101 Things To Do With Kids Indoors (and your own garden)

With current events in mind, we thought it was a good time to share some ideas for fun and easy things that you can do with kids indoors, or even in your garden.

Enjoy, please share your favourites – and let us know if you have any ideas too! I’ll be sharing lots more useful blogs over the next few weeks and don’t forget, you can also find lots of useful local information on the Harrogate Mumbler News Page on Facebook.

And if all else fails, don’t forget CBeebies!

1. Make playdough
2. Grab a torch and make shadow puppets on the walls
3. Fold a piece of paper accordion-style, cut out paper dolls holding hands then colour them in after
4. Indoor obstacle course (create zig zag laser lines in the hallway with string and get the kids to wriggle underneath or hop inbetween them. )
5. Make a den under the kitchen table, take in torches, cushions and snacks
6. Think of five things beginning with a letter
7. Glow stick bath
8. Have an empty chocolate box? Make pretend chocolates out of plasticine to go in it
9. Build a spaghetti and marshmallow tower
10. Put on a show!
11. Line a baking tray with foil, fill it with water and freeze – it’s an ice rink for toys, or a science experiment to see which items have the most traction when you slide them around
12. Finger painting – draw faces onto your prints afterwards to create bugs, people and more
13. Make flower perfume with water and flowers in the garden
14. Gather leaves, paint them and press them onto paper
15. Have a dance party! Glow sticks add extra fun.
16. Play hide and seek
17. Set a Lego challenge (can you build me a dinosaur? A spaceship?)
18. Build something with clean recycling
19. Learn how to tie shoe laces
20. Teach them how to knit or sew
21. Write funny sentences onto slips of paper, fold them up and put them into a hat then pull them out one at a time, reading aloud to hear your hilarious story unfold!
22. Use up any old craft kits/colouring books
23. Make paper bag puppets
24. Bake something using simple ingredients (look out for our baking blog soon!)
25. Make faces using bits and pieces from the garden
26. Choose a fairytale (or any book), and have each person pretend to be a character with one of you as an interviewer/journalist to ask you all questions. Make sure you answer them in character!
27. Do a simple science experiment such as a volcano, or pour lukewarm water over Skittles sweets on a plate to make a rainbow
28. Make invisible ink
29. Do a jigsaw puzzle
30. Make origami flowers and spritz with a tiny bit of perfume
31. Create a sock puppet
32. Make up a story by each taking it in turns to write/say a line

    

    Make something out of a cardboard box! Pic credit: Vivian Fung

33. Repurpose cardboard boxes into a dolls house, hospital, vet, parking garage – anything you like!
34. Make a peg dolly (wooden pegs are best)
35. Put on a fashion show
36. Play I Spy
37. Do yoga (Cosmic Kids is great)
38. Learn finger knitting
39. Make a time capsule
40. Cut out pictures from a magazine then glue and stick
41. Create a “Favorite Memories” or “Thankful” jar
42. Make bookmarks
43. Build a cardboard castle and paint it
44. Make a paper boat then float it in the bath
45. Paint rocks from your garden
46. Make a suncatcher or a dream catcher
47. Draw a self portrait
48. Have a treasure hunt
49. Plant cress heads (the McDonalds Happy Meal Mr Men cups are great for this!)
50. Let the kids do your hair (if you dare!!!) and makeup
51. Have a “Virtual Bake Off” contest with your friends – post your pics (or videos) online in a Whatsapp group and have a bonus prize for the messiest!
52. Do a blind taste test (blindfold the kids and feed them a range of sweet, salty, sour flavours and let them guess what they’re eating)
53. Decorate biscuits (any cheap biscuit will do if you don’t want to bake your own, make up some icing and use sprinkles)
54. Have a movie day with popcorn
55. Do a chore together
56. Plant some veggies in the garden
57. Write letters to grandparents
58. Create a secret code
59. Start your own newspaper and have the kids write about what is happening. They could interview relatives and friends over the phone for quotes
60. Request a song over the radio – challenge friends to do the same and see who gets theirs on first!
61. Make a bug hotel with things from the garden
62. Ask the kids to make a reward chart – for the parents!
63. Dig out old board games
64. Do a limbo!
65. Have a pillow fight
66. Write a journal
67. Play Simon Says
68. Learn some card games
69. Play charades
70. Pick a country and learn all about it
71. Read a book together
72. Do a mini history project; choose a person/event, research it and write about it or make a poster/cartoon
73. Play hangman
74. Learn a few words of a new language
75. Play skittles (use action figures or tin cans and a ball)
76. Have a World Book Day – dig into the dressing up box and do crafts themed around a book
77. Make up a quiz
78. Have a tea party
79. Make friendship bracelets
80. Play hopscotch
81. Make chalk drawings on the patio or garden wall
82. Take a “virtual tour” of a museum 
83. Make homemade pizzas
84. Host a mini Olympics  (wheelbarrow race, etc). Friends can take part online!
85. Play marbles
86. Make a party hat/crown
87. Create your own board game
88. Have a bubble bath and take some toys in
89. Explore the garden with a magnifying glass
90. Make paper planes and see whose flies the highest!
91. Do the Conga around the house
92. Make paper outfits for dolls and action figures
93. Record your own podcast
94. Play musical bumps and musical statues
95. Make saltdough ornaments/shapes
96. Dig out scraps of coloured icing/baking supplies and let the kids decorate a sponge cake
97. Who can build the tallest tower?
98. Make fluffy paint
99. Create masks using paper plates
100. Download a movie-making app and make movies with your toys
101. Make musical instruments – it could be as simple as a drum kit with kitchen pans and spoons! Or you could use elastic bands as guitar strings, or dried rice for shakers.

That’s it! We hope you have lots of fun exploring these ideas and can’t wait to hear your favourites!