250+ Creative Ways to Keep Your Family Sane During the COVID-19 Crisis

Experiencing lots of "family togetherness" during the Coronavirus pandemic? KidsOutAndAbout.com provides over 250 ideas for making the most of your time together and avoid driving each other crazy.

Some of the best parenting advice I ever received was: "When it rains, play in the rain." There are ways of making the best out of any situation, this one included. We have a unique opportunity here: We can make the COVID-19 crisis into a moment that will live vividly in our kids' memories, so that in other times of uncertainty they'll recall fondly how their family pulled together and made the best of things, and they'll be able to do the same.

250+ Creative Ways to Keep Your Family Sane During the COVID-19 Crisis

Below are the categories for this article. Click on any of them to jump to that category below.

Games and Activities
Clean / Fix
Plan
Cook
Science Experiments
Arts & Crafts
Perform
Outside your Perimeter: Driveway, Yard, Garden, and Beyond
Links to Online Fun and Learning
Surprise! You're Homeschooling! Here are tips for success.
Operation Storytime
Virtual / Online Event Calendar

During a time when we're all practicing social distancing, events, classes, and activities go online! 

• 1000 Things To Do During COVID-19: Online activities for Kids, Teens, & Families
• Webcams, online tours, exhibits, sneak peeks, activities, games, and lots more: 24/7 virtual experiences
• Classes that can be taken online: Kids, Teens, and Families
• Today's online events (it's easy to click to tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow...)
• Surprise, you're homeschooling! Tips to get you through

(Organizations offering virtual events, classes, or experiences can post them for free! Click here to get to the form.)

Games and Activities

1. Pull out any not-yet-used holiday gifts
2. Play “jump the river”
3. Make a timeline
4. Read a good book
5. Join Audible and listen to books together
6. Research your Family Tree
7. Have an indoor campout
8. Start some indoor seed plantings
9. Indoor Scavenger Hunt
10. Build an outside fort
11. Build a blanket fort or tent (check out ideas at 15 DIY Teepees and Play Tents Your Kids Will Spend All Summer In)
12. Hand-Clapping games like Miss Mary Mack, Double Double, and Tic-Tac-Toe
13. Mad Libs
14. Go on a Bearhunt
15. Huckle Buckle Beanstalk
16. Hide something sweet and create a Treasure Map for the kids to follow
17. Learn Morse Code
18. Invent your own code
19. Build a house of cards
20. Memorize the state capitals
21. Learn some yoga poses
22. Meditate with help from Headspace for Kids (free trial)
23. Play balloon volleyball
24. Look at old photos and share their memories
25. Write old-fashioned letters and postcards
26. Make gratitude lists
27. Play charades
28. Invent a card game
29. Learn a few magic tricks
30. Using stuff from around your house, set up a bowling lane
31. Mark out a hopscotch field with masking/duct tape
32. Speak only in Pig Latin
33. Thumb wrestle
34. Play MASH
35. Play Hangman
36. Plan a family vacation
37. Learn about nautical flags and how to communicate with them
38. Learn the parts of a sailboat
39. Play dress up
40. Teach your kids how to play black jack (it helps with math skills after all)
41. Play the silent game
42. Have a staring contest
43. Learn some yo-yo tricks
44. Build the biggest LEGO/block tower in history
45. Make shadow puppets
46. Have a tea party
47. Have a doll or stuffed animal wedding
48. Play Simon Says
49. Talk with an accent
50. Make a stuffed animal zoo
51. Learn a little American Sign Language for kids
52. Invent a new sport
53. Polish the silver (raise your hand if you have your grandmother’s silverware or cute bud vases!)
54. Do a puzzle
55. Invent your own nation
56. Memorize all the Presidents
57. Memorize all the states and capitals
58. Match up your socks, roll them up, and have a sock fight
59. Play dominoes (extra credit for making your own)
60. Teach your kids how to play Solitaire
61. Make your own Bingo game
62. Bust out the flashlights and go on a “ghost” hunt
63. Learn how to tie cool knots
64. Go on the Duolingo app and learn a new language for free
65. Make your own crossword puzzles
66. Make your own Sudoku
67. Practice drilling holes in scrap wood
68. Hammer nails into scrap wood
69. Read to the pets or Grandparents (via Facetime/Skype)
70. Play with their older toys
71. Learn coding for Free through MIT
72. Go on a Sunday Drive any day of the week
73. Make a dollhouse with shoe boxes
74. Empty furniture from the middle of a room and do somersaults across it (notice we did not say cartwheels!)
75. Teach your old dog (or new puppy) new tricks
76. Play the game Clue using real props, costumes, and rooms in your house
77. Have a backyard camp fire (if your city or town allows it)
78. Play Alligator
79. DIY manis and pedis
80. Host a Virtual Trivia Night

