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!
Ultimate Clue Path (Quarantine Edition)
I have set up a simple version of this game, called Clue Path in the past, but this Ultimate version turned out to be a nice alternative. Fewer clues, but more drawn out, and less of a race. Quite nice for a rainy Saturday morning. Basically, it's linked activities,...
Tickets to the Show
Perfect Friday activity. A good incentive to the kids to clean their rooms (or whatever task), yields some downtime for you, and--printable included! I have to say that this was my husband's idea. The build-up and presentation is key. I mean, they were so excited...
Woodland Critters Bookmarks
I'm not gonna lie, this was a quick Google find today. So many activities out there involving materials I don't have...or paint. (Are those people crazy?) This one had a few printables, which I printed on a black and white printer and made the kids color (hey, ink is...
Digital Photo Scavenger Hunt (Indoor)
Printable included! Give kids your old point-and-shoot digital cameras a list of items to find. You will have to adapt to your house. Be as specific as your kids can handle. Draw pictures next to words for non-readers. Easily switchable to outdoors. Print this list of...
Food with Eyes
Draw food. Add eyes. We found a bag of googly eyes, and I've also used eye stickers from Michael's in the past...in a pinch you could just draw eyes with marker and cut them out for the kids to stick on. Eyes make any food look cute.
Cherry Blossom Tree
Paint, draw or print out a tree branch. Glue tissue paper bunches on for the flowers. This idea is from Pink Stripey Socks' website... Check them out! Good job! This find saved you the frustration of hearing your kids complain that they can't draw a tree! Now, while...
Stick Animals
Draw and label as many stick animals as you can think of. They should have stick legs.
Trash Monster
Collect materials (toilet paper tubes, tape, newspaper, cans, bottle caps, corks…) and supplies (tape, glue, scissors, string...) and make a trash monster! Give it a name, write a few sentences about it, and draw its portrait.
Digital Photo Scavenger Hunt (Outdoor)
Give kids your old point-and-shoot digital cameras and send them outside with a list of items to find. You will have to adapt to your area. Examples: a tall tree, funny face, shadow, stick, leaf, flower. Be as specific as your kids can handle. Draw pictures next to...
Homemade Puffy Paint
Mix 1 cup flour, 3 teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt. Add water until you have a lump-free batter the consistency of pancake batter. You will need thick paper (we used watercolor paper) that fits in your microwave. With 3 kids, I used 3 cups. There's enough...
God’s Eye Turtles
Assemble materials. Body: You will need something for the turtle body. We had pipe cleaners. You could also use Popsicle sticks, straws, twigs. Shell: Yarn Extras: I had some wooden beads we used for the head and feet. Depending on the body material, you could just...
Design a Donut
On a sheet of paper, draw the most delicious donut. Then, top with a little glue, and some real sprinkles.
Build a Boat
Materials: Any/all... foil, paper, straws, plastic plates, cups, tape, baggies Challenges: See who can build a boat that floats in the baby pool. See whose can hold the most marbles or gravel or crayons.
Make an Oven
You need a hot, sunny day for this one. The challenge is to make an oven you can set out in the sun. Materials: box/cardboard, tape, foil, you can throw in some plastic wrap, or use those throw-away plastic containers. Lesson: Talk about heat of the sun, reflection,...
Poetry Snack Book
I really could tack “snack” onto anything and it would boost the appeal with my kids x10. So I do. A few years ago when I did this activity, I stapled paper together and had the kids write poems of different types. Then we shared while eating snacks. More recently, as...
Wash My Car
This one was from summer break when it was much warmer. I am not particular about the ol’ minivan. My husband would never allow this, but I set them up in swim suits and a bucket of soapy water and let them have at it. As long as they don’t drop the sponges on the...
Painting Rocks
Prep: Acrylic craft paint in egg cartons, jars with brushes and water. Directions: Put on old clothes. Go outside. Find rocks and paint them. Rules: Paint only rocks. All painted rocks will forever live outside. Success (in terms of hours): This was a very successful...
Write and Illustrate a Story
Prep: Staple some paper together. Directions: Write and illustrate a story. True Story: Admittedly, this one didn’t really grab them until I said, “and then at 3:00, we will meet in the backyard for ice cream and each person gets a turn to read his/her story and tell...
Clue Path
The Rules: How I explain it to the kids: On each card, there is a clue or question. The answer will reveal the location of the next card. Go to that location and get the next card...and you keep going. At the end, there's a prize/snack. If you see other cards along...
Designer Boots
Materials: 1 piece of paper scissors crayons/markers Directions: Cut out a boot Decorate it Reviews: "It's surprisingly fun to decorate a boot!" "I cut off the heel since I didn't want high heel boots."