30 FREE wintertime activities for quarantined kids! (Part 2)

Last time I posted 30 ideas for wintertime fun (click here to read that post).

Today’s post includes 30 more ideas for wintertime fun in quarantine – and they are ALL FREE!

1. Have a “What’s in the Box?” Challenge

• Cut holes a in box
• Choose an item to put inside
• Allow someone to reach their hand inside the box and “guess” what it is.
• Take turns finding items to hide, then guessing “What’s in the Box?”

Here’s a video my boys made of this challenge:

2. Build a Fort

• Put blankets over your dining table – or
• Use boxes, or pillows and blankets.
• Read a story in the fort!
• “Go on a Bear Hunt“
• Decorate the fort with Christmas lights!

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3. Take a ‘virtual’ tour of a museum:

Click here for museums with virtual tours

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4. Pick up a free kit from Home Depot and build something together

• Home Depot has created take home kits for kids
• Go to customer service to ask for one for each of your kids
• My 11 and 9 year old were able to follow the simple instructions and build a battleship on their own. I helped my 6 year old.
• After my boys built their boats, they played with them in the bathtub.

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5. Draw Pictures

• Set out art supplies and paper.
• Re-create a picture from their favorite book!
• Search “Step-by-step” draw on Pinterest:

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6. Play “Jump the River”

• Place two strings an inch apart.
• Have everyone “jump” across.
• Keep spreading the strings apart until everyone falls in the ‘river.’

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7. Play Ball Games

• Put a kid-friendly twist on that classic shooting game H-O-R-S-E by using smaller balls and setting up bins, buckets, and pots around the house or yard.
• Take turns making shots. If a child makes it, the next child has to try to make it from the same spot.

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8. Play “Would you Rather?”

Click here for questions!

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9. Play Hide and Seek

• Hide a stuffed animal. Say “hotter/colder” when they are getting close or further away.
• Also, try playing in the dark with a flash light.

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10. Have an Indoor Scavenger Hunt

Pinterest has lots of ideas

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11. Have a Dance Party!

• Turn on some upbeat music and ask your kids teach you dance moves. Try whatever moves they show you!! 
• Then turn on your music and teach them a dance – perhaps the Macarena?!

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12. Practice “manners!”

• Click here for 25 manners every kids should know by age 9
• Teach your kids how to act when they meet new people. Practice with them!

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13. Write letters to family or friends

• Send joy in the form of a picture or a letter!

14. Make a timeline of your child’s life

• Make a timeline of each child’s milestones.
• If possible, get some pictures from each developmental stage, and tape or pin them to the appropriate place on the timeline.

15. Tickle tackle

• Stay on your knees in the middle of a room.
• Kids try to run past me without getting “tickled and tackled!”

16. Plan a family vacation or a DREAM vacation

17. Play dress up

• Whether it’s super heroes or princesses, kids enjoy “make believe!”

18. Make shadow puppets

Click here for some ideas!

19. Match up your socks, roll them up, and have a sock fight

20. Exercise!

I don’t know about your kids – but my kids NEED to burn energy in a healthy way or they start getting mischievous! Sometimes we will set a timer and everyone has to run or MOVE or jump for 5 to 20 minutes.

Occasionally, a child does a lap around the house (inside or outside) if they are misbehaving.

21. Learn how to tie cool knots

Click here to watch and learn!

22. Homemade Tap Shoes

Sorry parents, this one’s noisy! It’s so easy, though, and will keep your kids busy!

• Simply tape a coin to the bottom of your child’s shoe. Voila, homemade tap shoes!
• Get them to come up with a tap-dancing routine, rehearse it and record their final performance (bring your own earmuffs!)

23. Mystery pictures

• WooJr has TONS of fun and free printables for Kids.
• The “Mystery Grids” are fun for kids – they won’t know what they are coloring until it’s finishe

24. Paint nails or pictures on a cardboard box:

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25. Clean!

• Organize the basement
• Clean windows and mirrors – kids love to spray!
• Give each child a wet wipe. Show your kids how to dust your baseboards or blinds, offer a quarter to the kid who brings you the dirtiest wet wipe!
• Make your own household cleaner – Click here to read how!
• Click here to read about a simple system for getting chores done.

Chores are one of the best mediums we have for teaching kids about being part of a family, and about belonging, significance, and teamwork. 

Lynn Lott

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26. Take a free art class

• Michaels is offering free art classes each week
• Click here to see the times and classes.

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27. Play Hangman

This game has been around for over 100 years. Teach your kids how to play! Use their spelling or vocabulary words and call it “HOME SCHOOL!”

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28. Play charades or try the “Heads Up” app

• Even little ones can play charades. Whisper what you want them to “act” out and let the sibling(s) guess.
• The Heads Up app is lots of fun for kids who can read.

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29. Make paper snowflakes

• Click here for instructions

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30. Learn some Old School Hand Clapping games like ‘Miss Mary Mack’

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Click here to read my previous post of 30 wintertime activities to do with your kids. The post includes some fun Christmas gift ideas!

Click here for 41 fun family ideas for winter in quarantine!

Click here for some fun MINUTE TO WIN IT games!

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My next post will include the final 30 activities for wintertime and quarantine fun! Subscribe so you don’t miss that post!