Back to main subject list

Clean/Fix

1. Put on your "Bob the Builder" caps
2. Encourage and help your kids re-do their rooms
3. Make a new play space by cleaning part of your attic or basement
4. Sort the toys
5. Find, sort and wrap all your loose change
6. Print your photos and write on the backs of them for posterity
7. Clean out your junk drawer(s) together and find family treasures
8. Alphabetize your spices
9. Tighten knobs/handles
10. Look for squeaky doors and spritz with WD-40
11. Wash the windows (your kids will love using the spray bottle)
12. Alphabetize your books
13. Match your socks, and then have a sock fight
14. Hang your favorite picture
15. Dust your baseboards (your littlest ones might like this best)
16. Make your own eyeglass cleaner
17. Make your own household cleaner
18. Clean out your closet and collect too-small clothes to donate
19. Find household stuff you no longer need and give it away on your local Freecycle
20. Make a paradise for your pets! Clean out your fish tank / hamster cage / bird cage etc.
21. Find all of the available house paint and decide either to throw it away or plan your next project that uses it - freshen up a wall or some trim!
22. Get yourself some free "new" clothes: Sew rips / patch your jeans / sew on missing buttons
23. Clean out, vacuum, and disinfect your car
24. Corral and sort the 10,000 charger cords in your house
25. Create an Easy and Great-Looking Workspace With Lots of Storage Underneath
26. Change your smoke detector batteries
27. Install smoke detectors
28. Organize/purge kids art together
29. Make cleaning a game.

Back to main subject list

Plan

1. Plan your next birthday party (theme, place, cake, decorations)
2. Plan an any-occasion or no-occasion party
3. Plan for summer camp (things to remember, and look up on the top of this KidsOutAndAbout.com page under our "Classes and Camps" menu)
4. Plan a staycation (look for our 101 Family Day Trips article under "Resources" on your local menu above)
5. Plan a bucket list from our Top 20 Places to Take Local Kids article as voted by local parents - find it under Favorites on our menu above
6. Plan a dream vacation
7. Plan a realistic vacation (where, when, how, what to pack, links to venues in the region)
8. Plan a month of educational theme days (themes like nature, sports, music, robots, Hamilton, or whatever)
9. Plan your day-by-day pandemic menu
10. Plan something to make each day
11. Plan your family's fire escape plan and have a fire drill
12. Plan a garden
13. Plan for higher education: High school kids can research colleges and scholarships, and brainstorm college essays

Back to main subject list

Cook

1. The complete list of KOAA kid-friendly recipes and food tips
2. "Cuban" Cooking
3. ANY Cooking. Or baking.
4. Create a Family Cook Book
5. Invent a new recipe
6. Make an old family recipe
7. Have a feast
8. Create a cookbook based on your favorite story/book
9. Meal plan for a full week
10. Choose recipes from different countries and fix a different recipe for each course or for each day
11. Make off-season Christmas Cookies in spring colors
12. Make your own granola mix

Back to main subject list

Science Experiments at Home*

1. Experiments from San Francisco's Exploratorium: "Science Snacks" in...
   1. Astronomy
   2. Biology
   3. Chemistry
   4. Earth Science
   5. Engineering
   6. Environmental
   7. Perception
   8. Physics
2. Experiments from Spangler Science (a leprechaun trap, oobleck monsters, flying toilet paper, homemade root beer...)
3. Experiments from Science Cafe (homemade ice cream, lava lamps, naked eggs, a shrunken head...)
4. 32 Cool Science Experiments for Kids (that are Fun AND Easy!) -- they're sorted by the amount of time each takes
5. Study.com offers up 10 home science experiments (elephant toothpaste, dinosaur bones, a lung model....)
6. Kitchen Science Resources from the Franklin Institute:
   1. Emulsions
   2. Grapes in the microwave
   3. Ice cream
   4. pH indicator
   5. Yeast
   6. Gooey gluten ball

