Keeping kids busy at home in holidays can a daunting and chaotic task. If you have kids at home, then you know they hardly remain still and do as they are told. At times you may have wondered what you can do to keep them being glued to their Playstations. You can engage them in some activities instead of running behind them all day. Not only activities keep your kids entertained but it is the best way to give them life lessons like teamwork, patience
Why team activities are necessary?
Kids between the age of 7 and 13 are starting to recognize their emotions and discover their relationship with others. They are very curious at this stage and has a steep learning curve. Kids at this age need to learn to work together and accomplish tasks.
In this article, we bring a list of fun activities for kids which they will love doing and also learn a few skills in the process.
List of Fun Learning Activities & Games for Kids
1. Mathematics Activities
Your kids will need mathematics throughout their life. So why not do some activity that will get familiar with the shapes or calculation. Simple games like Candy Land or Chutes will help them get familiar with the dice and count moves.
For more digital activity, you can sign in to Prodigy- a free, curriculum-aligned math video game that will engage your kids and their friends together by answering a few questions together. The game borrows elements from role-playing games (RPGs) and also uses adaptive learning and differentiated instruction principles to adjust content according to each student’s weak spots.
Abacus is one of the oldest tools for calculating dating as far as 2700-2300 BC. It is still used in many parts of Asia, Africa and can be used to perform and teach simple operations like counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The colorful beads and the movement also create an interest in kids and help them to physically engage and not just with their mind. Also, you can give them a basic idea of money using Abacus.
2. Brain-Boosting and Memory Activities
These games are not just to pass time and can help your kid’s memory and recall skills. Start off with some basic ones like coin matching and do the three cups trick where a small object is placed under one cup and then rearranged back and forth. The kids will track the cup helping in their visualizing and attentiveness.
There are also word chain and sound chain games where you have to add words or sound patterns. The list starts off with one person adding the first, the second adding his own and so forth until someone can no longer remember the pattern.
Another fun activity is retelling stories where you take turns with sentences or omitting sections or pretend to forget and asking your child what you forgot. This is an excellent exercise for your kids’ memory while increasing interaction with them.
I) Puzzles and Games
Letting your kids engaging their creative, cognitive and problem-solving skills is the best way to keep them occupied. There are various paper and pencil based games like Categories, Battleship and Dots and Squares which they can play when there is too much sun or rain outside. There are also various board and card games to play indoors.
You can build a racing track inside with tape for your kid’s cars or you can go for a plethora of alphabet and number games out there. Essentially you have to select alphabets, numbers and group them according to order or color. This is the perfect time to teach your child some common games like Tic-tac-toe or puzzles. There is also the option of word or dictionary based games where it will help your child increase his vocabulary while having fun.
For games that include physical activity, there are planets to choose from Cops and Robbers to Sink the Ship where they will learn the importance of teamwork. Freeze is another game in which kids dance around until the music stops. When it does, they have to freeze in whatever position they find themselves. This helps in improving their attention and listening skills.
II) Indoor activities
If you don’t want your kid spending time playing games, there are enough creative activities as well. You can try making origami shapes and bookmarks, which are pretty and fun to make. There are a range of shapes you can try from frog to rose. Another activity kids can do at home is salt painting for creating beautiful textured colorful art. Tissue paper transfer art is also another activity if your kids like to play with colors.
For more challenging stuff, you can try your hands on marshmallow toothpick stem challenges which is a great way to develop kid’s motor skills. You can teach them to build basic one-dimensional shapes to complex three-dimensional shapes. They can also get a basic idea about structures by making simple houses, bridges, and pyramids. If you don’t have the required items you can also use Popsicle sticks and clips.
Children love Do-it-yourself (DIY) activities which you can manage it with household materials and recyclable products. Building their own dolls or toys or decorating their own room can give them a proud sense of accomplishment and a boost to their self-esteem.
I) Outdoor activities
If you have a lawn, outdoor activities are great to engage your kids. It also helps them to get a workout and avoid getting stuck inside the house. Gardening is the best place, to begin with. Kids love digging, sowing and watering them. Bubble making is always fun and you can go making huge bubbles. It is quite simple and you only need household items like dishwashing liquid, baking powder, and corn flour.
