Whether it is a rainy day or the children will be home all week for the holidays, it is important to always have a few ideas in mind for some enjoyable ways to spend time indoors as a family. Children love creative activities that also incorporate their physical skills. Therefore, indoor activities should always involve multiple senses as well as opportunities for children to develop and show off their new skills while participating in an activity that everyone can enjoy as a family. For this reason, the following list of activities is provided to help families to get started on having some fun indoors.
Scavenger Hunt
Many times, a scavenger hunt will be held outside. However, there are also many places to scavenge for items in a home. Scavenger hunts should always include a list of items that a person may find. This can help to encourage reading skills in a way that will be fun for kids. For children who cannot read yet, a scavenger list can include pictures, or they can be paired up with an older child.
Sculpting
Arts and crafts activities are always a hit with children. They also love to get messy. For this reason, creating sculptures can be a great indoor activity. A variety of mediums can be used for sculpting such as paper mache, clay and bars of soap. The sculptures can also be abstract or the children can select an object to replicate. Self-portrait sculptures are always a lot of fun.
Homemade Play Dough
By using a few simple ingredients, such as flour and salt, simple dough can be created for children to use to make a variety of objects. Food coloring can be added to homemade play dough to create a variety of different colors. Additionally, glitter, scents and sand can be added to the dough in order to create a sensory experience that involves touch and smell.
Pretend Play
Children love to recreate events and act out scenarios through pretend play. Parents can help to facilitate this type of play by helping children to set up a scene for their dramatic play. For example, plastic food items and a toy shopping cart can be used to set up a pretend grocery store. Additionally, cars and trucks can be used to create a city scene.
Grow a Garden
In addition to arts and crafts, children also love to participate in science activities that allow them to experiment and to explore nature. Therefore, growing an indoor garden can be a great activity that allows children to learn more about plants. Small children can start out by simply growing a small grass garden while older children can expand their skills to include a windowsill herb garden or even a small indoor flower.
Make a Game
Every child has a favorite board game. However, they can become boring when they are played over and over again. For this reason, children and parents can create their own games using some simple materials. For example, a memory matching game can be created by using photographs or pictures cut from a magazine. These can be glued to card stock and even laminated for durability. Additionally, board games can be created by drawing on poster board and using simple household items for markers.
Shadow Hunting
Indoor lighting can often create some interesting shadows. Children and their parents can explore how different types of lighting can alter shadows of objects throughout the house. Additionally, kids can trace the outlines of the shadows that they find in order to create a shadow collection. To enhance the fun, each child can be given an individual flashlight with which to make shadows using various objects around the home.
Construct a Castle
Building an enormous castle can be a great way to spend an entire afternoon. Because children love to build enormous structures, it can be helpful to use plastic cups, cardboard boxes and other lightweight objects. These can be collected over time and then put to good use when boredom strikes indoors. It can be interesting to see what types of buildings children can plan using a few cups and boxes.
Spending time together as a family indoors can be an enjoyable moment for any family. For this reason, planning fun and exciting activities should be on the top of every parent’s to-do list before a planned holiday or weekend. In order to have the most fun, a combination of activities should be planned that can engage a child’s attention while also providing them with a way to continue to practice their developing skills while creating something new.