50 Things To Do with Kids at Home | Fun Indoor Activities for Kids
A long list of things to do with kids at home including indoor kids activities, creative arts & crafts, science and learning activities, games and family fun!
“Mum, I’m bored”… That’s what many mums are hearing around the world right now! Whether you are stuck at home on a rainy day, or just looking for some new activities for kids, this long list of things to do with the kids at home will give you some fun indoor kids activity ideas.
You will find some indoor activities for kids including games, arts & crafts, and other creative activities. We have also included a small list of things to do at home in the backyard, so if the weather picks up, you can head outside for a bit. Here are some activities for kids that you can also join in to do at home.
50 Things To Do With Kids At Home with Kids
As a former teacher and mother of young kids myself, I have lots of experience with kids activities and want to share my favourites. Here is a list of kids activity ideas and things to do with kids at home when you are stuck inside.
Indoor Kids Activities at Home
Lets kick off with some fun indoor activities for kids to do at home, then we can get to the outdoor kids activities!
1. Read books together
Read books from your home library, see our list of the BEST BOOK SETS FOR KIDS, or check out these FREE ONLINE BOOKS FOR KIDS which have audio. These are great for if you are working from home, cooking, or busy in general, because even if kids can’t read, they can listen to the story online for free. Some local libraries deliver too so make sure to ask if you can’t get there.
For kids who don’t particularly like reading books, print off these would you rather questions which may motivate them.
2. Play board games
Board games are always a fun thing to do at home with kids depending on their ages and there are plenty to choose from.
Check out our list of educational BOARD GAMES FOR KIDS that start from 3 years and up. Some are great to do at home, and some the kids can play independently. Or check out our FUN FAMILY GAMES post for other ideas.
3. Make a magic potion or do a science experiment
This is a great indoor activity for kids to do at home but also a fun summer kids activity too. Grab a few bowls of ingredients such as water, milk, food die, baking soda, essential oils etc. Give them spoons and let them make up their own little potions.
You can also do this with things such as flour, dry lentils and beans, pasta etc. Great kids activity to do at home. For older ones why not try out some of our SIMPLE SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS FOR KIDS.
4. Make some origami
Another creative indoor activity for kids is making origami. This paper folding art has been around for centuries and there are plenty of online resources where you can find instructions for kids to get creative. We have rounded up some fantastic video tutorials perfect for beginners, check out our post EASY ORIGAMI FOR KIDS
5. Cook a meal or bake some cake or cookies
Cooking of baking together is a fun indoor activity for kids no matter what age. A weekly cook up also makes a great tradition for families too. Kids can help stir, use cookie cutters, and of course taste test. If you choose an easy recipe you can get older kids to do most of the work while you supervise. THIS SITE has a great range of kid friendly recipes and things you can do at home with kids.
6. Online Art Lessons
Kids love to draw pictures or colour in and it makes a good fun activity for the kids. Make sure you always have a couple of colouring books at home, as well as some plain printer paper and your set. If you have older kids, try some online drawing lessons from the Art for Kids Hub. Check their channel below, there are tones of different pictures to draw. They are super fun and easy for kids to follow. Find here some other fun Youtube channels for learning.
7. Put together a puzzle
Puzzles are a really fun activity for kids. They give something kids to concentrate on for a period of time. For little ones, set them up with some wooden puzzles. For older ones, challenge them with a 50 piece puzzle and set the timer up. We love the ravensburger puzzles, they have ages on the boxes and there is something for all ages.
8. Dance or Exercise
When you have been cooped up indoors all day, kids need something to wear them out. Check out our post: EXERCISES FOR KIDS AT HOME for some fun ideas to get active.
Dancing around to music is one of the best indoor activity for kids to do at home and get them moving. Pop on your favourite songs or playlist and get them dancing and jumping around for a while.
For little ones, you may also want to sing along to some nursery rhymes, check our list of the most popular NURSERY RHYMES FOR KIDS.
9. Arts and Crafts out of recycled home materials
Everyone has a few cereal boxes and toilet paper rolls around the house. Don’t throw them in the recycle bin, keep them to use for arts and crafts. Make a rocket out of toilet paper roles, make a dinosaur or a robot out of a cereal box. Paint, draw, paste. It is such a great way for kids to get creative and a fun indoor activity for kids to do at home.
10. Build some DUPLO or LEGO
If you have any, LEGO is one of the easiest things to do at home with kids. Even without an instruction kit, kids can get creative on their own. If you don’t have LEGO, any kind of building or construction activity for the kids will get their creative sparks going.
11. Have an indoor picnic
Such a fun thing to do at home with kids. Set up a picnic mat in the lounge room and make a picnic like you would if you were outside at the park. Get some cushions, and decorate, the kids will love it. You can prepare the food if you have little ones, but a great activity for kids to do is preparing the platter themselves, let them get creative.
12. Do some online learning
If you want to get the kids caught up with some academic work, there are some great sites with online learning activities. Check out this list of ONLINE LEARNING WEBSITES for kids.
