Easy and Fun Kids Activities

It’s happened to all of us. Stuck at home with the kids looking up at us with that desperate look they get, saying that dreaded phrase, “I’m bored!” We’ve all been there, and know it can be stressful. But we are here to help with some of our favourite, easy and fun kids activities using items you have in your home right now.

Easy Science Experiments At Home

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We’ve all been there. Something happens and you are stuck at home with the kids. Perhaps there has been a storm or some type of extreme weather. Maybe your car broke down. Or perhaps you are one of the many areas affected by a viral breakout and are in a quarantine.

Without fail the kids are BORED being stuck at home and you need to find something to do with everyone to keep your sanity. But if you can’t leave the house it is going to take some creativity to find things to keep the kids busy. Don’t worry, we’ve gathered up lots of great ideas using commonly found items.

Many of these projects use items from our tinker box. I highly recommend always keeping a tinker box. This is simply a box where you keep things like paper rolls, tape, markers, glue, circuit parts, and any other crafting and creative items kids can use. It is amazing what kids can create from these found items with just their creativity and imagination.

Here are some of top picks for activities using items you have around the house.

Oobleck

This is so quick and easy to make. It is none toxic, there are a number of different recipe options based on what you have in the house, and it is non-toxic, so if you have pets or little ones that might end up taking a taste test it isn’t cause for panic. Best of all, this non-Newtonian Fluid is fascinating for all ages to play with and explore. Even my teens get a kick out of it.

Marshmallow Building Challenge

This is a fun challenge for kids of all ages. Grab a timer and see how big of a structure the kids can build in one minute. It will take an understanding of physics and engineering to make the winning structure. But no worries, kids will catch on quickly as they fuel their learning with some sugary marshmallows.

Build a Craft Stick Launcher

This is an awesome tinker engineering project that kids LOVE! Construct a fun launcher from crafting supplies in your tinker kit, then have a blast launching Q-tips and seeing how far you can shoot. Of all our kids activities this one is a hit with all kids in upper elementary to teens.

Walking Rainbow Experiment

This is a fun experiment that uses just water, food colouring, paper towels and some jars or cups. It takes some time to do, which is perfect if you are stuck for a day or more. The resulting rainbow of colours will brighten your stay indoors.

Build a Water Clock

This is such a cool activity that involves building a very old style of clock powered by water. It uses simple items you probably already have around the house. Kids will love testing their clocks.

Balloon Races

If you are stuck inside you are going to need to find activities to help kids burn off some energy. Balloon races are a great way to work out all those wiggles, while learning some fascinating physics. Fantastic for elementary to teens!

Magic Milk Experiment

This is such a fun experiment! All you need is a shallow dish, milk, food colouring and dish soap. The reaction is like a colourful fireworks display in a dish that keeps popping and exploding in artistic displays. The results will have your kids begging to do it over and over again until you run out of supplies!

Make Milk Plastic

Another fun experiment with milk is to make milk plastic. It is surprisingly easy to make milk plastic. It does require about a day to set up, so this experiment is best done when you have a few days stuck at home. If you have paints, don’t forget you can paint your creations.

Naked Egg Experiment

Also known as the “bouncing egg experiment” this is a cool chemistry study that results in shelling an egg with chemistry. Once again this experiment takes a day or so, so do it when you are stuck at home for a few days. If you have food colouring, you can also colour your eggs. Which makes them look so cool!

Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiments

This was my go to kids activities theme for a couple of years. Stuck at home and bored? Break out the baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and vinegar. Kids love an experiment that erupts! We did so many variations of this reaction simply because it was so popular with the kids. Plus I always have these two items in my pantry.

Skittles Experiment

This experiment is a great idea if you happen to have a bag of hard candies kicking around. Skittles is commonly used, but you can also use lollipops or other hard candies. The beautiful colours will mesmerize your kids as they quietly watch the colours move and dance around.

Soap Making

If you happen to be in quarantine due to an illness like coronavirus, an extremely helpful project to tackle is soap making. You may need to order in some supplies for this project, but I promise it is fun, unleashes incredible creativity, and will help keep everyone healthy. Here are some of our favourite Soap Projects.

I hope you enjoy these ideas for kids activities to help keep everyone busy and learning while stuck indoors. These quick and easy experiments are ones we have all really enjoyed and continue to do them again and again. Have fun experimenting!

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