Newest Activity
Halloween Parade: Our Alternative to Trick-or-Treating
We nixed trick-or-treating because of covid, but the kids will wanted to dress up and to get...
About This Site
Hello! I’m Rachel. I work full-time from home normally, but with schools and daycare closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, all three kids are now home, too. I’ve put this site together to share some of the activities they have enjoyed, and that have occupied their time while I am working and we are all at home. Some are art or creative activities and a few I have also tagged as educational. I hope these ideas help you. Good luck and hang in there, everyone.
More Activities!
Disney+ Charades
Rather than writing movie titles (and then having the problem of a non-reader), I opened up the Disney+ app and had the kid pick a movie to act out. The older kids got the idea of "two words" ... "first word..." and doing it traditional charades-style, and the little...
Hot Potato & Freeze Dance
Maddie organized a game night, and Hot Potato was one of the games. We used a very real-looking potato from this Melissa & Doug set and played this song (search "salsa freeze dance") on YouTube (also embedded below), which has built-in stops so everyone can play....
Pin the Tail on the Donkey
Maddie drew the donkey and a few little tails, but you could start this with a craft session: each kid designs a tail, or they all draw a part of the donkey. You know the game--blindfold, spin if you want, try to get the tail on the donkey. We played a few rounds and...
Treasure Vessel for Found Objects
I am happy to have guest video content for this next post! My good friend and local artist, Wendy Sittner, originally created this tutorial video for the Urban Adventure Squad, a non-profit that provides outdoors-based hands-on learning programs for schoolchildren in...
Flat Kids
I bought a roll of 24" wide white kraft butcher paper long ago on Amazon and we still have it. It was 900 feet. We have made many banners and wrapped many gifts. Today, I rolled it out and traced each kid, then their job was to color themselves in, and cut out, if...
Toddler Card Games
Annika just turned 4 and can count and recognize some numbers. These are easy games with a standard deck of cards. Game 1: Speedy Card Match Pick one suit and lay out the letter cards in one row and the number cards in row 2. Turn the rest of the cards face down in a...
Scratch Off Game
Maddie made this one for Annika... You could put anything on the paper to be revealed. Maddie drew a treasure map. You could do a matching activity, scavenger hunt... So, draw up your activity, then cover the paper with packing tape. Paint it with a mixture of 2...
Window Cling Art
Tape a piece of Glad Press n Seal wrap to a window, with the tacky side facing out. Stick stuff to it! Tissue paper works well. You can draw on it to start things off. I drew a tree for Annika to decorate.
Ice Discovery
Add small toys to an ice cube tray, add water and freeze. When frozen, let kids pour warm water over the cubes to uncover the treasures.
Chore Chart
Maddie came up with this project and made a chart for Annika. Lace a piece of thick paper with string or ribbon, adding a bead for every visible line. Write in chores or activities. Slide the bead over when each is done.
Old Fashioned Construction Paper Crafts
Old fashioned glue and construction paper day! Here are a few things we did, but there are a thousand site that come up when you Google 'construction paper crafts' so I'll let you have a go at that. I do have a few good supplies I found. Supplies: Paper: Crayola's 240...
Connection
We first tried to call this game Boomerang, but Connection is what stuck. This is just a talking game we made up...we play in the car, waiting rooms, dinner table... one person starts with a random word (a toddler is a great random word generator) and you take turns...
Master Class
Here's how I explained it to the kids: Today's project is to develop and run your own master class. Think of something to teach the other kids then teach it. You have 15 minutes to go think of the plan and gather materials. When it's your turn, you will show everyone...
Bucket Fishing
Fill a bucket or plastic bin with water and bath toys. Let the kids use a net to catch the floating toys. Blindfold older kids.
Paper Egg Decorating
Eggs are a little scarce and I honestly didn't want that many hard-boiled eggs, so we didn't dye them this Easter. Instead, my mom sent over 3 sheets of paper with eggs drawn on them. They colored and used tissue paper to decorate. Sort of lame, but I think it...
City of Boxes
I kept all our cereal, cracker, granola bar boxes, as well as a few plastic jars and TP rolls for the past few weeks. The kids then were given the boxes, along with glue, paper, scissors, tape, and crayons and told to make a town. I told them to be judicious with my...
The Die Game
This game game to us from Ms. Erin, Annika's teacher. Totally flexible and adaptable to any location or age. Get a die, fill out the chart with rules for what to do for each number. Kids take turns rolling the die and doing whatever you have written next to each...
Paint-a-Stump
To the forest, kids! We're painting stumps today. Acrylic paint in an egg carton. Jar of water. Big brushes. Lots of stumps out there in the woods, get started, kids!
Design a Mermaid Tail
Print the mermaid tail and make it fancy. Or draw it, that will work too. Print a Mermaid Tail Mermaid tails are a little hard to draw. I know, because I drew this one. It's not too svelte, but I went for maximum coloring area. Print a school of them!
Design a T-shirt
Draw a t-shirt. Design it. Cut it out. Print a Shirt I know it's easy to draw a shirt, but this way, you don't have to! Print a few of them. Go pick up that book and take some deep breaths while the kids argue about crayons.