13. Make an obstacle course
If you have a large living area a fun indoor activity for kids at home is to make an indoor obstacle course using household items. This activity is best for younger children as they are smaller. For an older kids activity at home you may need to head out into the backyard for more space.
14. Make a race track using masking tape
Have a little one who loves cars? You can easily make a DIY racing track in your living room or hallway using masking tape. There is lots of fun to me made racing cars around, and it is an easy clean up too.
15. Make a home cinema with popcorn and movies
If you can’t go to the movies, a fun activity for kids at home can be making your own cinema. Close the blinds, turn off the lights, make some popcorn and put a film on and there you are. See our movie lists with more to come.
16. Do a yoga class on YouTube
If you can’t go outside, another way to have the kids exercise is do some yoga. There are some fantastic Yoga For Kids Videos on You Tube including our favourite, Cosmic Yoga which you can watch free online. Make it a daily routine and help kids become stronger, calmer, and wiser. It is one of the best exercises for kids to do at home. We also have a whole list of mindfulness activities for kids too that you may like.
17. Build a cubby house or fairy house
This is always a favourite for my kids, even as they get older. Your kitchen table, or chairs can easily be turned into a cubby or fairy house and kids will have a ball. Use a sheet or a large blanket to put over the top and get the kids to decorate underneath how they like. Bring in the superheros and create a bat cave or invite the dolls and fairies and have a tea party.
18. Try Michelangelo drawing under a table
This is a really unique indoor activity for kids to do at home. Stick a piece of paper under a chair and have your child lay underneath. Have them try draw a picture upside down and see how it turns out. Makes a great art and history lesson too for older kids.
19. Make friendship bracelets
For this kids activity you just need some different coloured wool. Cut a few pieces to the same size but different colours and tie the end. Put the tied end underneath a heavy book or chair and start designing. You can plait, or just tie knots. See how many different designs you can create.
20. Play Dress Up
If you have costumes, great, get them out. But even if you don’t just let the kids get creative with their own clothes to come up with outfits for different themes. You never know what you can find in your own wardrobe. Make a game of it, dress ups is always a fun activity for kids at home.
21. Build a house with a deck of cards
This is such an easy indoor kids activity for those who need a challenge. All you need is a deck of cards. Put them together in triangles and try to build them up into the form of a house. This is a really good activity for kids to build resilience because it isn’t easy and takes time to perfect. See how many levels you can get.
22. Have a pamper day
Get out the hair masks, face masks brushes and creams and have a pamper day. Just like grown ups would do at the day spa, kids can have fun doing it too. This is a great activity for the whole family.
23. Blow up some balloons and play balloon tennis
This is a great indoor activity for kids to do at home that will get them moving. All you need is a couple of blown up balloons to balloon tennis with your hands or even just see how long you can keep the balloons off the floor. No need to worry about things getting broken as balloons are light, so that’s a win.
24. Write a story or make a Journal
There are so many benefits of journaling and story writing for kids. For older kids they can do this one independently, for little ones you can do it together. Check out our post on Journaling for kids with lots of ideas on how to get started.
For stories, start with choosing your characters, then choose your setting, and then go from there. Or use some of our Writing Prompts for Kids for some ideas. It is a great kids activity to do at home, and the best thing is, you can read it over and over.
25. Indoor treasure hunt
Every kid loves a good treasure hunt and it is an easy indoor activity for kids that you can prepare on the spot. Just write a list of items on a piece of paper, (or draw them for younger kids who can’t yet read), then let them go exploring the house to find them. Try our At Home scavenger hunt printable to do inside with kids.
26. Draw your body on butchers’ paper
My kids and students used to love this one. If you have a long roll of paper a body drawing is a fun activity to do at home with kids. Have your child lay down on the paper while you or a sibling draw around them. Once you have the outline, the kids can fill in the body with all the body parts. This is a great indoor activity for kids that can take a while, so you can finish it over a couple of days.
27. Make paper planes and see how far they can fly
Such a simple easy activity for kids to do at home that will keep them occupied for a while. Make some paper planes and let them fly around the house. See who’s plane can go the furthest.
28. Make a time capsule to open in years to come
Decorate a box that you can fill with items from today such as a newspaper clippings, a magazine, shopping catalogue with prices etc. Then write some predictions on a piece of paper about how life will be in X years’ time. You could do 5 years, 10 years or longer. Put it away in a safe place to open in the future.
29. Draw or paint a self-portrait with a mirror
For this activity you need some paper, a pencil and a mirror. Have the kids look at themselves in the mirror and draw a self-portrait. It doesn’t need to be perfect, but it’s great to see how creative kids can get.
30. Thread pasta onto wool or pipe cleaners
Threading pasta is a great activity to do at home to work on kids fine motor skills. You can use some wool or pipe cleaners. Colour or die the pasta first to make it more pretty and you can make a necklace or some other jewellery. You can also use some playdough to go with it, simply place the pipe cleaners into the playdough and thread the pasta this way, great for little ones! Here is a great playdough recipe if you need one.
31. Make music using pots and pans
This is quite a loud activity for kids to do at home so be prepared. They will love it though. Just grab your wooden spoons and spatulas, as well as your pots, pans or containers. You now have a drum kit and kids can make their own beats.
