There are just those day when your kids need a little extra help finding fun things to do! Here are some ideas to help inspire them to find things to do indoors, outdoors or online. I have put together 10 awesome ideas for you to help enrich, engage and even educate your kids - yes, I said educate! Who says learning can't be Fun? These ideas are perfect for those times when there's no place in particular to go or nothing exciting going on and you need to create your own family fun.
"Be prepared" long before your kids get out that first "I'm booorrrred!" or "what can I / we do?"
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Here are 10 fun and easy ideas to keep your kids engaged and entertained
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#1 ⛺ Build a fort inside or have an indoor camp-out
Let your kids drag out blankets, pillows and sofa cushions - with permission of course and let them get creative. They can hang out during the day in their "hide-out," a perfect space for reading, watching a movie or playing games. Let them sleep in it - if you dare! You can even set up a small tent inside if you have one. Either one doubles as great sleeping quarters. And because there may be some uncertainty about how much actual sleeping will happen, deem the following day "Pajama Day" — to include lots of movies, books, snacks, and naps!
#2 ❄️ Have a snowball fight . . . indoors
No Snow . . . no problem
#3 🌞 Get outside
We're lucky to have weather that allows us to spend time outdoors most of the time! Grab a hat, a bottle of water and maybe some sunscreen or a coat depending on the weather and head outside! Something as simple as a stroll through your neighborhood or hit the trails for a nice hike with your kids - short or long, you choose. Most days you can even head to the beach - if the water is too cold, then play in the sand or go for a walk looking for seashells or rocks!
#4 🧹 Make chores fun
Set up an indoor relay race to get chores done! Start a race to get the laundry out of the dryer or see who can put their toys or clothes away the fastest. You can make a game out of anything . . . and get chores done at the same time!
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#5 📦 Get creative with cardboard
Have a bunch of boxes piled up at home? Build a fort together and see how creative you can get! Don't forget to decorate with crayons, markers and sticker for an extra flair.
#6 😊 Create a sensory bin
Kids will be entertained for hours with a fun sensory bin. Create your own or check out our ideas:
- How to Create a Winter Wonderland Sensory Bin
- How to Make a Rainbow Tactile Sensory Bin
- Your Kids Will Love Digging Into These Edible Sensory Bins
- Chill Out With This Ice Sensory Activity for Kids
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#7 🔎 Go on a scavenger hunt
This is a great indoor or outdoor activity. Inside set up a scavenger hunt around the house for little kids. If your kids are older, have them set up hunts for each other. They'll be running all over the house finding and planting clues for hours of entertainment. Head outdoors for backyard or neighborhood scavenger hunt.
- Neighborhood scavenger hunt - print or open on your mobile device, free download.
#8 🚗 Explore everything Automotive
Whether your kid is a preschooler, a teenager, or somewhere in between, there are many creative ways to keep your kids happily engaged at home while they dream about cars. These activities are appropriate for any age to help nurture and inspire a fascination with cars, click her for more information.
Fun Car related Activities:
- Take a virtual field trip to a Toyota factory
- Older kids will enjoy taking a ride into the future of mobility with the experts at Toyota Research Institute
- Read or listen to stories about cars: "If I Built a Car" by Chris van Dusen and "Going Places" by Peter and Paul Reynolds.
- Watch a video about automotive design: "Making the Origami-Inspired Lexus" and see an automotive designer from Toyota's CALTY Design Research reenact his sketching of an original idea for what became the redesign of the Toyota Sienna minivan.
- Draw your dream car
 FatCamera from Getty Images Signature via |
#9 🖍️ Get Crafty
Fun and easy DIY craft ideas:
- Salt Painting - Colorful STEAM Fun
- Make Your Own Salt Dough Nature Art
- Kid Craft: Painting with Nature
- DIY Modeling Dough Keeps Kids Busy
- How-to Make a Homemade Snow Globe
#10 ⚙️ Be Creative
Just because kids are home from school doesn't mean the learning has to stop, take a look at these fun educational activities:
- STEM -10 Paper Engineering Challenges for Kids
- 5 Easy and inexpensive DIY Projects For Kids To Do At Home
- Roll Into Creativity With This Dice Throwing Picture Prompt For Kids - a FREE printable!
- Create a Personalized Word Search Puzzle with this FREE Printable
Need more inspiration for ideas to entertain, stimulate and exhaust your kids indoors?
Find your family fun! Check the Macaroni KID Conejo Valley - Malibu - Calabasas event and activities calendar for more family fun things to do with your kids!
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Macaroni KID Conejo Valley - Malibu - Calabasas is a FREE resource for local families looking for fun things to do with kids in Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills, Malibu, Calabasas, Oak Park, Newbury Park, Westlake Village and nearby towns in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.
Updated December 26, 2022