Back to main subject list

Arts & Crafts

1. Make puppets
2. Make a "Celebrations book." 
3. Make homemade musical instruments Here is a site that shows you how to make homemade instruments. Here is another good one.
4. Mix cornstarch and water
5. Make a game (tic-tac-toe, checkers, chess set)
6. Make a God’s Eye
7. Make a colored “sand” sculpture
8. Paint family portraits
9. Make flags from around the world out of scrap paper or invent one of your own
10. Make paper snowflakes
11. Learn some origami (check out the Japanese tradition of 1000 paper cranes)
12. Purchase a knitting loom and make a scarf
13. Make a paper chain and see how long you can get it
14. Make a tooth fairy pillow by hand
15. Monogram your socks
16. Make stationary with stamps
17. Create a family playlist on Spotify
18. Make paper dolls
19. Make a putt putt boat and sail it in your bathtub (you’ll need blue tack, a couple straws, a soda can, a cardboard milk carton, a tea candle and something to light the tea candle)
20. Make pictures to give to nursing home residents or elderly neighbors (you can even mail them; everyone loves getting mail)
21. Make necklaces and bracelets using beads or even pasta
22. Build a model car, plane, boat or building
23. Make accessories for your pets (kerchiefs, capes, bows)
24. Make pet toys
25. Make tissue paper flowers
26. Sew buttons onto scrap fabric
27. Make paper beads
28. Paper mache a balloon
29. Write poems, limericks, and haiku
30. Write a song
31. Create your own “Dr. Seuss” book
32. Make and decorate paper crowns
33. Print out your photos and make a scrapbook
34. Learn Calligraphy
35. Teach your kids cursive
36. Make your own playdough
37. Fortune cookies are difficult to make but creating a Fortune Jar is a snap
38. Make a map to your favorite place
39. Make a comic strip or book
40. Make your own slime
41. Make an old-fashioned address book
42. Decorate a pair of plain white sneakers or old shirt
43. Make a simple bird feeder
44. Make a dreamcatcher
45. Make a family time capsule to open at a future date
46. Paint your toenails or fingernails with wacky designs
47. Make your own coin or piggy bank
48. Make a “selfie” background with an old tablecloth or sheet, and markers or paint
49. Create your own picture frame for the selfie
50. Download an animation app for your phone or tablet and do stop motion animations (There are many simple free and low cost ones!)
51. Tie dye a pillow case
52. Create an old fashioned sampler
53. Make an arm-knitted scarf
54. Build a terrarium
55. Paint a rock (from "Kindness Rocks")
56. Make a pet rock
57. Make a $10 DIY compost bin and use the compost later in your garden
58. Make fleece monsters
59. Pencils and Plums features a free 120 page ebook called 2500+ Drawing Ideas as well as printable drawing pages

Back to main subject list

Perform

1. Read a Newbery winning book, then make a 90-Second Newbery Film Festival tiny movie submission on your phone
2. Silent Disco Party
3. Dance Party
4. Puppet Shows
5. Turn a big box into a television set and put on shows (this can also double as a puppet stage)
6. Have a Joke-a-thon
7. Re-enact your favorite story or movie as a play
8. Memorize a poem or two and put on a show
9. Magic Shows
10. Fortune Telling
11. Read a story out loud and create your own illustrations
12. Record your kids reading/telling their favorite story and replay it after dinner
13. Put those music lessons to good use and have a concert (bonus points for Facetiming the grandparents while you do it)
14. Write a rap song and perform it
15. Perform your favorite fairy tale in dance
16. Fill glasses with water and make music
17. Record a family podcast on your phone to send relatives
18. Record a pots and pans orchestra performance

Back to main subject list

Outside your Perimeter: Driveway, Yard, and Garden

**Make sure you click on our RESOURCES link in our menu at the top of the page for plenty of ways to have fun outside and parks/trails where you can enjoy nature with your kids while staying away from others.

