Well the natives are getting restless if you are one of so many people stuck inside with their children. LOL. I don’t care if it’s the best family in the world, everyone is bound to get a little antsy after 8 + days home with each other. Maybe some family fun will lighten the mood 🙂
I have a wonderful but very busy 3 year old who is always looking for what’s next. I think all parents are looking for some good entertainment and new ideas for the family right now. So here are my top favorite ways that we’ve come up with to keep the adventures going.
1. Scavenger Hunts are a big hit in this house!
Now this one takes a little bit of parent prep time and creativity but it is totally worth it. I like to keep my daughter as active in the mind and body as I can during times like these or anytime at home really. I feel like the scavenger hunts keep us both thinking. So my favorite is one clue leads to another to another and so on, finally leading to a surprise at the end. (But there are many different ways as well, they vary online) Now I am lucky because Lily is easily amused, but whether it’s fresh baked cookies or an early Easter present at the end of the rainbow, the real fun is in the hunt. So example time: Have a starting point where you’ll have the initial clue, or multiple clues for multiple children. With Lily being younger it could make my example clues a little simple for some of the older kids but you get the point 🙂
Start Point Clue: This should start with ease, where does mommy hang her keys?
Clue #1: (Hanging Under where I hang my keys) Now I know you are looking for some direction, try checking your reflection.
Clue #2: (Hanging on the mirror) Hmm, Where to go now? I think we better brush our teeth, Can you show me how?
Clue #3: (On toothbrush holder) ….
So you get the idea right?! And this can go on for as long as you want to keep making clues. Here’s the best part, the whole time I’m secretly running Lily from the kitchen to the attic, back down to the bathroom, all over the house, back and forth. Running out some energy, utilizing some thinking skills, all while having a ton of fun!
2. Challenges are a wonderful way to make exercise fun.
I was lucky enough to get the pull up bar I wanted for Valentine’s Day. So our latest is the 3 Minute Hang Challenge. It may not sound like much but those who have tried it KNOW that it is hard and it hurts LOL. You can do this without a pull up bar, but it would definitely make it a little harder, I imagine. I watched a guy on YouTube fold up a towel and close it in the door to do pull ups, WOW! Anyway Hang Time Challenge is pretty self explanatory. See How Long You Can Hang! My personal record as of late is only 1:13 but I’m working my way up. Lily’s personal best is 17 seconds which I think is pretty awesome for 3 years old. We Also do a Mommy n Me One Minute Sit Up challenge. How many can you do in a minute? You can adjust any of these challenges to make them your own. Doesn’t have to be timed if you don’t like to feel rushed. If you like running, see who can run in place the longest. Adjust it to fit the parts of your own body that you want to work on. It’s more about pushing ourselves to our very own personal best. No matter what we’re doing, Right?!
3. Mastering the Art of Paper Airplanes.
Laugh if you want, but this craft really “took off” at our house! It was a very little and unexpected thing that turned into an all night adventure and still gets requests to this day! We had no idea how entertaining and time consuming these things of the past could be. But again, the goal is to stay creative about things. So decorate them and make them different. Or if you’re like me, google how to make them because you can’t remember LOL. Either way, race them, see who’s can fly the farthest? Big or Small…We love them all! LOL. Paper airplanes, who knew? I would absolutely LOVE feedback on this one! What did your family do? Was it SUPER fun…or just us?
P.S. You can also do this one with boats made out of recyclables laying around the house. Does it float? How many pennies can it hold?
4. Create A Story ( My own version of MadLibs )
This is a bit of a silly one, but could turn into a bloggers dream LOL. Like I said before, I have a very funny daughter and this works great with her. However it can be done with any age or amount of people. She gives me a word, I make a sentence. I give her a word and she makes a sentence. This could go on for some time depending on the mood that night. Other times, she only gives me words, which makes it a little easier to create a readable story but still hard to blend some of the random ideas together. A ton of fun for us and can surprisingly lead to some decent stories, and big laughs!
5. Make your own Bowling Alley.
We like to do this in a hallway or sometimes down the stairs if we’re feeling really crazy! So first things first, find your pins! We use 6 pins but it’s up to you. However they have to be close to the same size and unbreakable. So recyclables always work great! Next create a ball, anything from rubber bands to foil, we let Lily cheat and use her ball of choice. Finally set up and bowl away! Switch balls and pins, keep score, play for fun, rinse, repeat 🙂
6. Build a Fort.
A classic but always proven to inspire imagination. All hands and supplies on deck for the good ol’ fort build. Make tunnels, connect multiple forts, the options are endless. Throwbacks are a wonderful thing, nuff said LOL.
7. Create or Re-create a time or place by transforming a room
OK. This one can be simple or very in depth, choice is yours. Depends on time and resources available . The best personal example of mine is…wait for it. We completely transformed our third floor into the 70’s 🙂 There’s records, tapestry’s, lights, tye dye and lava lamps. The only technology aloud up there is the record player! No Phones, No Shoes, Just Quality Time, Old Music and Puzzles 🙂 So that’s a bit extreme, but maybe a princess dream house where you put everything pink in one room or blue for boys LOL. How bad would it really be to turn the living room into a ninja warrior course for a half hour? 🙂 Maybe Disneyland? Don’t have enough Disney stuff? Make it! Create <3
8. Last but not least, THE FLOOR IS LAVA!
We have done this for hours, in one room, in all rooms, while cooking LOL. It can get interesting at times and is always a good one.
Well I guess that brings us to a conclusion for now. I truly hope you enjoyed this read and it opened up some new fun times for the whole family. I would LOVE and appreciate any feedback, comments, add ons, experiences, ect….
From Our Families to Yours, Lots of Good Vibes!
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