Quarantine life got ya down?
You aren’t alone. It’s hard keeping energetic kids entertained all day long. It’s even harder if you are in an apartment or somewhere where it’s hard to get outside.
Hopefully, you’ve got some reprieve and are at least able to take walks and get a little fresh air and sunshine each day. That’s such a great way to relieve stress, sleep well, and help build a stronger immune system.
But for the rest of the hours of the day when kids are figuratively (and some maybe literally!) climbing the walls, we hope this compilation of games and activities will keep your kids busy while keeping you sane.
Here are 9 simple indoor games to keep your kids active during the COVID-19 quarantine.
What a blast from the past!
Simon Says was a favorite of many growing up. This game requires no special equipment and can be played by kids of all ages both indoors and out!
Cue the nostalgia – another childhood favorite!
If you’ve got a gaggle of kiddos, set up your kitchen chairs and start the music! Musical chairs is a great way to get kids on their feet and away from screens.
Hopscotch is normally thought of as an outdoor game, but with a simple and inexpensive tool like masking tape, it becomes something easily played indoors. Just map out your course and lay down the tape.
Easy peasy!
Bonus – Hopscotch is a great way to work on numbers, letters, shapes, and colors with young kids. There are so many ways to play.
Charades is such a fun game and you can make adjustments to fit your family size and their ability to understand the rules.
Simply pick a category (animals is a good one!) and write out choices on slips of paper and put them in a cup. Have each child pick one and act it out while the others try to guess which word was drawn.
While this isn’t exactly a game, it definitely fits the bill for an indoor activity guaranteed to keep kids entertained while burning off excess energy!
Take kitchen chairs, couch cushions, pillows, whatever you’ve got…..and set up an obstacle course as elaborate as you want to make it throughout your house.
Watch your kids go through again and again! Better yet, take a turn yourself!
A staple at family reunions and picnics – everyone loves a good potato sack race!
Here’s the indoor version.
Grab some old pillowcases from the linen closet, line your kids up, use masking tape to mark a finish line, and watch ‘em go!
Here’s another fun game that requires no special equipment!
Kind of like Simon Says, the kids get to follow the train conductor, doing as he/she does while walking through the house like they are riding on a train. Then, the next kid gets to be the conductor and on it goes until everyone has a turn.
What kind of silly train shenanigans can your kids come up with?
Bowling alleys may closed, but don’t let that stop you from playing this classic game!
No need to buy an expensive toy bowling set either. Use what you have.
Stack blocks to line up or use 2-liter coke bottles and make your own pins – get creative! Then, take whatever balls you have lying around the house (in a house full of kids, you know you’ve got something!) and get to playing. You can keep score, or not, and let your kids have fun knocking down your DIY pins.
Get the whole family involved here!
Take a broomstick or a jump rope and stretch it out, stream some good music, and see how low you all can go.
As you can see, it’s possible to enjoy active play and screen-free fun even if you can’t go shop for new games or play at your local park.
All of the activities listed can be done with things found around your home and will keep kids engaged and entertained in the weeks to come.
Even better….use this list as a jumping-off point to create your own! Think about the games you played in elementary school. Notice all the different ways your kids play pretend. Figure out what outdoor games you can adapt to be played indoors (like Hopscotch!).
If you make this effort now, then long after the social distancing requirements are over, you and your kids will have a huge list to pull from when the weather is bad or on a Saturday when you just want to hang out at home!
P.S. Click here to check out our post on ways to keep high-energy kids entertained indoors! You’ll find even more great ideas there!
If this helped you, please share on your favorite social media platform so other parents can access this list as well!
