FUN Home Activities to Do With Your Kids
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FUN Home Activities to Do With Your Kids: Activities to enhance kids learning
CHECK OUT THESE FUN HOME ACTIVITIES TO DO WITH YOUR KIDS
Sometimes on weekends, outside play is just not an option. It’s pouring out, hotter than Hades, or colder than the North Pole, so no thank you, outdoor stuff. This short article offers a bunch of great ideas for indoor fun.
From games to crafts to dancing to long chats, there is something for every personality and age group. Plus, all of these activities are fun for children and adults alike, so let’s dive in and see what works for you and your crew.
GAMES
There are a ton of different kinds of games, so they’re broken down into categories below. See which strikes your fancy.
Physical games
- Hide and Seek – an oldie but a goodie, this game tests your ability to determine a great spot hidden from view within just a few seconds. Plus, fitting into the spot is always a hilarious task. You and the kids must literally think on your feet and try to control the giggles. The most common form of play is for one person to be the seeker, and everyone else are the hiders. The seeker covers her eyes and ears and counts out loud to 20, giving the others only 20 seconds to scurry around the house to find great hiding places where the seeker won’t find them. After 20 seconds, the seeker alerts the hiders by hollering, “Ready or not, here I come,” and begins the search. Assign several minutes within which the seeker must find all of the hiders. If he doesn’t find everyone in the allotted time, the seeker loses the game and may not play in the next round.
TIP: Give young hiders a head start or even have another player help them before hiding himself.
- Twister – this is also a classic available anywhere that sells toys and games. This test of your bending and twisting skills will have everyone either panting to hold a position or laughing hysterically at the looks of the co-players. The game literally involves players trying to touch on large colored dots assigned to their limbs with the other players on the same game mat. Get the camera!
- A treasure hunt – Buy a bunch of little fun items from a crafts store like shiny stones, crystals, or stickers. Gather up loose change too. After making tiny baggies of the “treasures,” hide them all over the house, even inside the cookie jar. Whichever child collects the most “treasures” wins the game (and gets to keep what they found!).
- Charades – this is a common game for parties and always a lot of fun. Separate into two teams, then choose a topic such as animals, movies, or tv characters. Then have one person pick a word and act it out while the rest of the team attempts to guess what the word is based on their actions. But no talking! The actor isn’t allowed to say anything to give away what the word is, they must rely on their acting skills alone. You can also do another fantastic version of this game, pictionary. Instead of acting it out, you will have to draw the word. Depending on your drawing skills, this can be even more hilarious than trying to act it out, and remember, still no speaking!
Board Games
For a short period of time, choose from Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, Boggle, Sorry, or The Game of Life. Your choice depends on the age of the youngest player in the group. Candyland’s whimsy brings joy to almost anyone. Chutes and Ladders is mainly a game of luck, and everyone will be watching out for that chute right at the end that keeps you from the win. Boggle is a super fun word game! Set a time limit and try to form the most words out of the letters given. Sorry is fun because kids love to “get” adults and siblings, so it offers gloating chances in spades. And The Game of Life is a fun way for kids to “grow up” and experience all of life, from finding a career to getting married and having kids to retiring.
For hours on end, try Monopoly (any version; several are designed for ages as young as 5) or Risk for ages 10+. While Monopoly makes it fun to collect money and buy cool places and things, Risk lets you build armies to take over your enemies and even double-cross your own game mates! Watch out, though. You also may be blind-sided by your loved one.
Card Games
There are a variety of exciting card games, such as Phase 10, War, Uno, and Go Fish. Phase 10 is a fun challenge as everyone races to compete the ten challenges first. All you need for War is a deck of cards. Each player turns over the top card of their pile and whoever places the highest number keeps all of the cards. Continue until one player has collected all of the cares. And Uno’s change-up cards always stir up the playful competition factor. Try to get rid of all of your cards first, but don’t forget to call out Uno! when you only have one card left or you could end up having to draw more. Go fish is great for younger kids. Try to get sets of matching cards by asking other players if they have them. If they don’t, then you “go fish” and draw something new from the pile.
