Activities for Kids at Home

What am I going to do with these kids tomorrow? I have asked myself this question more times than I can count since March. Late at night when I can’t sleep, I search the internet for ideas. I have found some duds, but I have found some WINNERS that the kids love. I’m only going to share the winners with you. Haha! I’ll spare you from the disaster that required me to clean all of my patio furniture and deck. 

Sometimes I am exhausted and can’t muster up the energy to do anything on this list, and that’s OK. Save it for a day when you are feeling up to it! 

List of Activities

• Sparkly Explosion — This was a big hit. I listed it first because it was probably our favorite! I would describe this like a volcano. You are making a reaction with the baking soda and vinegar that bubbles over the vase. Supplies needed: pan (to contain the mess), small vase, baking soda, white vinegar, food coloring, glitter (optional).
• What Cleans an Old Penny? — My kids really enjoyed guessing which solution they thought would clean the penny. Spoiler alert: one kid was right and one kid was wrong!
• Soap Silly Putty — OK, admittedly I wasn’t so sure about this one at first, but you have to stick with it. Keep on mixing and it will get there to the perfect, non-sticky putty! Anything my kids can measure and mix is a go, so this one was a win!
• Cloud Dough — Here’s another fun “dough” recipe we enjoyed to mix up on a different day!
• Colored Cloud Dough — And a third dough recipe! This cloud dough has a different consistency than the above recipes. The kids had a lot of fun making the different colors. This one makes a much bigger mess, so I recommend this be an outside activity! I used vegetable oil for the oil. To make it different colors, the creator split up the dough and grated different color chalk in to it. Then mix!

• Make-your-own Crayons — Don’t throw away your broken crayons! Here is a fun way to recycle them! You can use a large or small muffin pan. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Take all of the paper off of the crayons. Place the broken crayons in the muffin tin (4-5/large, 2-3/mini). Bake for 8 minutes (all crayons should be melted). Let cool for 30 minutes. They will pop right out!

All of these activities require supervision, but the kids will enjoy something new! I bet you have most of the ingredients in your house right now to do most of the above activities. My 4-year-old asks to do “science” everyday, so look for Part 2 to come out son!

And just in case you need to hear it today, you’re doing a great job!

Stay well,

Angie