Our Stay-at-Home Activities lists are opportunities for quality time with your children and hopefully are boredom busters for everyone who has spent so much time at home lately. We are posting four lists – Stay-At-Home Activities with Kids, Part 1 was posted on June 1 and Stay-at-Home Activities with Kids, Part 2 was posted on June 22.  Stay-At-Home Activities with Kids, Part 3 are in this post, and one more list will be coming on July 20.  I hope you find many things to enjoy with your kids. Let us know what you like the best (comment section at the end of the blog).

Quality time happens when we least expect it, often around the smallest and least expensive events.  You can’t schedule it. It doesn’t take a lot of time. Instead, it takes a lot of small moments. Be prepared for a “magical” moment when doing any of the things in our lists. As long as you are fully tuned into your child, you and your child can make an amazing connection.  You could learn something really important about him.  She could show you how important you are to her.  Your hearts will connect.

Stay-At-Home Activities, Part 3

(Items 1 – 13 can be found at Stay-At-Home Activities with Kids, Part 1; Items 14 – 27 at Stay-At Home Activities with Kids, Part 2.)

28. Let’s create “My World.”  Do a “My World” art project with your child. Use whatever type of art your child likes – drawing, sculpting, painting, dancing, singing, photographing, etc.). The idea is:

• Start with your child at the center of the “world” being created – in the center of the picture, the base of the sculpture, the star of the performance, etc.

• The other things included in the “world” should be people and things important in your child’s day-to-day life – a friend, a pet, toy, hat, etc.

• The “world” should show how those important people and things look next to your child – are they close, far away, big, small, bright, faded, etc.?

• Be sure to display the finished product.

29. Let’s read without using words. Get some books without words from the library or the internet. You can ask to see some by Barbara Lehman or David Wiesner as a start. When you tell your child the story represented by the pictures in the books, use words, character names, and details that are familiar to your child. On some pages you can ask your child to tell you what is happening and help tell the story.

30. Let’s go past “GO.”  Create a MYopoly board. MYopoly is your very own personal monopoly game. Make up your own monopoly board where all the properties fit a topic your child is interested in. For example, for younger children, all the spaces could be “treat” shops around where you live (ice cream, candy, cupcakes, etc.) or all the parks and types of play equipment (jungle gyms, swings, etc.). For older children, the spaces could be baseball properties – like ballparks around the country and the transportation to get there (trains, planes, or busses) or the properties in your neighborhood (houses where their friends live, stores, parks, etc.) Use your imagination. Draw the board and make (or collect) tokens that fit the theme.

31. Let’s play “Sound Alikes.” Take turns thinking up words that sound alike but have different meanings. For example, “dear” and “deer.” Or, “see” and “sea.” Once two “sound alikes” are suggested, continue adding more, if you can think of them – like add “C” to “see” and “sea.” For older children, let them know that these are called “homonyms.”

32. Let’s plan a party. Plan to celebrate your pet’s birthday or day of arrival to the family. If you don’t have a pet right now, make plans for what the day will be like when a pet is added to your family. Consider the needs of the pet when you plan your celebration. Make sure the activities and the food are all good for the pet. Remember that people food is often not good for pets, and certain types of play (for example, fish out of water or birds out of cages) can be bad for a pet.

33. Let’s play “What If?” Play “What If” about “not so good” situations. You can play it anywhere. It takes no equipment other than brains and willingness to use them. Ask a “What If” question and take turns answering it. For example, “What if you and your brother were really, really mad at each other? Or, “What if it rains for a whole week straight?” By listening to your child’s answers you can learn how well prepared he is for difficult situations. By offering your own answers you can make sure your child has heard some good ways to handle those situations. It is important that you do not “correct” your child’s answers. Instead, set some rules ahead of time. For example, “Your answers cannot include anything that would hurt another person or thing.”

34.  Let’s hunt for treasure.  Have a treasure hunt. Hide one or more treasures (candy or trinkets). Use different colors of chalk to write clues on the sidewalk. Make it very simple or more difficult depending on what your child can handle. You can use pictures for non-readers. If you can safely have other children participate in your hunt, have different colored treasures and clues – one color for each child so they each have the fun of finding their own treasure and they are not rushing to be the first to find a single treasure. If a child is having difficulty, let him ask someone for help.

35.  Let’s play “What If I Could Do….”  Ask your child a “What If” question about something she is not yet able to do. For example, “What if, you could fix your own snacks when you were hungry?” Or, “What if you could ride a bicycle?” Listen to your child’s answers and enjoy her imagination. You can also get clues about what preparation she needs in order to do what you have asked about.

36. Let’s do make-believe art.  Do an art project with your child that is about adding something to his dress-up stuff. It could be making hats to go with clothes he has. It could be making “extras” like magic wands, tools, etc. It could be whole costumes made out of craft paper or newspaper. It could be props like ovens, hideouts, or walls made from cardboard boxes or blocks. Be sure to play together to try them out once they are made.

37.  Let’s make our own special game.  Help your child make up a new game. It can be a physical game, like a ball game or running/jumping game. Or, it can be a card or board game. If starting from scratch to come up with a new idea for a game is too difficult, try making changes to a game your child already knows. How else could Chutes and Ladders be played? Or baseball? Let him make up whatever rules he wants as long as they are not unsafe or hurtful to other players. Be sure to play the game after it is created. Discuss how well your child liked the game and whether it could be even better with some additional changes to it.

For more activities see:

Stay-At-Home Activities with Kids, Part 1 

Stay-At-Home Activities with Kids, Part 2 

Watch for Stay-At-Home Activities with Kids, Part 4 on July 20.