These days, the routine of spending just mornings and evenings with your kids is a bit odd. With remote culture becoming a staple for everyone across the globe, parents are now getting some extra time with their family – which means more snacking, chatting, and fun activities.
However, the hangover of remote working often vanishes when you have to strike the right balance between productivity and family time. This guide by Parents has everything you need to manage work and play (with kids).
In this blog, we want to specifically help you find fun activities to do when spending time with your kids without repeating the same games and activities to bore both of you.
If you’re looking for best practices for remote working, our extensive guide is for you!
30 Fun Activities When Working From Home With Kids
1. Assign Tasks
Calculate the time you need to complete your next work task and then assign a task to your kid for that time slot. This way, you get to work peacefully while your child learns something or enjoys an activity.
2. Take Popcorn Breaks
Make your WFH scenes fun with snack breaks. During these breaks, you and your child can actually bake, fry or make some tasty snacks!
3. Assign Cartoon Characters
You can be mickey mouse, and your child can be Minnie mouse for the entire day. All you have to do is to talk, dress and act like your favorite cartoon characters. This keeps your family entertained and help you smile a bit wider while sorting your Trello board!
4. Slow-Motion Games
You can reserve an hour of the day when the entire family has to complete their tasks in slow motion. This will make that hour a fun time for the kids.
5. The Boss Game
Make your kid act as if he/she is your boss. This way, you have to obey their orders for one hour, and in return, they have to behave well the entire day. Do you think such a deal might work for you?
6. Tongue Twisters
‘She sells, seashells on the seashore’ – Relive your childhood while teaching some tongue twisters to your little one.
7. Stuffed Animals
No, you do not have to make one, but you can surely have a bathing session for all of them. This way, you clean the stuff toys and make the whole process fun for the little one.
8. Make A Blanket Land
You can take some blankets and pillows to make a castle. This castle can be your work station on Fridays while your kid can enjoy the entire process of building it and staying in it!
9. Family Tree
You can create a family tree and decorate your child’s room. This will help you in spending some time with them and in the end, they’ll be more aware and appreciative of their roots.
10. Grateful Jar
You and your kids can write on a chit about one thing that you are thankful for and put it in a jar. At the end of every week, you can read those chits out load and give your child a secret present.
11. Create A Vision Board
Indulge with your child by building a board that represents what they want to do in their lives. This can also be a great way to motivate your kids to learn and pick up some new skills during this time!
12. Throw A Party
Every week, you can choose a day and throw a party for your kids. This can be the day when you have less work to do. This party can be perfected with glow gloves, amazing snacks, and your childhood tales.
13. Letter Writing
You can give your child a task to write one letter every day. This can be to their teachers, grandparents, pets, friends, etc. This will help them in channeling their emotions and energy in the right direction.
14. Board Games
You can set up some time during your breaks or after work to play board games with your little ones. Team-building board games are a great way to help your child to think strategically!
15. Gardening
You and your child can spend some time together every day to try growing vegetables and plants in a makeshift garden in your lawn or even your balcony. For this, all you have to do is follow a Youtube channel, grab some seeds, and stalks from vegetables you already have, and you are good to go!
16. Do A Scavenger Hunt
Hide some gifts here and there and let your kids find them with the help of some hints. This way, they can be productive while you work from home and keep your kid busy!
17. Try Wall Painting
One fun activity that you can do with your kids is to redo a wall. You can paint a section or an entire wall of your kid’s room with their help.
18. Movie Night
You can promise them a movie night every Friday and set up a ritual by making their favorite snacks and redoing your living room for the complete movie experience. This is one of the easiest fun activities you can host at home, without needing any equipment!
19. Toy Cars
Organize a match and let them win (or not), but this will surely be a refreshing activity in the middle of a hectic week.
20. Workout by dancing
Loud music and some fantastic dance moves— Who said workout could not be done with kids around? You can find many dance tutorials and dance workouts on YouTube. Pick your preference, set a time, and dance your stress away.
21. Use some imagination
Take your child to Disneyland or Tom and Jerry’s house in their imagination. Pretend to be in a place your child wants to go, set up your house to look like it, and create a fun game out of thin air!
22. Soap Making
You can make a bar of soap in your own kitchen with your kids. This can also help you discover the art of making soap, and create soaps with fragrances of your choice.
23. Leaf Painting
How about a booklet with leave prints? Use leaves you collect from your street or plants in your house to make stamped paintings. This fun activity is a must-try!
24. Slime
Remember how much you used to enjoy playing with slime? How about making it with your child? You can find many recipes online for homemade slime that are toxic-free and fun.
25. Yoga
Stay fit while you stretch a bit with your little one. Just open YouTube and try various yoga poses with your kid. This is guaranteed to give you some posts of your cute activity for Instagram!
26. Magic Tricks
Who does not like magic? Try a couple of tricks yourself and even teach your kid how to perform simple tricks with cards.
27. Paper Plate Art
Make a face or a mask, but surely try paper art. Paper plate art is easy— using just paper plates, scissors, and paints. You can make tigers, butterflies, and teach your kids to enjoy painting.
28. Vegetable Stamps
How about a potato printed page for your office notes? Engage your kids in a fun painting Try the potato stamp art with your kids!
29. Tie and Dye
Remember this activity from school? You can tie and dye old cloth for a fun Saturday with your kids. Soak tied cloth in colored water and produce amazing prints and patterns.
30. DIYs
Try the latest hacks and DIYs that are trending on YouTube. From the dalgona coffee to scrapbooking to TikTok dances, such trends are fun to do!
We hope these fun activities help you bond with your kids and keep them occupied during this time.
You can also couple a few of the activities together and plan them in advance to build anticipation!
With healthy meals, exercise routine, working with remote teams and spending quality time with your little ones — who said quarantine meant no fun?