your child to point out an object,
then takes turns coming up with adjectives for that object. For example,
you may say "a ball", your child would say "a big ball". The game might
continue with "a big round ball", "a big round bouncing ball", "a big
round bouncing white ball" and end with "a big round bouncing white
beach ball".
20) Sardines (Reverse Hide-n-Seek) - One child is the hider, everyone
else is a seeker. The hider hides while the seekers seek. However, when
a seeker finds the hider, instead of pointing him out, he joins him in
the hiding place. Soon, the children will all be stuffed in one place,
like a box of sardines! The first child to find the hider gets to hide
next.
About the Author
Amanda Formaro is the crafty, entrepreneurial mother of four children.
While Amanda's professional background was originally in finance, she
chose to stay home to raise her family after her third child was born.
Amanda enjoys tole painting, crafting with her kids, walking her dogs
and working on her website
FamilyCorner.com Magazine.
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