With schools, social gatherings and even spring break itself impacted by the Convid-19 pandemic a lot of parents may suddenly have found themselves un-expectantly home with some bored children. The turning weather does provide some relief (but remember social distancing), yet filling every hour day after day may prove challenging.

Perhaps this short list of activities can help a little. Each is simple, fun and only requires things you should have already in the house, and perhaps some imagination. You will find demonstration videos for some of the ideas, and other at home games on our YouTube channel.

Let’s go!

1. Leaning Tower of Coinage – Coin Stacking Game

You’ll need:

• Lots of coins
• Oven mitts
• Timer

Find a flat surface. Place the stack of coins in the middle of the surface where everyone can reach it equally.  Each participate will use one hand and wear an oven mitt. Start the timer and the participates will stack coins to create a tower. They can only use the oven mitted hand. The person with the tallest tower after the time is up wins.

2. Enough Horsing Around – Tossing Game

You’ll need:

• A bowl
• Sorting small to toss. Marshmallows and jelly beans work best but you can also use coins.

This simple game is played the same as the basketball game horse. Players take turns tossing the small object into the bowl via various ‘trick shot’ techniques such as behind the back, eyes closed, etc. When one player makes a shot, the next (other) player must duplicate it. If they miss the get an H. The game proceeds until one player has missed enough shots to spell the word horse.

3.Let’s Hanger Out Together – Pickup Sticks Game but with Hangers

Video demonstration.

4.Sock Games

Video demonstration

5.Marshmallow City – Marshmallow Building Game

You’ll need:

• Little Marshmallows
• Toothpicks
• Timer

Start the timer. Player turn to build the tallest structure possible using only marshmallows and tooth picks. When the time is over the tallest structure wins.

6. Cut Out the Charades – Simplified Charades

You’ll need:

• Paper
• Hat
• Imagination

Write a number of topics on pieces of paper. Place them in a hat. One player secretly picks out a topic to act out. The other players try to guess what it is. You can split into teams should you have enough players. Here are some topic ideas, or you can make up your own:

• Fishing
• Dog walking
• Reading a book
• Making pizza
• Trampoline
• Yoga
• Dinosaurs
• Grocery Shopping
• Feeding a baby
• Sleeping beauty
• Lion King
• Making a snowman

7.Puppet Show

You’ll need:

• Puppets which can be made from socks, dolls, action figures or actual puppets if you have them.
• A stage: A blanket draped over two chairs works great.

Create and perform a story using the puppets. Here are a couple of themes you could use:

• A favorite family vacation
• A cow that wants to be a dancer
• Cinderella meets the three little pigs, except they mistake her as the big bad wolf
•  The first kid to land on mars

8. Story-time Theater

You’ll need:

• Favorite story, such as if you give a mouse a cookie, cat in the hat,
• Imagination

Read the story and then practice acting it out. Dress up and hold a performance once you have the acting perfected!

9. Parade

You’ll need:

• Instruments. Pots, pans, spoons etc.
• Costumes, whatever to have around the house

Dress up and parade around the house or backyard showing off your costumes and musical abilities. Please note: we are not responsible for any headaches which may result from this idea.

10. Coloring

Self-explanatory, however we will be posting some free downloadable coloring sheets soon.