Some areas are beginning to open their stay-home requirements. However, if your family is anything like mine, the kids especially still have several months ahead of them to stay at home. Even when the new school year rolls around, none of us know exactly what that will look like, and we all may end up with more time at home that what our busy lives are used to. To be quite honest, this is not necessarily a bad thing. With all this time at home, I’m sure many of us could use creative ideas for activities for the kids. I am going to share with you the top 10 activities for kids at home. These activities can be tailored to kids of any age. Plenty of ideas here to kick the boredom bug and keep the kiddos active. This list is in no type of ranking order, just 10 of THE BEST activities that your kids will love. 

Top 10 Activities for Kids At Home

1. Trampoline

I understand, for safety reasons some parents may be against this one, but I’m telling you, there is almost nothing better to help the kids get out some of that energy. Plus, it’s great exercise! For safety reasons, the trampolines with a net would be the best option. If you have young children, the smaller versions with nets, like those from First Step, are an excellent choice. 

With either option, you will definitely get your money’s worth with this one. We have both a large trampoline and the smaller one for young children. We’ve had the small one for 7 years now, and the bigger one for 4-5 years, and so far both are still going strong. 

With everyone staying home these days, trampolines can be hard to come by, so you just have to keep your eyes out and snag one when you see it.

2. Swimming Pool

At least where I’m from, most public pools won’t be opening this summer (and I live 30 minutes from the nearest one). My kids LOVE to swim, and I just hate to see them go an entire summer without the ability to get some swimming in. So this year we decided to invest in an above ground pool. The pool will literally occupy them for HOURS. And again, it’s good exercise if you actually swim and play around like my kids do and not just lounge around like I like to do!

Pools can also be difficult to find at this time, so you just have to keep checking and grab one up fast. The bigger pools are the harder ones to find. There are tons of options available for the young ones, it just depends on how small or extravagant you want to go. 

Side note: we ended up coming across a decent one at Walmart, so we grabbed it up instead of waiting for the “perfect one” since they are hard to find right now.

3. Craft Kits

There are many options out there for craft kits. The key is finding something that is age appropriate that your kids can do on their own! You may have to help them the first time or two, but find something after that they can do on their own. I still like to be in the same area, usually the kitchen. But, this helps them build independence, and it also gives you a few minutes to unload the dishwasher or cook dinner, or maybe even read a book!

My daughter is 7 and is currently loving Aquabeads. The first few times I had to help her, but now she’s a pro, and it’s a great activity to occupy some of her time. Especially if it’s rainy or cold and they can’t go outside.

4. Building Kits

Of course this would include the all popular LEGO sets that so many kids love and can spend hours working on. However, there are all kinds of other options out there too. My kids like LEGO’s, but I wouldn’t say they love them. Although we do have plenty in our house.

Some other great options include build a robot, model cars, and science/engineering kits. I would also put things like those dinosaur digging kits in this category. My son still enjoys those. He also has this Snap Circuit kit that’s pretty cool and has over 200 electrical projects he can build.

5. Make Believe

This one doesn’t take much in the way of toys or items that you might need at home. Send them outside to find a stick and play their own make believe game. Or give them a few pots and pans from the kitchen. However, especially for younger ones, it’s great to have a items around the house that can make their pretend play that much more realistic for them. 

Things like a few dress up items, a play kitchen, dolls and trucks are all great options. The ice cream set below has been a favorite for my kids and almost any child that comes over to play. Almost always the #1 toy at our house.

6. Activity Chart

7. Learn a New Skill

At the toddler stage, kids are usually doing this all on their own, every day. However, as children get older, they may need a gentle nudge in this area. Being at home is a great time to discover new hobbies and passions and help a child learn a new skill. 

Invest in piano or guitar lessons online. Find some free dance classes online. Let your child try out cross stitch or sewing, gardening or woodworking. If your kid loves electronics and gaming, invest in a computer coding program. There are options out there for almost anything!

8. Baking/Cooking

I love baking personally, so that’s been an easy area for me to let the kids jump in and help. And all of my kids have loved helping with baking since they were young. My 7 year old can now bake brownies on her own, and my 13 year old bakes several different things. It can be messy, but most kids love helping with the baking. If they especially love baking, investing in an apron and personal baking set for kids is a great idea!

As for cooking, that one has been a little harder and a little slow going for me because I always felt in such a hurry at dinner time. But during this stay-at-home time, I’ve been able to incorporate my kids in teaching them how to cook. Great skills for any child to learn. 

However, I could not have done this if I didn’t have myself together and was always stressed trying to figure out what’s for dinner. If you’re living there right now, always stressed and overwhelmed by dinner time, then my mini-course may be the perfect option for you! How to Make Meal Planning Work For You is a 5 day mini-course that will only take you 10 minutes a day. It will help you find just what works for you and your family and ditch the overwhelm of dinner time. And for a limited time you can grab this course for just $6.99.

9. Games/Puzzles

This is one most everyone already has in their home and are great activities for kids at home. Plus, it’s a great activity that the whole family can do! There are so many games and puzzles available out there for every age group. For our family, we’ve chosen to invest in several games from the littlest child up to adults. It has been a great investment, and something we use over and over again.

If you’re needing some new game options at your house, here are just a few favorites in our house. 

10. Outdoor Recreation

Bikes, trikes, scooters, hoverboards, and the list could go on and on. Of course you don’t need to own all of these, but having a few options for the kids to use is always a great idea, and again, a great activity to get them moving. Our kids love to be outside, so this is another area that we feel is worth the investment of money. We don’t have “all the things” by any means, but we do try to invest in specific items we know our kids will use over and over. Bikes are a must for us, and my girls enjoy rollerblades. Their new fetish is hoverboards which we do not own yet. We’ll see if they appear for a birthday or Christmas. 

Along with ride-ons, we love outdoor games like Bocce and Cornhole.

These are by no means the only activities for kids at home, but for our family I would consider them in the Top 10 category. I’d love to hear some of your favorite activities from home!

If you’re looking for a more detailed list of ideas, check out my list of 50 Easy Activities to do When Your Kids Are Home.

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