The pandemic has been challenging in countless ways for everyone, but those with kids at home face a different kind of uphill battle. The balance between work and home life was always tough to juggle, and working remotely while schools close, then open, then close again has been exhausting.
Who couldn’t use some fun, safe, and productive ideas for activities you can do with your kids from home? Read below for some inspiration.
Classic Coloring Books
Honestly, can you get more basic than this? Is this really the best way to tap into the more traditional activities for children? Besides, what child hasn’t done some coloring in their free time? In fact, you’re not really going to spend much money, thanks to the fact that there are plenty of free coloring pages for kids online that you can print out (or even have them color digitally, too). But overall, just going back to the basics for entertainment is utterly amazing.
Online Coding Classes
Kids as young as six or seven can learn to code using languages that professionals use to build video games, apps, computer programs, and more. From introductory languages like Python to Java, C#, and C++, your child will get an inside perspective on computers and technology when they start from a young age.
The best online coding programs teach kids who to code video games, so they’re motivated to take the class. If you think your child enjoys playing games, just see how much fun they have coding them!
Thankfully, all you need to become a coder from home is the same equipment you’ve already been using throughout the pandemic to keep in touch with people, like a computer, microphone, and a camera.
Jigsaw Puzzles
Completing a jigsaw puzzle is more fun than you may think! It’s a classic rainy-day activity that harkens back to a time before technology gave us so many screens.
Slow things down a bit and finished a fun puzzle with your kids. Choose a puzzle that is suitable for your child — you don’t want to do a 2,000-piece jigsaw puzzle with a toddler, so pick one that’s easy and challenging enough, and choose a puzzle with a fun theme, like their favourite food or movie characters.
Art Party
When a child is creating art, it’s always a masterpiece. Children need to learn to enjoy the creative process and feel what it’s like to see their work and vision materialize into a finished product.
There are practical skills kids can learn about drawing, like one-point perspective, but the general lessons are that creativity is fun and there are no wrong types of expression. So long as children are having fun at their art, it doesn’t matter if the work they produce ever hangs in a gallery.
Sharpen your pencil crayons and get your glue, pipe cleaners, and glitter ready. If you have a musical instrument of any sort, bring it out of the case and get the songs going! Even if it’s just a tambourine or a guitar on which you can only play three chords, approaching art with an unselfconscious attitude but a song in your heart is a valuable lesson for anyone to learn, let alone children.
By now, you may be out of new ideas for ways to keep your children busy, or you’re all just plain bored. Keep some of the above tips in mind, and you’ll stay engaged and productive until the vaccine rollout is complete.
