How to keep your kids busy at home
Keeping your kids busy is really its own job! Even when you manage to keep your kids occupied, there’s no guarantee that they will enjoy the same activities over and over again. That means constantly coming up with new ideas–which we all know, isn’t easy. We’ve put together a list of activities to help keep your little ones busy. It’s filled with ideas that are fun, promote family bonding, and can help create adventurous family memories during all this time together at home.
Create a Schedule
“Just make a schedule” seems to be a laughable statement when it comes to creating a schedule for your little ones. We know that life (especially with kids) can be unpredictable and it’s hard to stick to a planned out routine! Just know that you’re not alone and there are a ton of online resources to help guide you through it. Check out this New York Times article on home-schooling your children during this time. This site even has ideas on how to make learning playful while at-home. If you want to make scheduling fun and interactive for your kids, display a white board or color code with construction paper a planned-out schedule for everyone in the family to follow!
See Some Sea Creatures
Plan an at-home “field trip” to the aquarium. Start by having your kids pack backpacks and snacks just like they would for an actual field trip. Check out the live cam feed of the animals provided by the Monterey Bay Aquarium right on your phone or computer. If you have multiple screens available throughout your house, set up the live cam feed for the different creatures so they can walk around and check it out as if it’s an exhibit. Bonus Tip: If you have some kiddos that are new readers, place index cards with fun facts on each animal to make it even more interactive!
Science Experiments
Make learning extra fun with at-home science experiments. This site has fun ideas and videos with a list of ingredients you’ll need to perform safe experiments with the fam. This is a great way to have some hands-on fun and learn at the same time! Science experiments also give kids a nice break from reading and writing. Whether you’re eating through your instant ice cream creation, catching bubblescatching bubbles, or racing cone cars, these educational moments double as extra fun! Try and contact your kids’ classmates and friends’ parents and coordinate days to video chat and experiment together.
Time for DIY Honest Slime
Slime isn’t the cleanest activity but with Honest you can get clean + safe ingredients in it! Watch this video on How To Make Honest Slime featuring a fellow Honest Mama and her son at The Honest Company HQ. Our quick and informative 8 minute video teaches anyone and everyone how to make slime with clean ingredients from the safety of their home. This DIY recipe also helps out those impatient kiddos who can’t wait for slime kits to come in the mail. Get your slime on today!
Practice Mindfulness Together
Tune into our friends at Stop Breathe Think as they host live mindfulness activities for you and your fam every Thursday at 10 AM PST on their Facebook page. Teaching your kids guided meditation at an early age helps them learn that practicing self-care is important to their wellness. Having you practice meditation with them makes it even more impactful because seeing your actions helps your little babe understand on a deeper level. We hope you take this time to have fun while finding peace and relaxation alongside your family.
Repurpose your Honest Bundle Box
In honor of our limited-edition Honest Drive-In, spring print diapers we wanted to share how you and the little babe’s can have a drive-in movie night right at home! After your Honest Diapers + Wipes Subscription comes in the mail, don’t just throw away the box! You can repurpose your Honest box (or any box) into a car for your kiddo with these easy steps below. After making box cars park them in front of your TV for a fun movie night!
Directions
1. Ensure that the box is completely sealed with packing tape.
2. Create doors by using a box cutter to cut out semicircles on each side. After, cut only two thirds of the top of the box to make sure the hood of the car is intact.
3. Create a windshield by folding the top that was cut and tape the fold to the bottom half.
4. Cut open the windshield. Then use paper plates or construction paper as your tires. Glue them on.
5. Glue plastic cups or use construction paper as your headlights.
6. Have your kids paint or color the car to personalize it!
7. Finally, glue some fabric or construction paper as the upholstery. To make it extra comfy, add a pillow or blanket!
What Other Honest Mamas Are Doing
You’re never alone in this! Here’s a list of other mamas in our community whose ‘At-Home with the Kids’ content we’ve been loving. Look out in the coming days for more special resources from them. Follow these fellow mamas for more inspiration–we’re all in this together!
- At-Home Kids Activities - The Mama Notes @themamanotes
- Healthy Recipes - Kelly LeVeque @bewellbykelly
- Workouts - Bikini Body Mommy @bikinibodymommy
- Healthy Recipes + Fun Smoothies - Weelicious @weelicious
- Art - PS I Made This @psimadethis
Tough times like these are hard but they make way for families’ bonds to grow stronger. We know how hard parents work to keep their kids (and themselves) sane and Honest is here to help! Share which activities you and your family do and tag us @Honest. We’d love to see how you and your little babes stay busy.
We aim to provide you with the most honest and credible information possible. This article was reviewed for accuracy by The Honest Team and its internal technical experts.
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