Homeschooling, work from home, self-isolation, and so on has become a daunting reality. Little did we know that we would be stuck at home like this someday, trying to figure out some mind-stretching indoor activities for kids to keep them engaged every day. It is a task to make children happy at the same time actively busy, keeping them at bay from screens, but it isn’t as difficult as one thinks. Let me take you through some of the very simple lockdown activities for kids that Rey and I did to have fun, play, and learn all at a time.

31 Lockdown activities for kids to stay active and creative

1. Gardening

One of the life skills every child should try to learn is gardening and love for plants. Kids should be taught about the importance of nature,  value mother earth and to nurture it. Have them plant a seed or a sapling to be potted, teach them about its growth, talk about a few propagation methods, etc. Give them the responsibility of watering the plants they potted. Tell them it is ok to get their hands a little muddy. They would love it. 

2. What’s in the box

A super fun game for all ages which must be included in the list of lockdown game ideas. All you need is a box or anything that you can hide things in. We made a television look-alike with a box to give a fancy touch. Have your kids touch and feel the object kept inside the box and guess what it is. Have a mix of a lot of items from fruits, to toys and fluffy things, anything that you can think of. Tons of laughter is the reward for this game.

3. Cup and String

An activity most of us would have done in our childhood. Bring them on and relive those moments with your child sharing your memories. Tell them the science behind it. We did this game for days together after introducing it to Rey (my little one). He thoroughly enjoyed it. It is basically the telephone game as we call it where a person talks in one of the cups connected by a string and the other listens placing his/her cup at his ears.

4. Pretend play

Pretend play never loses its charm and is one of the best educational activities for kids. Take some real time roles like a shopkeeper, postman, or any event and enact a role play. Try to make it look as real with all the props you can get.

5. Bake together

When we think of activities to do at home with kids, baking should be included. Get those little hands busy in making the cake batter ready. Baking together is fun. You don’t necessarily need an oven for baking. You can do it in a cooker or even a ‘kadhai’. Help your kids with different ways to get creative in decorating the cake. Kids can think way beyond and their ideas are the cutest.

6. Gem of a game

Super fun game with the simplest of things available. Place the colorful gems around the circumference of a plate. Pour very little water from the side of the plate and have fun capturing your little one’s expression. 

Read: 10 Indoor Activities for Kids during Monsoon

7. ABC Hunt

Trust me this is a never-ending game and makes your brain cells work harder. Suitable for any age group, this fun indoor activity for kids can be made a little tougher by keeping time limits. 

Have your child pick up things from home starting with different letters. I was surprised to see Reyansh coming up with so many things during the play. Letter ‘B’ became our favorite as he picked the maximum with it. Blanket, book, ball, bat, basket, bus (toy), box, bicycle, banana, bowl, brush, and bag are things that he found within the time limit I had set for him. We tried being a little poetic by singing,” A Boy with a Bag on his Back sitting on a Bicycle munching on his Banana (when he sat on his bicycle flaunting his letter B collection)“. 

Create something new with every act and it is fun. The letter ‘B’ stayed with us all day as we had new things added every time Rey found something new. Added to it were bells, blue color, biscuit, balcony, bathroom, bird and the list still is continuing.

Read: 9 Creative Ways To Teach Alphabets to Kids

8. A DIY tent

This activity is priceless. Yes, you can make a tent all by yourself with things available at home. Two chairs on either side (total 4 chairs), cover them on the top to make it a roof with a colorful cloth or a bedspread, a bed on the floor, lots of cushions to give a warm and cozy feel, add fairy lights inside, some lovely hangings to enhance the beauty and feel the magic of this abode. Reyansh stayed the whole day in the tent eating, reading, playing, and never wanted to come out. 

9. Make A Teepee

If your little one loves to build castles or curl up with a book in a cozy setup, the teepee is just the thing for you. All you need is some wooden dowels, rope to tie and a colorful cloth to put on. To get a warm look add lots of cushions, some toys or books.

10. Picnic at Home

Get outdoors in. The tough days that we are now going through, doing a picnic at home is the ideal fun moment to have with your family.

Our picnic at home added up a lot of memories to the album. We dressed up perfectly, played some board games, had a small cricket match, had lunch, read books, ate sandwiches, and watched a movie in our DIY tent (Refer point 8 ). A day very well spent capturing some great moments. 

11. Treasure Hunt

A game we have been playing for ages now, this will make one of the best lockdown activities for kids. Let’s introduce it to our little ones. Complicate the clues according to their age. Caption it as “ Let’s go for the treasure hunt” ( Make a song of it ). Rey did a very good job of guessing the hints and was delighted to see what the treasure was. I had put in Rey’s first shoes, a lot of our pics, his early days dress and a cap as the treasure, which truly is.

12. Stacking and balancing

Give your little ones some easy props that can be stacked. You can give them a mix of different sizes too. Let them come out with their engineering skills to get the stacking right. A similar activity can be done with a hanger attaching two cups on either side. Fill up one cup with any object. Have your kid get the other cup to the same height by adding weight appropriate objects. They will learn the science behind the balancing act in such activities.

13. Bookmark making

Thinking of easy craft activities for kids, I came up with this simple DIY. For all the young and new readers out there, let’s accessorize your books with some peppy, fun, and thoughtful bookmarks. Kids will not only enjoy this activity but also would be keen to read more books to flaunt their creations.

