24 Things to Do at Home With Kids of All Ages

Parental supervision required, but the bathtub doesn’t have to be reserved for bath time only. Let your minis wear bathing suits as they hit the “pool” for some water play with their favorite toys. You could even use kitchen items to let them set up some pouring stations.

5. Throw a Puzzle Party

This age-group has a lot of puzzles, and they may have even mastered some. For a fun new (and time-consuming) challenge, take out every single puzzle and mix all the pieces together...then ask your child to put them back together. This task helps toddlers learn shape recognition, concentration and goal setting. And we speak from personal experience when we say it keeps ’em engaged.

6. Hit Up the Actual Park

Playgrounds are an obvious choice, but if they’re not your favorite place to spend an afternoon, it’s A-OK to just let them burn off some energy in a wide-open field. Bring a ball, a Frisbee or a scooter if there's a blacktop area nearby (we love the Micro Mini) and don’t forget the finger foods.

Good news: TV for toddlers is OK as long as you are selective with the type of content they’re consuming. For example, both Daniel Tiger and Sesame Street provide loads of interactivity for little ones, whether it’s through question-and-answer segments or vocab and math lessons (all hail the letter of the day!). And if it gives you a much-needed sanity break, that’s incredibly valuable, too,” says Lindsay Powers, author of You Can’t F*ck Up Your Kids: A Judgment-Free Guide to Stress-Free Parenting.

Sometimes entertainment is as simple as cueing up their favorite tunes and encouraging your kiddos to cut a rug. To up the ante, just pause the music, so they have to freeze in zany poses and make their silliest face. Game on.

9. Take a Virtual Kids’ Yoga Class

God bless social media. Can’t make it to your favorite kids’ yoga class? You can still help them “namaste” thanks to the amazing humans of the world who are making their in-person classes virtual. (Shout out to @karmakidsyoga—peep their IG Story feed for class times.)

10. Plan a DIY Self-Portrait Session

Tools required: paper and crayons or markers—whatever you’ve got. Next, set up a mirror and encourage your kids to sketch what they see. This is a great opportunity to teach them about a wide range of facial features—say, their eyelashes or their nostrils. But it’s also important to let them get creative as they sketch their own vision of themselves: “Purple eyes? How cool!”

Encourage your kids to join you and blow off some steam on a bike ride—even if it is just around and around your cul-de-sac. The exercise will benefit everybody and fresh air is a mood lifter, too.

12. Cue Up an Educational YouTube Channel

Even the most superhuman parents rely on screen time in a pinch. Just try to prioritize educational content over the crap. Our favorites include The Brain Scoop (which features eight- to ten-minute episodes about everything from baby dinosaurs to shark fossils) and TED Ed (your kids will love learning fascinating facts, like how the Brooklyn Bridge was built).

13. Orchestrate a Color Scavenger Hunt

This suggestion comes courtesy of blogger and author of the upcoming book Be Curious Joy Cho. Use paint chips, construction paper, crayons—whatever you have at home—to make a rainbow “map.” Then send your kids all over the house to look for each color on the map. Looking for yellow? Maybe it’s a puzzle piece. Maybe it’s a banana. The sky’s the limit.

Encourage them to write to their grandparents. To their bestie from summer camp. To their cousin. No matter the recipient, make it fun by busting out your prettiest paper and pens and supplying a few talking points. (What have they been up to lately? What did they eat for breakfast?) It’s the family version of a penpal and we promise grandma will be pleased.

15. Bust Out the Board Games

Rotate who in the family gets to choose today’s game, then let that person be the “game master”—reciting and keeping tabs on the rules, getting the first turn and announcing the winner at the end. If you’re wondering what games to include in the rotation, we’re fans of Jumanji, Ticket to Ride and Sorry! for this age group.

So many podcasts are geared toward this age-group, whether your kid is into open-ended questions like “Are unicorns real?” (they’ll love But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids) or science that explains the history of boogers and farts (try Brains On!).

17. Get Outside to Garden

Again, fresh air = good. Assign each kid a task, whether that’s watering the plants or weeding around them. (You could even have them set up a log where they can take notes on blooms and growth.)

18. Stay Inside and Bake

Stress baking applies to kids as well as adults. Now’s the perfect time to encourage your tween to perfect her recipe for banana bread (or any of these tasty and kid-friendly baking recipes). Once star baker status has been achieved, she can even try her hand at something more ambitious, like these “everything bagel” cauliflower rolls. Yum.

Pluck a book off the shelf that you’ve been meaning to read forever or head to your nearest local bookstore to pick up a new read for your very own family book club. If you only have one copy, give everyone a chance to read, then plan a time when you’ll discuss over fun snacks. And if a book seems too hard, there are a zillion other options that will lead to great conversation: Maybe it’s a cool article. Or a movie. Heck, it could even be that podcast you just finished listening to. Get creative!

Indoor gardening is a seriously neat and very rewarding hobby. Encourage your kid to start a hydroponic herb garden and you’ll both be amazed by how quickly it starts to grow. (Psst: We highly recommend this compact and very effective model from Idoo.)

23. Make a Bucket List

One easy way to beat boredom is simply by doing a little daydreaming about things you wish you could do. Have your kid draft up a bucket list just for fun…and cross your fingers that there’s nothing too crazy on there. (Base jumping? I think not!)

Crafty kids will be able to spend hours on this creative, hands-on project. Swing by the craft store to pick up some supplies and leave the decorating to your child. The end result will be a treasured keepsake that inspires pride and brings joy for years to come.