It’s officially day 1427 (ok, we might be exaggerating a little) of quarantine and we know you may be dealing with some bored kiddos and toddlers (and possibly other adults!) at home. So we’ve curated a list of fun boredom busters that the entire family can take part in so you can get some relief from quarantine boredom!
Here’s 14 ways to beat boredom at home and entertain your quarantined little ones:
1. Technology for the win!
This has been one of the most popular ways folks are connecting and engaging while we all social distance; and it’s not just for adults or for work purposes! Your little ones can totally participate in video calls or Zoom calls.
Schedule a video play date with one of your kids’ friends from school. Need to get some work done? Have grandma or grandpa do some virtual babysitting on FaceTime! We don’t know about you but we are totally grateful for these types of technology right now! BTW, not naming any names, but we know a grandma and grandpa who had a 30 minute dance party with their grandson via FaceTime. This boredom buster can double as exercise too!!
2. Good old fashioned hand written notes make a great boredom buster!
Send some love to a relative by creating and writing homemade cards. This is a personal way to stay connected and if you have super crafty kiddos, they’ll love spending hours doing this! Find odds and ends at home that you can incorporate. Maybe some old buttons, keys, pasta, newspaper or magazine cut outs. Find the paper and glue and get creative!
3. ABC Mouse – an educational boredom buster.
ABC Mouse is well known by many. If you don’t already have it, get it! This is a go-to boredom buster even during non-quarantine times. If you haven’t used it in a while, time to break it out again. They are offering a free 30 day trial right now to new customers—perfect timing for quarantine!
For bigger kids, try Code.org or MIT’s Scratch.
4. S’mores are calling!
For most of us, it’s finally the time of year that you can spend more hours outside. It is sunnier and warmer! Yay! If your city permits it, get outside one evening after dinner and have a bonfire. Get cozy with some blankets, have a warm hot chocolate (or an adult beverage for mom and dad), and make some s’mores! This activity pretty much guarantees that the whole family will be smiling!
5. Play with your food.
Have left over marshmallows after your bonfire? Use them to create different types of sculptures! All you need is marshmallows and toothpicks. Make animals, buildings or entire cities! Get ultra creative by using mini, regular and jumbo marshmallows!
Brownie points for parents: your kids will love eating their creations afterwards.
6. Create an outdoor movie theater!
Go all out with this boredom buster! Why not turn your bonfire experience into an outdoor movie extravaganza? Take an old white sheet and hang it up outside (you can tape or pin to an exterior wall on your house). Borrow from a friend or order a projector from Amazon. Connect to your computer and tada! You can stream Netflix or Amazon Prime or whatever service you use.
7. Hit up your local zoo, virtually to bust boredom!
Zoos all over the world offer live stream video of animals; and most zoos offered this even before quarantine 2020. But it has become a super fun way to spend some time and to check off your daily science homeschool lesson. Try googling “live stream zoos” and you’ll find lots of options. We especially like the Monterey Bay Aquarium live cams or these options from the San Diego Zoo.
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8. Pass the time with a long drive.
Social distancing doesn’t have to keep you at home all the time. Pack up your crew and hop in the car for a drive. Play some games like I Spy or The License Plate Game. This is a great boredom buster to feel like you’re getting out while still staying safe! And if you’re lucky, the kids will fall asleep on the way home and stay asleep for a little bit once you get back. #winning
9. Red solo cup boredom buster.
We know many households that have a healthy stockpile of red solo cups. Now is a great time to break those out and have some fun! You can use them to create awesome circle designs and artwork to frame for home decor. Create towers. Bigger kids love flipping competitions. Ping pong water games. Check out the endless options here.
10. Go back to the basics of childhood fun and build a fort.
Who doesn’t love a blanket fort?! Find every single pillow and blanket you have in your home and make a ginormous family sized fort. Use chairs, step stools, ottomans. This boredom buster can take a serious chunk out of your day and if the kids ask to keep the fort up for days on end, let them! Encourage them to read inside their new secret hideout!
11. All the world’s a stage.
This is a unique boredom buster idea that we are totally on board with. BroadwayHD offers streaming of all your favorite Broadway musicals. And they have a 7 day free trial! The service works on all types of devices and they literally have hundreds of titles. Use this as a way to teach homeschool Shakespeare!
12. Balloons can guarantee at least an hour of entertainment. You’re welcome!
Have some unused balloons lying around from birthdays past? Blow them all up and the fun will automatically begin! What kid doesn’t love a bunch of balloons everywhere? Of course, you could also play some games like hot lava balloon (don’t let the balloon touch the floor), balloon tennis, water balloons or balloon hockey (use a cardboard box as the goal).
Make sure your kids are old for this boredom buster activity. If they aren’t, adult supervision is a must.redom
13. Pop culture boredom busters at their best!
This boredom buster may be more appropriate for older kiddos with longer attention spans. That said, we think adults will definitely like this one. Have movie marathons and pick a theme! Maybe 80s night. Educate your tweens on movies like Pretty in Pink or The Breakfast Club. Or what about a Harry Potter marathon? Sounds like a great way to spend some quality family time!
