Games to Keep Children Entertained at Home

 

Keeping kids entertained at home can be a challenge, especially as it is happening now more than ever. All too quickly, you can play all of their favorite games and activities until they become bored of them and your ideas (as well as your efforts) become exhausted. This list offers some inspiration for fun games that can keep your children entertained at home.

 

Indoor Bowling

Indoor bowling sounds expensive, but it can be done while teaching your kids about recycling and reusing! You can set up pins as water or soda bottles, set up at the end of a hall or long pay-room. Set the starting line with a bit of tape, find a good-sized ball and start to bowl. Keep score and invent your own rules; just have fun! If the game is too easy, you can try a longer distance or put a bit of water in the base of the bottles.

 

Sensory Box

Sensory experiences are a wonder for preschool kids, so take advantage of them and make a sensory box. Start by finding a box with a lid on it (like a shoebox), cut a hole in the side through which your child will be able to put their hand, and then get started decorating the box together with exciting patterns, colors, glitter and/or question marks. You can then just put any item into the sensory box and get your child to work out what it is without seeing it. There are great ways you can play around with texture – from adding gross-feeling foodstuffs like pumpkin or squash guts to adding vegetables like beetroot that can make your child wonder what on earth could have colored their hand so vividly. You can do this with two kids and make it into a game – assigning points to those who guess first.

 

Virtual Escape Room

A Virtual Escape Room is perfect if you have children with wide age ranges; it is a perfect way for the whole family to play together and to encourage bonding between your kids. There is a reason why businesses use escape rooms as team bonding exercises; they are a great way to get everyone to enjoy working together. They are also a nice easy option, as they don’t involve you setting anything up or cleaning up afterwards – all you have to do is go online and pick the escape room.

 

Puzzles

Puzzles are always a good option if you want to hone your child’s cognitive skill-set. For bonus points, your kids can make their own. You can give them some help by getting them to draw a picture on some board and doing all the cutting (though it needs to be with sharp scissors or a Stanley knife). You can then mix up the pieces and get them to solve the puzzle. This is good for kids with lower attention spans as it is two sources of entertainment in one – creativity and then problem-solving, sure to occupy a whole afternoon.