10 ideas to help kids learn and have fun while at home!
1. Make Superhero Capes
Before you make your capes, talk to your kids about their talents and how they can use them to be superheroes. Then, think of a superhero name and logo that has to do with their talents and create your cape!To make yours, grab an old T-shirt and cut everything below the collar – only halfway around – to keep the collar intact. Once you cut halfway around the collar, cut down the back of the shirt on both sides to create the cape. Basically, you’re leaving the full collar and back of the shirt intact and cutting away the rest. Then, design your cape using markers or fabric paint.
2. Paint Fireworks
Recycle empty toilet paper and paper towel tubes with this project. Cut vertical slits around one end of the tube and fan them out. Then, dip the end of the tub in paint and press it on a blank sheet of paper. Use a different tube for each color of paint. To make your fireworks truly sparkle, sprinkle on some glitter while the paint dries.
3. Train Like A Spy
All spies need to know how to work their way through a laser beam maze. Have kids train like spies by making your own maze down a hallway of your home. Using Command strips or painter’s tape, string crepe paper or yarn from one wall to the other across the hall. Go back and forth until you create a maze of “laser beams” they must navigate without touching. If they touch a beam, they must start over.
4. Make Slime
While there are several recipes out there (DIY slime is very popular), our favorite recipe only requires three ingredients: glue, contact lens solution and baking soda.To make slime, take one, 6-ounce bottle of glue (we prefer the clear Elmer’s glue) and mix in ½ teaspoon baking soda and 2 – 3 tablespoons of contact lens solution. Use a mixing spoon or popsicle stick to stir the slime until it starts to thicken. Once it forms into a blob, use your hands to mix and knead it. Pieces of it will stick to hands but keep kneading it. The slime will eventually harden to the point where it moves as one unit. For additional fun, add in food coloring or glitter.
5. Make Your Own Stress Ball
Another fun activity that can help kids experiencing different emotions could be a DIY stress ball. All you need for this activity is some flour or corn starch, a balloon and a funnel. Start by stretching out the balloon, then stick the funnel in the opening and pour in the flour or corn starch. You may need to tap the sides of the funnel to help the flour move down the funnel. Once the balloon is filled with flour (it will not expand much), simply tie it. You may want to consider placing it inside another balloon to make the exterior stronger. Once the stress ball is made, kids can use a permanent marker to draw a silly face or other image that will stretch out when the balloon is squeezed.
6. Play Minute To Win It
Minute To Win It games are party favorites, but you don’t need a big group of people to play them. These games involve several different physical challenges that each must be completed in 1 minute. Here are a few examples of one-minute challenges you can try. Stack pennies on top of one another. If any fall, you must start over. Whoever has the tallest stack at the end of 1 minute wins.• Place a cookie on your forehead. You have 1 minute to move the cookie down to your mouth without using your hands.• Using only your nose, you must push a ball across the floor, from one end of the room to the other in under a minute.• Tie an empty Kleenex box around your waist and fill it with ping pong balls. You have 1 minute to shake all of the ping pong balls out of the box without using your hands.• In 1 minute, move as many mini marshmallows from one cup to another using only chopsticks.
7. Use Free Resources
Right now, people and places all around the world are banding together to offer educational and entertainment opportunities for the world’s youngest inhabitants. For example, there are many educational places, like museums, zoos and historical landmarks, offering free virtual field trips. Streaming services are unlocking kid’s programming for everyone. A number of educational companies, like Scholastic and Khan Academy, are offering free subscriptions. Celebrities are reading stories to kids, musicians are performing live concerts and fitness instructors are offering free classes for kids. Hop online and see what you can find to help you keep kids active at home during this time.
8. Breathtaking views
See what the world looks like from some amazing vantage points, such as the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal in India, Machu Picchu in Peru, the top of the Empire State Building in New York, and Lake Tahoe in Nevada/California.
9. Guided city tours
Lifehacker recommends guided city tours of places around the world. Search for “360 video city tour” on YouTube, and you’ll get to see Big Ben in London, England; Buddhist temples in Bangkok, Thailand; and the Castello Sforzesco in Milan, Italy. (If you have virtual reality goggles, you can also search “VR video city tour” for an immersive experience.)
10. Reach Out
Call those you know who are required to stay in and have little or no family close by just to say hello and see if they are okay. If we can’t see each other in person, the sound of a friendly voice is the next best thing.
