50 Things to With Kids &

Our Amazon Kids Favorites!

If you would have told me a week ago, a month, ago and certainly a year ago what would have transpired over the last 8 days I NEVER would have believed you. I still feel like I’m still shook over the whole COVID-19 and how it has affected so many lives, here and abroad. It honestly feels like last week Thursday was 5 years ago because so much has happened.

I will tell you something I DO KNOW: Now that the first week of “homeschooling” is over, I’m totally looking forward to relaxing. Well, I say that tongue in cheek, because I’m not sure any of us are “relaxed”. But I think it IS important to try and keep some sort of normalcy for the kids and even for ourselves.

Our schools are closed all the way until at least April 20th so we will be homeschooling during the week. I’m grateful that the weather will be picking up soon. The question is ….what to do with the kiddos outside of their “schoolwork” if they’re homeschooling… when everything (like literally everything like playgrounds) are closed?!! Playing outside is an easy fix, but the weather won’t always cooperate! I need things to do that are easy & that are at home (again, because of the regulations..and because I have 3 different age groups of children to cater to!)

I’ve rounded up some ideas from my own childhood, things that I do, and other ideas I’ve seen floated around! Most of these are free! Also, if you are looking for worksheets for your school age /Pre-K child I’ve found this site to be the best/easiest to print from. They have up to 5th grade, you don’t need to convert anything, enter you email, etc.

If you’re in the market for something new, Scroll down for some of my favorite Amazon learning games, toys, books, and other things to keep the kiddos busy.

I hope this can help all of you as #quarantinelife gets old real fast over the next few weeks!

50 Things to do with Kids

1.     Go for a walk
2.     Race each other at a local track
3.     Go on a nature walk- collect items and glue onto a sheet of paper
4.     Play hide and seek
5.     Play store- “test” them while playing having them add up what they are buying (good way to get math in!)
6.     Grab a bunch of newspapers or magazines and have them cut out things they like, glue on paper. Kind of like pinning on pinterest but they’re using their fine motor skills!
7.     Paint rocks- swear to god I used to this all the time!
8.     Have a picnic
9.     Board games (see below for some of our favorites)
10. Puzzles (linked some of ours below!)
11. Go on a bike ride
12. Play dress up
13. Read a story and draw your favorite character
14. Bake & cook. And if you’re not a baker or cooker, there are sooo many things you can make that are idiot proof, like French toast, grilled cheese, packaged brownies, etc!
15. Where’s Waldo! My kids love him.
16. Backyard obstacle course-I’m planning on doing that this week!
17. Play doh
18. Dance party…My son actually does this at school
19. Do a live virtual tool of a museum!
20. Your local zoo might be closed, but the Cincinatti zoo has a live facebook everyday at 3 PM showcasing a different animal!
21. Card games: Go Fish, Uno, etc!
22. Dominos! We used to play Dominos all the time
23. Decorate a big box (we’re all definitely ordering more from amazon!) Grab some markers, stickers, paint and have fun with it!
24. Make a washing tub (use a Rubbermaid container and grab your plastic dishes!) …or you can order this from amazon! It is a hit with kids.
25. Finger painting or painting! I love these paints the best
26. Wash the car
27. Indoor bowling- you can use water bottles or even toilet paper haha!
28. Glue beans, noodles, cloth, fruit loops into different shapes on paper. For younger ages, you can sort them via colors for color recognition.
29. Writing and drawing with shaving cream! Sounds messy but you can do it on counter or on a baking sheet!
30. Utilize the activity books you have in your house! Crossword puzzles, Word Search, etc.!
31. Color! In coloring books or a blank sheet of paper
32. Make a book. I used to make books all the time!
33. Have a movie night complete with popcorn
34. Cut out letters with scissors
35. Set up a scavenger hunt in your house or in your backyard
36. Take a newspaper or magazine pick a letter and have them search for the letter and circle it when they find it.
37. Put 5-10 things on a tray have kids look at it and then take it away and see how many they can remember.
38. Make a tent or fort with blankets
39. Play dress up
40. Play library. Let them check out books with library cards they make. Read the books.
41. Play school. Let them be the teacher.
42. Have an olympics – I did this with my whole neighborhood when I was 11 and I even had an opening and closing ceremonies haha! We had like 11 events like the “sewer dash” and “swing jump”
43. Make necklaces with macaroni.
44. Use shaving cream to practice letter writing
45. Make paper bag puppets.
46. Put on a play with parts for each kid or use puppets you made .
47. Paint leaves
48. Make a bookmark
49. Draw a self portrait
50. Yoga!

AMAZON KIDS FAVORITES

ALL ITEMS LINKED BELOW (SCROLL)

Hang in there friends!
lots of love

xo

Alex