32. Have a living room disco party
Another loud indoor activity for kids that makes noise. Turn the lights off and leave on a small lamp. If you have a disco ball even better. Get the kids to dress up and dance like it’s a party.
33. Make greeting cards
Have a birthday coming up, or a special occasion? Get the kids to make some greeting cards. Get the arts and crafts out, stickers, pom poms, or even just cut up some coloured paper and do some pasting. It is a great way to show kids appreciation and teach them to be kind. Check out our whole list of KINDNESS ACTIVITIES.
34. Make sock puppets
This is a fun activity for kids at home that fun and easy. Grab some old socks, and decorate them to make puppets. If you have some plastic eyeballs you can use those, or some cut up paper will also do. If they are light coloured socks you can use markers to draw.
35. Create a magic show
Find a hat, make a wand out of some recycled cardboard and create a magic show. For younger kids you can do it together. For older ones, have the kids go off and practice so it can be a surprise for the parents.
36. Try on mum or dad’s clothes and have a photo shoot
Kids love to do things they are usually not supposed to do. So, if you give them access to your clothes, shoes, and accessories they will love it. Even better, have a photoshoot afterwards and let them see the photos. Such and easy indoor activity for kids to do at home when you are out of ideas.
37. Make a paper chain
Making paper chains is a super easy kids activity to do at home or wherever. All you need is some coloured paper to cut up into strips and some glue to stick the ends together.
38. Write a poem or song
Writing poems is a great way for kids to learn rhyming words. Try to write a poem or even a song together and then recite it for an audience.
39. Do mummy’s hair and make up
A little patience is needed for this activity. Mum is the client and the kids are the hairdressers and make up artists. Let the kids get creative making mummy beautiful!
40. Organise the playroom/bedroom
If you are out of ideas of things to do at home with the kids, have them help you organise their toys. Make sure that every toy or activity has it’s place. Check if there is any they can give away or donate that they don’t use anymore. This is a great activity to get the kids to help with at home, because if they don’t like it they might not complain so much that they are bored next time!
Things to do at Home with Kids in the Backyard
If you have a backyard and it’s ok to go outside, here are some fun things to do at home with the kids outside. Read more: Fun backyard Games.
41. Make a mud kitchen
If you are ok with the kids getting muddy and dirty, a mud kitchen is a great sensory activity for kids and one of the best things to do at home with kids in the backyard. Get the buckets and spades out and cook up some muddy creations.
42. Do some gardening
Planting some seeds or plants is another fun outdoor activity to do at home. Have the kids be responsible for their pot with their plant. They need to water it each day to watch it grow. We have a whole list of fun GARDENING ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS. Also check out these EASY TO GROW VEGETABLES FOR KIDS.
43. Scavenger hunt
Similar to the indoor activity we mentioned, an outdoor scavenger hunt is a fun activity for kids to do at home. Write or draw a list of things for kids to find, and send them outside to find them. If you have a printer check out our free themed SCAVENGER HUNT LISTS that you can print out.
44. Party games
Have a party game day where kids can have competitions such as an egg and spoon race or a three legged race. This is a fun idea not only for kids, but for the whole family too. Another good one is putting the ball between their legs and running around trying not to drop it. So many fun ideas. Check out our whole list of PARTY GAMES FOR KIDS.
45. Search for bugs and insects
Head out to the backyard and search for bugs. Of course, be careful of spiders, but look for lady bugs, crickets, snails, and other insects. Have the kids make a list of what they find, or even draw what they see.
46. Draw with chalk
Drawing with chalk is such a great activity for kids at home because it goes away with water. Let the kids draw on the cement outside, or even on the fence. When it’s all done just wash it off with the hose.
47. Paint the fence with water
Such an easy activity for kids that will keep them entertained for ages. Fill a bucket with water and give them a paint brush. Let them “paint” the fence with water! Kids get to get “messy” with no real mess! It makes a great kids activity to do in warmer weather, make sure to see our other SUMMER ACTIVITIES.
48. Create some shadow drawings
If it is a sunny day get outside with a piece of paper and some animals from the toy box. Put the animals at the top of the paper and make sure the kids are facing in a position where the shadow of the animal lands on the paper. Kids can then draw the animals by tracing around.
49. Outdoor cinema
If you can bring the TV outside, or even the IPAD, an outdoor cinema is always fun, and something different. When it gets dark, bring out the big pillows, cushions and blankets, prepare some snacks and popcorn, and the kids can watch their favourite films outside.
50. Have a camp out
If you have a tent, a fun thing to do at home is camp outside in the backyard with the kids one night just like you would in the bush. Bring out the sleeping bags, pillows and a nightlight. Tell stories and sleep until the morning.
Indoor Kids Activities to do at Home
We hope this list of things to do at home with kids is enough to keep you occupied day after day, week after week. Please do let us know of any other indoor activities to do with kids and we can add them to the list!
Looking for more activities to do with the kids? Check out these posts:
See our category KIDS ACTIVITIES or follow Mum’s Little Explorers on FACEBOOK.
