UPDATED: A Bunch of Fun, Family-Friendly Things to do at Home!

We are living through some hard and confusing times, no doubt about it. One of the challenging things about self-isolation is staying entertained whilst spending the vast majority of our time at home. We realize that after these past few weeks, you and your kids might be going a bit stir crazy (understandably)! No worries: we’re here to help! Here are a bunch of fun suggestions for what to do to stay busy at home:

We’ve got you covered!

We put together a bunch of activities for you and your kids to print out and enjoy. Take a look!

Mazes

• Maze 1 (Easy)
• Maze 2 (Medium)
• Maze 3 (Hard)
• Maze 4 (Extra Hard)
• NEW: Wheels on the Van (Circular Maze)
• NEW: Wheels on the Bus (Bigger Circular Maze)

Word Searches

• Word Search 1 (Easy)
• Word Search 2 (Medium)
• Word Search 3 (Hard)

“Become a Driver” Art Frame

• Bus Driver
• Van Driver

Coloring Pages

• School Bus- Spring Scene
• School Van- Winter Scene
• At the Schoolhouse
• NEW: Safety in ALL Seasons

Crossword Puzzles

• NEW: Rohrer Bus Crossword

p.s. Show off you or your kiddos’ artwork by tagging us on Facebook or Instagram!

Some other great ideas…

Done with our printable activities and still looking for something to do? No worries! Here are some of our suggestions for some fun things that can be done from the comfort of your home:

DIY Science Experiments

Considering kiddos aren’t in school right now, this is a great way to stimulate young minds while simply having fun! Here are a couple kid-friendly, low-mess experiments you can do with materials you most likely have in your home:

• Oobleck: A non-Newtonian fluid that acts like a liquid under some circumstances, and a solid under others! Can make a bit of a mess, but you can craft it simply with some water and cornstarch.
• Make Rock Candy: This experiment can take up to two weeks, but kids can observe the crystallization process day-by-day. At the end, you even get a tasty piece of candy!
• Color-Changing Flowers: Show your kids how flowers “drink” water. You’ll just need light colored flowers (depending on where you live, you might have some growing right outside your house!) and some food coloring.
• Invisible Ink: Use lemon to write secret messages on paper, and make them appear by exposing it to a heat source! Shows kids how food oxidizes when exposed to heat, which is why many things change appearance/taste once cooked.
• Classic Volcano: We all know the “vinegar and baking soda” experiment, but it’s a perfect and safe way to teach kids about chemical reactions! Just make sure to put your volcano in a baking dish, as it can get a bit messy.

Also, you can Google “science experiments for kids,” and thousands of other options will come up! Share your kids’ favorite experiments with us in the comments!

Arts & Crafts

Crafts are fun for the whole family, and the ones we’re recommending require materials you most likely have around the house:

• Brown Paper Bag Puppets: This link we’re providing has tutorials for tons of different styles of puppets, and they’ll provide tons of entertainment even when the crafting part is done!
• Toilet Paper Roll Flowers: Don’t throw away those cardboard rolls after you use up your toilet paper or paper towels; repurpose them into beautiful flowers!
• Origami: Origami is fun and requires nothing but paper. Did you mess up or don’t like what you created? Just flatten out your paper and try something different! Check out these simple tutorials that anybody can do!

Remember, Google is your friend, and thousands of other craft tutorials are available to you with one simple search!

Board Games

Board games have sort of fallen out of popularity with the rise of video games, but board games are something almost anybody can participate in and enjoy! They’re a great way to get the whole family together to pass the time and have a bit of fun!

Scavenger Hunts

If you want to get creative, you can design a scavenger hunt for your kiddos! There are a couple ways to go about this. You can make a simple list of items for your kids to find (for example, something red, something round, etc.), and tally up the points. Check out this graphic for more inspiration!

You can also design a more complicated treasure hunt, where you can hide clues that lead to other clues, and eventually to a prize at the end! Check out this article for clue ideas!

Cooking/Baking Together

Seeing as most restaurants are closed, and takeout is pretty expensive, the best option to feed your family nowadays is by cooking at home. Plus, it’s fun, bonding, and can be an educational experience for kiddos! Here are a couple simple recipes for you to cook with your family:

• Any simple boxed cake or brownie mix
• Homemade bread
• Baked Potato Wedges (healthy and inexpensive alternative to fries!)
• Blueberry Pancakes (or replace blueberries with any frozen fruit or chocolate chips!)
• One-Pot Lasagna Soup (leave out the spinach if your kiddos are picky!)

These are just a couple easy recipes we thought kiddos would enjoy helping out with, but the possibilities are virtually endless in the cooking world! Additionally, if you have an ingredient in your fridge or pantry that you’re not quite sure about, now’s a great time to experiment! A simple Google search such as “recipes with ___” will give you thousands of options.

What do you think?

Are you going to try out anything we suggested in this article? Let us know in the comments. Also, keep us in the loop on social media how you and your family are staying busy! Thanks for reading, and we wish you all a safe and happy next couple of weeks!

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