1. Bike, scooter, or Ripstick in the driveway: You can set up an obstacle course or try new tricks.
2. Build a Fairy House - here are instructions for building one from the official Fairy Houses web site
3. Star gaze
4. Learn and find constellations
5. Climb a tree
6. Enjoy the classics: Play hopscotch, 4-square, Mother May I, or jump rope.
7. Get artsy with chalk, water soluble paint, or MUD
8. Measure the Rain
9. Hunt for worms
10. Let rain inspire art
11. Perk up your plants
12. Shake a rainy tree
13. Play flashlight tag
14. Walk the dog
15. Collect leaves and press them to make place mats
16. Create a nature journal and record what you see
17. Hang a bird feeder and count the birds (in February each year, participate in The Great Backyard Bird Count)
18. Catalog the birds in your neighborhood by listening to their sounds and songs
19. Make luminarias and light up your driveway
20. Do a plein air painting of your neighborhood
21. Make a rock garden for your yard
22. Go on a bike ride
23. After a walk or bike ride, create a map of your neighborhood - “Cat in the Hat Can Map This and That” tool
24. Do some Backyard Geology

Back to main subject list

Links to Online Fun and Learning

1. 12 Famous Museums You Can Visit From Your Couch
2. 5 rainy day toddler activities from American Baby. It works for snowy days too!
3. Winter Gardening Activities for Kids from the Green Mountain Gardener.
4. Help your child create an original book from a story/artwork: This service is from Tikatok.com but there are others that do this as well.
5. Documentaries available from streaming services. So you'll feel less guilty about screen time. Updated for 2020.
6. Online Craft classes from Creativebug.com
7. Online coding for kids at Tynker.Com
8. Tons of online art/craft classes for kids and teens at DIY.Org (free 14 day trial)
9. The Kid Should See This: Smart Videos For Curious Minds of All Ages
10. National Geographic: Kids Videos
11. The Brain Scoop: Videos exploring all kinds of science topics with Emilie Graslie, the Chief Curiosity Correspondent of The Field Museum in Chicago
12. Watch animal live cams at Explore.Org, including the famous Decorah Eagles
13. Sign up for a MASTERCLASS or two with your whole family
14. Find free educational explanations about just about any academic subject at Khan Academy
15. Pokemon Go app: Monster Collecting at Home
16. Nancy Drew mystery games from HER Interactive: Fun for the whole family, especially age 12 and up (younger kids may need help with the puzzles)
17. Actors read stories on Storyline Online
18. A list of educational companies offering free memberships due to school closings put together by the Amazing Educational Resources Facebook group
19. Virtually tour college campuses on YouVisit.com
20. Scholastic has launched online Learn at Home lessons
21. Check out animal cams from a variety of zoos, including the San Diego Zoo, the National Zoo, the Houston Zoo, and more
22. Many national parks also offer live webcams
23. Grown and Flown suggests 100 soft skills to teach teens
24. Amazon is offering free streaming of family shows
25. Google offers fun arts and cultural lessons
26. We Are Teachers has a big list of children's authors reading their books
27. Ultimate Boredom Buster: 101 Things to Do When Kids Are Bored
28. Indoor activities for families.

Back to main subject list

Tips for Temporary Homeschooling

If your child's school has closed due to COVID-19 and you are suddenly tossed into monitoring your child's education, we can help! Below are a few tips to help you orient yourself to temporary homeschooling. Please click on the link below for our complete list of tips for how to manage this challenging time.

First...

• Remember that everyone else is in the same situation.
• Remember that the goal is to keep up the momentum of learning, not to imitate school or to compete to see whether your kid can do it better than the others.
• Convey that we all have our work to do, and that you'll help your kids get set up to do theirs while you do yours.
• Try to assume more the role of cheer-leading coach than overseer.
• ...and a lot more. Click here for our complete article: Surprise! You're Homeschooling!... It's full of tips to help you survive make the most of it.

Special thanks to Helena Robin, Katie Beltramo, and Carol White Llewellyn for their work on this article.

*We wanted to call the "Science" section "Science the $#!& out of the virus" to amuse fans of The Martian, but we restrained ourselves.

© 2020. This list may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without written permission from KidsOutAndAbout.com. Feel free to link to it, though!