You can also try creative activities like shadow painting when the weather is sunny outside. It involves placing an object in the direction of the object and let the shadow fall in a paper. Then the kids have to trace the lines along with the shadow. Messy art is the perfect way to get your hands dirty. You can take colors and make creative painting and structures with handprint and footprint or use natural objects like leaves or pebbles.
If you want to give your kid a basic knowledge about science this is the perfect way to engage them. You can make a solar-power windmill, or make a cardboard cut-out sundial to check the passage of time. There are also some advanced tricks you can show to your older kids like exploding lunch bag, exploding volcanoes and film canister rockets. The exploding lunch bag involves mixing baking soda, vinegar and warm water in a lunch bag. The resulting chemical reaction will produce CO2 followed by expansion and explosion.
II) Outdoor games
Outdoor games are best for your kids when you don’t want your kids to be obsessed with their electronic gadgets inside their home. These games are perfect for getting a workout and work on their teamwork skills.
You can start with basic games like capture the flag, tag game, hopscotch where you don’t need any special equipment. In hopscotch, a pattern is drawn on the ground with chalk or tape. Then using a special marker for individuals kids have to hop across the squares according to the rules. Another old traditional game is run and status where one player is selected and he have to point or touch runners to bring them to a halt.
5. Treasure Hunts
Kids are obsessed with pirates, treasures and hidden objects. You can organize a treasure/scavenger hunt in your house with household items. Treasure hunts improve decision-making skills and give them a sense of achievement. First, you have plan your route keeping in mind that there are not places with risks on the path. Scout out the locations that you think you can use to hide the clues. After that write down the clues and put them in number envelope and hide them. To make it easier for your kids, colored flags can be used as well.
Keep in mind to give some rewards at the hints or final object. Also, you have to set some ground rules in advance and make sure you go and participate with them. Make sure they have fun along with the hunt.
6. Magic Tricks
Kids are fascinated by magic and one of the best ways to have fun and keep them entertained. Not only you can perform and amaze them, but also teach one or two simple tricks along the way. Teaching magic tricks to kids builds confidence in them and also helps with social building skills. The very act of performing can give a good sense of how to deal with an audience.
There are basic and easy magic tricks that don’t even require the skills to perform. One of them is the old rubber pencil trick where we have to hold down the pencil at the end and shake it at the right speed to make it look bendable and as if it is made of rubber. Bending spoon and disappearing coin are some traditional easy magic tricks that you can perform. Teaching these simple skills can help your child to develop motor skills, discipline and also confidence.
Secondly, there are card tricks which require some practice and also little sleight of hand. There are card tricks which require your kids to select a card and you have to find it out. There are also challenging tricks making an egg fit through a whole, and cracking an egg. To perform the egg fitting experiment, you will require a cooled peeled hardboiled egg, a glass bottle with a hole slightly smaller than the egg, paper, and lighting device.
You can also give your kids a lesson on chemistry through magic. Though easy, there requires a certain condition and preferable to perform outside. You can show them some basic ones like invisible ink or more complex ones like burning money in which you set a note on fire and watch it burn without damaging the bill.
7. Festival activities
Kids love festivals, whether it is Holi or Halloween and it is the perfect time to spend time and engage them in some fun activities. You can teach your kids to make decorative items for a particular festival like rangoli, kites or jack-o’-lanterns. You can also help them to make greeting cards with creative activities like pain-splatter, hand-painting or straw-painting. Make sure you utilize this time and make it memorable.
8. Digital activities
It is also necessary that you educate your child in this digital age. Not only they will help fun but also there are also certain websites where they can learn and improve their skills while not getting bored. Here is a list of some websites that are safe, fun and educational for your child:
I) Switcher Zoo
Here you can watch, listen, play games along with learning all about the animal kingdom
II) Fun Brain
This site allows your kid to play games awhile practicing math and reading skills
III) Nat Geo Kids
Here, your kid can learn all about geography and fascinating animals
IV) Into the Book
This website can help you kid learn about reading strategies while playing games
V) Star Fall
Here your kid can practice their phonics skills while reading stories
VI) ABC YA
This website offers math and reading skills while playing fun games
VII) Highlights Kids
Here, kids can read, play games and even conduct cool science experiments.
So here is the final list of activities that your kids can do at home. All the activities are pretty common and a simple search can get you all the information required for that activity. Parents’ interaction is equally needed to create a bond and help with their emotional requirements.