Whether it’s too hot to play outside, or current government orders are keeping you confined to the house, here are 10 things to do with your family at home! We list some of our personal favorites, plus give some ideas that are on our own list to try this next month. Look for list of 10 more later in April. Stay safe and stay healthy!
- Keep in touch with friends and family. Online video chatting is all the rage right now! Options range from Skype, FaceTime, Facebook Messenger, or Zoom. We connect weekly with the grandparents, and have loved chatting with friends we miss in town, as well as far away. Add to the experience by baking cookies “together”, reading stories, exercising, or having a talent show!
- Learn the play the piano. Even if you have just a keyboard, dust it off and learn to play a tune or two! Hoffman Academy has free online lessons for all ages and abilities, with easy to follow instructions. Or find YouTube instructions for other instruments you might have in the home.
- Dive in to your family history. We’ve used Ancestory for years, and have lately enjoyed going deeper in to some new information for the family tree. On that note, while you’re connecting more with older family members, ask them for a story or two from their childhood and write/record it. Maybe they know some details of your family tree as well!
- Have a backyard campout. Set up the tent and have hot dogs and s’mores around a fire. Then snuggle in a sleeping bag and tell stories by flashlight. Our kids love this activity! It’s an easy set up, without the prep of a weekend camping trip.
- Sort through boxes of old photos. We all have the shoebox collections in the closet. Make it a family event and relive memories. Same can be done with digital photos. Organize those hundreds (thousands?) of baby photos and get them printed. We like Chatbooks for quick albums, and Persnickety Prints for photo printing. Project Life is another fun option, especially for making digital (app based) scrapbook pages.
- Dig out the games and puzzles! We recently did a puzzle a day challenge for the kids (100 pieces and under), and now have the card games out. We might not be to Monopoly yet, but Ticket to Ride and Sleeping Queens are our current favs! We also love Drawful 2 online from Jackbox TV.
- Spend some time outdoors. Even during the hot months, we aim for 30 minutes outside every day. This could include swimming, playing in the sandbox, riding bike, sidewalk chalk time, and so much more. Most days we’re outside at least 2 hours every day. You can find a list of our favorite outdoor toys and such here!
- Life skills. This will look different for different ages. But now is the time to start the kids learning how to do their own laundry, cleaning the bathroom, how to balance a checkbook, change the car oil, mow the lawn, or even how to cook and bake! There are so many tutorials online, especially on YouTube.
- Declutter. We’ve been focusing on our garage and closets this month and it’s been so freeing to get rid of stuff that has been accumulating for years! Have the kids join in by downsizing their toy collection to pass along to Goodwill or local shelters. Becoming Minimalist is one of our favorites for inspiration.
- Pinterest is the motherlode for bringing something new to the table! Check out our themed boards, including at home Olympic ideas, holidays, birthday parties, teaching at home, Lego challenges, and more.
Browse other at home themed blog posts:
12 Indoor Activities for Kids
Temporary Homeschooling and How to Make it Work
Social Distance and Home Party Ideas
