The COVID-19, Coronavirus, has led to children being out of school, possibly for the remainder of the year. With this, parents may be experiencing some challenges keeping their kids productive during down time. We’ve put together some fun and thought provoking ideas for employees to do with their kids to keep them engaged and active while they’re home! These activities are ideas from real parents, and can be scaled as needed based on children’s age and abilities!

Activities:

Upcycle Crayons: Breathe new life into old and broken crayons with this fun DIY experience! Don’t waste resources by throwing them away — in just a few minutes, create shapes or even the letters of your kids names that they can color and draw with! Instructions here.

At-Home ‘Spartan’ Race: Create a short obstacle course for your child(ren) to complete, indoors or outdoors!. Ideas: carry a basketball from one end of the living room to the other & do 5 jumping jacks every time they reach the end, carry a textbooks up the steps, jumping from one pillow on the floor to the next, run in place, and complete a goal at the end like solving a puzzle or throwing something into a basket. At the end, give each “finisher” a certificate of completion or simply a high five! Find some inspiration here for the younger ones, and here, or here for the somewhat older ones.

Recycled Robots: Using materials found at home, design a robot to be your quarantine buddy! Get started with these simple instructions here.

Treasure Hunt: Treasure hunts are pretty easy to put together and can keep kids occupied for some time! Hide anywhere from 10 to 20 items around the house or outside. Give hints so the kids know where to look. You can also make a list of things to find in nature when you go on a walk such as acorns, a flower, a cloud, a squirrel, etc.

Cook with Kids: Cooking/baking is a great skill to build and can help with math, reading and motor skills. From measuring, to mixing, to pouring or chopping, kids can get involved in cooking something healthy and delicious! See here for ideas!

Marble Maze Competitions:

Create a track using items in your home that keeps a marble rolling! The goal is to keep the marble, or whatever ball you use, rolling as long as possible, not as far as possible.

Supplies & Materials needed:
•Stopwatch or timer
•Marble, golf ball, bouncy ball, gum ball, etc.
•Anything you find in the house that might be used to create a ‘track’. Think plastic cups, empty cereal boxes, paper towel tubes, etc. Anything goes! Choose an area with plenty of room to spread out and build. Your marble run can and should include some furniture (e.g., desks, tables, chairs).

Rules:
Create teams or design your marble run solo! See who’s marble rolls the longest using a stopwatch to time.

Design Tips:
You can cut tubes in half lengthwise to make chutes. You can use any materials to create tracks/ramps. Use the environment to your advantage! Build on walls, chairs, tables, and even the floor.

Fun Variations:
Build a marble run that sets off a domino run or another chain reaction, or build a marble run that goes all the way around a room!