5 Stay-At-Home Activities To Keep Kids Engaged & Learning

Do your kids have the shelter-in-place blues? Just because we have to stay at home doesn’t mean we have to be bored!
Here are 5 fun activities for kids you can do from your own home that help our little ones move their bodies and stimulate their brains.
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1. Check out our Snack Science Videos on YouTube
   Join Health Start Sharon to craft beautiful art projects, read stories, do science experiments, and make healthy, delicious snacks. Each video contains learning activities that teach your child about a different body system, such as the brain, bones, circulatory system, muscles, and digestive system! Best of all, our videos are only 3-5 minutes long and you likely already have the materials and ingredients needed for experiments and activities, so you won’t even need to leave your house. Check out some highlights below!​

​Craft an art project:

This colorful art project takes blowing bubbles to the next level! In Episode 8, Health Start Sharon tells you all about what you need to keep your brain strong, like healthy foods, water, and oxygen. Then, she’ll show your child how to make a beautiful bubble painting to hang on the fridge or give to a loved one. You can find this episode right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew7IdlZEg0k&t=13s

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Listen to a story:

You’ve heard about giant peaches and beanstalks, but have you heard about monster tomatoes? Grab a snack (maybe some tomatoes?) and listen along as Health Start Sharon reads, Oh No, Monster Tomato! by Jim Helmore and Karen Wall in Episode 4, which you can find right here: https://youtu.be/aYjGy_3B5So

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Do a science experiment:

Have you ever wondered why soap and water get rid of germs? Let’s find out! Health Start Sharon will walk your child through an easy experiment they can do with ingredients you have at home, like ground pepper! Check out Episode 1, where your child can do this experiment and learn how to wash their hands to prevent germs from spreading! You can find this episode right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVtEKgu3jSw

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Make a snack:

Follow along during Episode 15, where Health Start Sharon creates a delicious edible skeleton out of your favorite veggies, with a yogurt dipping sauce! Your child will learn all about why vitamins and minerals in vegetables and yogurt build strong bones. You can find this episode right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jhYvUDpw8M

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You can find these activities and much more on our website at https://www.healthstartfoundation.org/snackscience.html.
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   2. ​Practice Reading Skills with a Scavenger Hunt

Ahoy Mateys! Do you want to learn vocabulary words and hunt for treasure at the same time? If you have a child who is practicing reading skills, try setting up an indoor scavenger hunt!

• First, choose some prizes, like bubbles, stickers, or even some (chocolate) gold coins, and pick a hiding spot for them. 
• Then, write out clues on pieces of paper and hide them in, on, or below objects around your home. Clues can range in difficulty depending on your child’s reading level. For example, if you have a child learning to read, write names of objects or simple phrases to describe where the next clue will be, such as “under the ball” and help them sound out the words. For a child who is older, develop critical thinking skills by using hints such as “I’m hidden in a place that rhymes with “path” where you get clean!” 
• If you have more than one kid at home, try making it a race! The last person to find the treasure has to swab the deck (a.k.a help Mom or Dad clean the kitchen floor).

     3. Experience the Animal Kingdom

You don’t have to go outside to learn about nature! Bring nature to your child by having them learn about different animals. 

• First, pick an interesting animal, like turtles, frogs, bees, butterflies, or wolves. 
• Then, have your child watch a video about that animal. Youtube is a great resource for this! In addition to our Snack Science videos, there is a lot of content made especially for kids that is safe for them to watch. For example, you can find a video on how bees make honey, or how turtles hatch from eggs and journey to the ocean. 
• Now, create a game that will help your child learn about how that animal lives. You might make an obstacle course that they have to hop through, like a frog. Or, they might decorate some paper flowers, hide them around the house, and then use their “proboscis” (a straw) to drink nectar from them like a bee.
• Last, they can teach what they learned to the other members of the family by acting out that animal. They might use a blanket to show how a caterpillar becomes chrysalis and then hatches into a beautiful butterfly! This might require a bit more planning on your part, but it gets kids excited to learn about something new.
  
  

     4. Take a Nature Walk

Feeling a little stir-crazy? Gather the whole family and take a walk outside to check out the area around you! This is a great opportunity for kids to learn about different landforms, plants, and animals as well as practice observation skills in order to discover and identify the unique qualities of what they see. 

• Take a walk around your neighborhood or nearby park.
• Then ask your little ones questions such as, ”What landforms can you find in your area? Rivers, lakes, islands, hills, mountains? Can you grow food in these places? What kinds of plants do you see? Tall trees? Colorful flowers?”, etc. 
• As you begin to discuss different landforms and features in your area, have your child describe what they see and draw them on a piece of paper. They can even create their own map of the area around them!

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    5. Create a Sock Puppet Theatre

This activity is fantastic because it is a combination of a crafting, writing, and dramatic play rolled into one! 

• First, find some old socks, a glue gun or fabric glue, pom-poms, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, felt, or any other arts and crafts materials you have lying around the house. 
• Then, have your child make a sock puppet or two; it can be an animal, a monster, or even a puppet version of themselves! 
• Next, have your child draw a storyboard on a piece of paper that has a beginning, middle, and an end. For older children, break the storyboard up into scenes, and have your child draw or write what will happen in each scene. They may wish to act out a fairytale, or make up one of their own! 
• Last, put on a show for the whole family by seating everyone in front of a couch, armchair, or kitchen counter, and having your child act out the scenes behind the furniture. Bravo! 

Do you have a favorite stay-at-home activity for kids? Feel free to share it below in the comments for other families to see. Be sure to join our Snack Science Video Series and try out these activities so we can stay healthy and strong together, at home!




References: Richards, Mari. "7 Super Fun DIY Sock Puppets." Handmade Charlotte, March 4th, 2014. https://www.handmadecharlotte.com/7-diy-sock-puppets/

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