14. Boredom busters for the tiny members of your household.
Toddlers might be the hardest demographic to keep quarantined. They are busy, highly distracted and have shorter attention spans than older kids. So to all the parents of babies and toddlers, we are here for you and sending you virtual hugs as you make your way through quarantine 2020. Here are a few ideas to help you survive quaran-toddler days:
Sensory Bins:
Sensory bins are the best. You most likely have things at home you can use and unlike a lot of activities, toddlers will usually spend more than 15 minutes enjoying them! We love sensory bins with whipped cream, ice cubes, play sand and dried pasta!
Introduce solids:
This applies to babies, but if you’ve been waiting for the right time to make your own baby food, experiment with different foods and spend time cleaning up the mess that inevitably will be made…then now’s the time!
Potty training:
Ugh. We know. It’s not the most fun way to beat boredom, but if you’re stuck at home anyway, you might as well start!
This is just the tip of the iceberg! But we hope it helps you and your little crew have some fun. We know there are tons of other boredom busters and want to hear from you. What are you doing to beat boredom while staying home? Comment below!
Kaylee Garcia is the mama to one sweet boy and one sweet girl, and wife to an awesome husband. Kaylee and her son (he’s only 4!) have completed over 20 trips via air travel (thank you, Alaska Airlines!) on over 40+ airplane rides! They love sharing travel tips with other families since they’ve learned a lot in the last 4 years. Kaylee enjoys spending time with family, researching baby gear, and exploring the Pacific Northwest.
Wow, great post. Great.
this was an informative article
Alot of info thank u alot!
These ideas really are my final hope fellas.
I have to say I’ve been searching google and pinterest for things to do with my kids and have found mostly thing that will keep them busy for just a few minutes. I appreciate that you thought this out and found things that will distract them while having fun for enough time that I can get some work done. Who else thinks it’s hard to work from home while trying to keep your kids on track? To be honest, I’m struggling.
Love the marshmallow idea and I know my daughter will enjoy using these as “building blocks.” Freelance crafting (my daughter loves making things for her friends and relatives. She even made a book for one of them!) and video/phone call playdates have been life savers.
When I picture my parents dancing on facetime with my kids I’m laughing so hard inside. They are SOOO uncoordinated. This just might make my whole week. I’m scheduling this asap!!!!
Great ideas. Sensory bins are my go to activity. I can throw just about anything in a tub of sand and know my kids will love it.
Does anyone else feel like they’ve just gotten super lazy during quarantine. I mean these are good ideas actually great ideas but I just feel too tired to even coordinate any of these things. cant wait for this to all be over. When it is I’ll porbably look back and think, why didn’t I try those things. lol
WTH? I only had one of these on my idea list. Glad I cam across this.
Goodness gracious! I didn’t think this quarantine thing could be so challenging. I can probably go through all these things in one day. I have 6 kids!!!!!
Just wonderful infomation.
Now that the weather is getting warmer the bugs are coming out. My kids and I have been having contests each (nice) day to see who can find the most bugs! Yesterday we even dressed up like adventurists.
A round of applause for your blog post. Much thanks again. Really Great!
Hello to all!
In this difficult time, I give all moms permission to do whatever they need to, have to, want to. Your kids will make it even if they eat pizza everyday for the next 10 weeks and watch movies for 10 hours a day.
I appreciate these tips. God bless to all :)
Getting outside as much as possible for walks. Tonight we walked (and skateboarded) down to see the sunset which has been a somewhat regular event during quarantine. It’s hard to be in a bad mood with that view.
I feel like all my kids are doing is playing on their ipads. It makes me feel like a bad mom, but I konw I’m not alone in letting them play the days away. Mine kids don’t have online school like some others and I don’t have time to keep them occupied. I’ll try some of these suggestions in hopes I don’t feel like such a failure right now. Just glad I still have a job!
You’re incredible! Thank you for writing out these ideas. I’ll implement asap.
We are spending lots of time outside! Climbing trees, planting flowers, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, etc! Thankful for nice weather!
Love this! Our favorite thing do to when emotions are high are have what we call an “EDP” or “emergency dance party! We play fun music and get all the wiggle out it turns any bad day into a great one!
Love all these ideas! One of my favorite memories is of my son, daughter and nephew drawing in pudding on my kitchen table.
I can’t believe I didn’t think to have my kids make a blanket fort. In fact, they’ve never made one. It was one of my favorite things to do as a kid myself. Brain fart!!!
My kids are obsessed with the 80’s so I love watching old movies with them that I remember from being young. Great tip.
Super good suggestions. Thanks for sharing.
Love this list. What a sweet idea to send letters to relatives. <3
I’ve heard great things about ABC Mouse. I need to get it for my kids. What are the age ranges it’s best for?
My 4 year old loves is. I think they say the age range is 3-7.
I feel like I’ve been int he dark not konwing that we could watch the webcams at the zoos. My son loves animals. This will be great!!!!
These are nice ideas, but I really hope quarantine dosn’t last too much longer.
Ohhhh! I’m adding balloons to my next shopping list. :)
During pandemic of the coronavirus president Trump has made multiple statements on when this will end. Who believes him?
How about cook? I’ve been teaching my kids how to cook age appropriate recipes. They are still young but getting them in the kitchen to help with easy breakfasts and lunches is fun!
Sensory bags are great too and there is no mess to clean up! I have some with beads and hidden small object that the kids search for.
LOL…potty training. It definitley isn’t fun but I totally agree, it really is a great time to take advantage of quarantine!!!!!!!
Hello. And Bye.
Sensory bins. I don’t like messes but think my little one will enjoy it. Thanks for the tip!