Fun Activities to Do With Your Little Ones When You’re Stuck Indoors by Miguel Fernandez

Being stuck at home is not ideal, especially for your kids. They need to play outside and explore the world in their own little way. But, because of self-isolation and social distancing, it may take a while for them to go back to their normal routine. In the meantime, you can help them pass the time at home with a little bit of creativity.

Keep your kids entertained and bring out the creativity in them by trying out the activities below. Not only will these fun activities help lengthen their attention span but also leave a positive impact on your child’s mental health, especially during a time like this where they’re stuck at home longer than ever before. Plus, you can take this time to spend some quality time and create beautiful memories together!

Make animals using paper plates
Do you have paper plates at home left from your last gathering? It’s time to make animal art out of them! This activity is great for pre-schoolers who are fascinated with animals. It’s also an excellent way to bring out their creativity and let them get a little messy.

What you’ll need
Paper plates
Paint
Construction paper
Paintbrush
Glue

Bring out some pictures of the animals you want to recreate for reference.
Cut, fold, or glue together the paper plate to shape the base of the animal.
Help them paint and put details as you (and your child) see fit.

Practice origami
Origami may seem complicated, but that’s the fun of it! It’s all about making creative shapes by folding papers. You and your child can learn to make different origami artifacts in your spare time. You can start with easy ones, such as a flower, a boat, or a hat. For your first origami project, maybe try a dog!

What you’ll need
A couple of sheets of origami square paper

Take a square sheet and position it in a diamond orientation, then fold it in half (left to right).
Open the paper and fold it in half again (top to bottom).
From there, fold in the left and right sides of the paper. This will be your dog’s ears.
Fold up the bottom center half. This will serve as its snout. At this point, it should look like a clear shape of a dog’s head.
Carefully open the layers of the paper (snout area) and tuck the bottom layer under. This makes your snout a different color.
Draw over the details.

If you want to create the dog’s body, you can visit this link for the complete instructions.

Make a cardboard dollhouse apartment
Get rid of the boredom at home by building and decorating dollhouse apartments. What makes this a whole lot of fun is that you and your child can create custom rooms and decorate them how you like it. Chances are, you might also have the right materials at home.

What you’ll need
Lots of cardboard
Scissors
Glue gun and glue stick
Duct tape
Metal ruler
Gift wrap for wallpaper

Cut five squares for each apartment and glue them together. Also, glue the gift wrap to one side.
Secure the walls with small bits of tape first to hold the structure together.
Then, lock them in place by taping all the seams.
That’s it! You can decorate and mix-and-match furniture for a personalized look.

Take a look at this for an idea on how to decorate the rooms.

Indoors can be fun, too!
Being cooped up at home can be draining and boring, but with a little bit of effort and creativity, you can start doing fun things with your kids. Good luck, and get your creative juices flowing!