14. Bookish play

One of the excellent ways to build your kid’s confidence is by creating a book play. Pick up a story from the book that you would like to enact on. Try to get all the props required for the same and start the play. Ensure the dialogue delivery, narration, body language everything holds the right expression.

15. When play meets magic

Kids would drool over this before they could know the logic behind it. This magic is done with simple and commonly found prop i.e. tissue paper. Take a square-shaped tissue paper, keep any cutout or any favorite character of your little one inside the tissue (don’t let your child know about it) and fold it symmetrically, draw the outline of the cutout on the front page. Ask your kid to pour water on the page and see the magic. 

16. Go on a word hunt

Just like the word search game, make this as an age-appropriate one for the little ones. You can use scrabble letters, or any letter cutouts that you have. Pen down a list of words to be found and have your child assemble the letters to make the word. Another way to make it interesting is to mix up the letters and have your child find the listed words from the mixed grid.

17. Biscuit Train

Who doesn’t love biscuits? Everyone does.  Let me add one more reason for you to fall in love with them. Perfect for any party décor this train would look classy. Reyansh took all his little pet friends for a joy ride throughout our home. Some biscuits, gems to add the colors, warm sugar syrup as a glue, a few polos for wheels and eyes. Assemble them as shown in the picture. Now your train is all set to start.

18. Wrap up gifts

Kids love to wrap presents. Let them wrap up any book or a toy and add some décor elements to it. They will come up with beautiful ideas, and to see their little hands getting busy at work is a visual treat.

19. Plan a movie night

Make this as an every Saturday night plan. No matter what or how busy one is, the movie night is meant for the family to watch a selected movie by all the members. Bake some donuts, fritters, tidbits, or munchies with some refreshing drinks to make it perfect. Kids will love this idea and would be waiting for this day every week.

20. Best out of waste

Upcycling of things that you don’t use anymore or any old stuff is totally worth it. We had a big delivery box that wasn’t of any use to us and Rey being a McQueen car fan, I thought of making a drive-in car out of it. His happiness driving it knew no bounds. You can create a Barbie house for Barbie lovers, a storage box, or a  postbox with a tissue roll. Trust me the result is very satisfying. 

21. Cotton ball painting

I love this idea to make painting easier, a little different, and entertaining for kids. Attach cotton balls to a cloth pin and dip them in the paint and use it as a brush. Kids would definitely enjoy this. To add more fun, I tried giving Rey an artist costume. The clean up after the activity is quite simpler as you just throw the cotton balls away.

22. Balloon stamp painting

This is another art and craft idea that can be done with less mess and lots of fun. Dip a small air-filled balloon in the paint and start painting.

23. Balloon play

Don’t Let the Balloon Touch the Ground. The rules are simple – Strike the balloon up in the air but don’t let it touch the ground. To make it more exciting for older kids, have them juggle more than 1 balloon, or tie one hand behind their back. Set your timer on for this one, or if you have multiple kids, have them count how many times they can hit it back and forth. 

Read: 16 Brain-Boosting Fun Activities for Babies (Month-wise)

24. Balloon Blow

Set up a “course” and see if your child can blow a balloon all the way to the finish line. They’ll have to do lots of army crawls and can get a bit tiring but it is worth it. 

25. Penguin Waddle

Place a balloon between your child’s knees and have them waddle across the room without dropping it. Make it more challenging for older kids by having them go around a few obstacles. If they drop it, they have to go back to the start. 

26. Obstacle Course

An activity that requires zero expense, add this to your list of fun lockdown activities for kids at home. This tried-and-true idea is always a huge hit with kids and can be made different every time so it never gets old. Make sure to create an engaging course that includes a variety of motions (jumping, crawling, balancing, etc.). You can have a roundabout, a hump, etc. on the path just to give a real look.

27. Creating a co-working space

A workspace for your little ones to get their hands on their little work. Make a beautiful set up for you and your little one to share a space of working or reading together. With some indoor plants around, books, candles, and some cushions if it’s a floor set up, you can create a lovely space. Have kids join in the making. Give them a few tasks like coloring or craft and you can keep them engaged for longer as they feel important to have got a workspace.

28. Picture collage

Get all your photos that hold memories, talk about it with your little one, and create an attractive collage sitting together. You will love this activity. I also highlighted my little one’s name on it to get a smile on his face.

29. Where play meets exercise

A fun workout for all ages even for us grown-ups. All you need is a box open from the top (refer pic) and some balls for this. Lay down on your back. Keep the empty box above your head. Place some balls near your feet. Have your child pick the balls one by one with his/her feet and put it in the box. You too can do this with your child to check on your flexibility. 

30. Create a Race-Car Track

Use your painter’s tape or any tape that you have (which is not too sticky to leave a mark on the floor) and make a road system for your kid’s cars. Make it look real with some turns and ends. The key to making it active is to make it large, so they are engaging their core muscles while crawling all over. This is one of the fun activities for kids one must try.

31. Ice-breaking

Have your little ones toy get stuck in the ice. I chose his little car. We created a roleplay out of this. Rey was the rescue manager and he had to break open the ice to save the car. You would love their expression of mission accomplished as they feel so good to have rescued a stuck object.

Try out all these indoor lockdown activities for kids and treasure your little one’s happiness. These difficult times shall too pass but the quality time that you can have with your loved ones should be engraved for a lifetime. Live every bit of the moments you have it now as it is a ‘Present’.