Video Games
Video games can be a great way to spend time as a family too, especially if you’re a competitive bunch. There are so many options for all ages. Try Super Mario Party, Super Smash Bros., Overcooked, Minecraft, Just Dance or Mario Kart. Super Mario Party, Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart can have several players at once. Battle or race each other for the win! In Mario Party, choose a character then explore the worlds and play minigames. Fight for your life in Smash. Pick a character and perform combo moves to destroy the other players. Race to the finish in Mario Kart. You’ll be fighting for first place as you zoom through the course and avoid obstacles (or leave your own). Overcooked is a cute and fun cooking game that gets more challenging the further you get. Minecraft is a great building game with endless possibilities. And Just Dance is always entertaining. Do your best to match the moves and do better than your opponent.
Mind Games
- TRIVIAL PURSUIT – Any version that works for your crew will have the brain wheels turning the whole time. Test your trivia knowledge and see who is the true brains of your family.
- SCRABBLE – This is an exciting word game. Use the letters you draw to create words and see who in your family can come up with the toughest, longest, or most unique words. The best part is challenging a word played by the opponent. It’s always fun to outsmart your own kin or friends for bragging rights later.
- CLUE – Any version that works for your crew will have the room quiet as deep logical thinking occurs. Explore rooms to discover who is the killer and how they committed the crime. The intensity always leads to some fun outburst when someone finally solves the mystery. You’ll feel like the smartest in the family if you manage to solve it first.
- CHESS – This is a fun game between two players that tests your strategy and ability to think ahead. Move pieces in their specified ways until you have captured your opponent’s king.
ARTS AND CRAFTS
Grab a book on Origami and some colored paper and get right to it. Not only does your group get the joy of accomplishment in short order, but the paper art leads to lots of ideas, jokes, and laughter. This is great for any size group.
Group art. Take a new sheet of poster board (at least 22″ x 28″) and a box of crayons. Rather than having each child work on their own artwork, make this a shared project. You can also do this with paint, pens, colored pencils or any other art medium! Going clockwise, one person draws a small something on the sheet to start a work of art, then passes it to the next person who adds on something small, and so on until the “canvas” is filled, and a masterpiece has emerged. The fun is in watching how each person interprets the art and decides what to add on next.
Another great art project is fingerpainting. Your kids will love to get messy and create whatever they want with their hands.
Playdough or clay can also be loads of fun. Build anything you like out of this fun squishy substance. You could create a whole feast or orchestra if you wanted!
A bit messy but tons of fun, Tie-Dye is always an exciting project. Kids will love choosing various colors and turning plain shirts into a creative masterpiece.
There are a bunch of other paper crafts you can do as well. From making paper boats, hats, or masks to colleges your options are limitless.
DANCING
Exactly that! Have a dance-off with scoring, judging, and winners…the whole shebang! Let the children choose the music–just a 20-second clip is a good duration. Now, if there are only two people at home, just try to be the silliest dancer and let the child judge who wins.
For three or more people, pick numbers out of a bowl. Numbers 1 and 2 shall go against each other first, with the others judging. Score each dancer on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the best. Next, numbers 3 and 4 go against each other. The others judge. Whoever wins each round then must dance against the other winner for the title.
You can still have just as much fun without the scoring or judging too! Put on some music (maybe let everyone pick their favorite song) and start jiving. Dancing is a great way to get everyone off of the couch and onto their feet. Start moving and grooving, and soon everyone will be having an amazing time! It doesn’t matter how good or bad you are at dancing, you’ll all be having a blast.
CHATTING
Sharing Prompts: Maybe everyone’s just kind of tired, in which case a “coffee clutch” is in order (or “juice box” clutch). The adult starts by reading a prompt, expanding on it or answering it, then each person around the table responds to the same prompt. This should prompt even more conversation and a great bonding experience.
Prompt examples:
- If you were an animal, which one would you be and why?
- If you could meet any character from a movie, which would it be, and what questions would you ask?
Would You Rather?: Another great but simple game is “Would You Rather?” You can find tons of these questions online or make up your own! The options given can be anything from insightful to quite hilarious and everyone must decide between two interesting options.
Question Examples:
- Would you rather lose the ability to see or to speak?
- Would you rather be covered in fur or covered in scales?
- Would you rather be able to fly or to read others’ minds?
Well, there you have it. Tons of options for tons of fun. Have a great time!
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Best fun indoor weekend activities with kids. Fun things to do with children at home. Weekend home fun for you and your kids. Activities for adults and children at home.
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References
https://www.bustle.com/p/the-11-best-long-board-games-22985771#:~:text=Different%20games%20that%20take%20a%20bit%20more%20planning,require%20some%20clever%20scheming%20in%20order%20to%20win.
