*Free, inexpensive ideas and activities to keep busy during quarantine. Download the free guide (links included). Stay safe, healthy and stay home ❤️
How are yall doing? No, really. How is everyone? This is such a crazy and unpredictable time. Never in a million years would I have thought just two short months into the brand new year, that the entire world would be going through such a crisis. No one did.
I’ve been keeping the entire world in my thoughts and prayers and hoping that this terrible pandemic comes to a screeching halt soon. I know everyone is doing the same thing.
The first few days I tried to stay on top of the news but not all day. I made the mistake the other day of pretty much watching it the entire day into late in the night. It obviously did not serve me well.
While I don’t want to put my head in the sand (and I won’t), I know that I have to keep positive and not spend every moment worrying and watching the news nonstop.
try and stay busy and not constantly watch the news
With that being said, a lot of us are going to start going a little stir crazy – if you haven’t already 🤡. Especially those of yall with kids. I decided to take the last 2 days and do a very in-depth blog post with ideas and activities to keep busy during quarantine over the coming week(s). I hope this helps you a little.
You can download the free guide here. If I missed anything, or you have anything to add, please share in the comments below. So many free things to do and the other things are super inexpensive and can be delivered to your door. We all know we need to STAY HOME AND FLATTEN THE CURVE so don’t leave your house 🙂
ideas and activities to keep busy during quarantine
fun and easy ideas
Yall probably have almost all of these things in your house right now that you can use to help pass the time. I’ve linked up a few things if you don’t (under this list). And, best part, you don’t have to leave the house. At all. It can be delivered straight to your doorstep in a day or two.
- Dress Up in mom and dad’s closet – I know we ALL used to love playing dress-up in our mom’s closet. I would pile on her clothes, jewelry, and shoes (and that usually led to some sort of fashion show for my parents – bless their hearts lol)!
- Facetime or skype grandparents – Now is such a crucial time to stay in touch with loved ones. Especially our older loved ones. There are a lot of grandparents who are going to be lonely and missing their grandbabies. So, digital facetime with them will mean more than we know.
- Write letters to nursing home residents – Just be sure to call your local nursing home administrators and see what their specific protocol is.
- Dance Party
- Write Letters to Their Friends – Step back in time 😂 and get the kids to actually write letters to their friends and mail them.
- Hide and Seek
- Pillow Forts – My brother and I would build some pretty elaborate forts in our den with couch cushions, sheets and blankets. Super fun (and free).
- Camping in the Den – Something else that’s super easy to do and switch up bedtime is den camping. Let the kids set a tent up in the den and “camp out” at night. Don’t forget the sleeping bags, books, flashlights, etc!
- Make a Movie on your phone
- Live Stream National Zoos, Aquariums and other educational activities (see links below)
- Painters Tape Fun – Hear me out 😛 Who knew a roll of painter’s tape could offer a lot more than just helping us not splatter paint everywhere? (Side Note – I usually still get paint all over the place. I might as well not even use it. I digress.) Tic Tac Toe, Race Track and Indoor Hopscotch.
- Sugar Tray – Practice letters using a cookie tray and sugar
- Sidewalk Chalk
- Get Fresh Air in the Backyard
- Family exercise
- Butcher Paper Drawings
- Play-Doh
- Pipe Cleaner Activities
- Glitter and Glue – Go old school. Nothing is more fun than dumping glitter on top of glue and making cool stuff. Maybe take it in the yard or put something under them so you’re not cleaning up glitter for the next year.
- Skype Playdate
- Family Movie Night
- Family Baking
- Family Picnic
- Family Game Night
- Birdwatching
- Sticker Books
- Kid’s Games
- Coloring Books and Crayons
- Children’s Science Kits
- Kid’s Building Kits
- Kid’s Cookbooks
- Busy Activities for Kids
- Kid’s Baking Sets
tons of ideas to keep busy
Kid’s Sticker Books – hover over the carousel to click on product
Were yall obsessed with stickers and sticker books when you were little? I DEFINITELY was and they are super inexpensive.
Kid’s Games – hover over the carousel to click on product
I used to love family game nights when I was little. I still have the fondest memories of playing Monopoly with my parents and brother.
Children’s Coloring Books – hover over the carousel to click on product
Easy go to. And, coloring can take up some serious time and keep them busy!
Children’s Science Kits – hover over the carousel to click on product
Get a little mental stimulation going on during this time with something different. These children’s science kits can help break up some of the monotony and they can learn something at the same time!
Things For Kid’s To Build – hover over the carousel to click on product
Kids love building stuff and these might give yall both a little “distance” while they’re keeping busy.
Busy Busy Busy – hover over the carousel to click on product
A few random things to help with boredom. I think I wore our Rubix Cube OUT!
Children’s Cookbooks – hover over the carousel to click on product
Another VERY fond memory I have of being little is baking with my mom. My mom is very very southern and so was her mom. And, something they both had in common was their love of baking.
I used to absolutely LOVE making cookies, cakes, and fudge with her. She was really good at letting my brother and me jump in and do most of it. These cookbooks are perfect for little(er) ones in the kitchen.
Kid’s Baking Sets – hover over the carousel to click on product
And, while we’re at it, let’s let them have their very own stash of kitchen products. How cute is the cake pop maker? I *might* want that for myself 😉
Bird Watching – hover over the carousel to click on product
With all of this inside and backyard time, why not try and make it a little educational? These kids binoculars (or any binoculars) and perfect for watching birds in the backyard and learning all about them.
Family Movie Night/Day Ideas – hover over the carousel to click on product
While we’re all binge-watching everything under the sun, make it a family affair. Spread out blankets and pillows and settle in for a movie marathon. Make it a little more fun with popcorn and snacks.
Family Paint Night/Day – hover over the carousel to click on product
Break up the same old same old by having a family paint night. And after this is all over (please, please, please be over soon!!!) you can hang them on the wall and always remember all of this togetherness 😐😬
Arts and Crafts Activities – hover over the carousel to click on product
And, when in doubt, there’s always old school stuff. Bust out the play-doh, legos, glitter, glitter pens, butcher paper, pipe cleaner crafts, sidewalk chalk, etc.
Free Live Streaming Zoos, Aquariums and Other Cool Places
So many places have stepped up during this stressful time. Since everything from national zoos and aquariums have had to close their doors, a lot of them are live streaming and I have to say it’s really cool. I love all of these options for the entire family. What a great way to occupy some time while experiencing so many cool things around the world.
Atlanta Zoo
Chicago Shedd Aquarium
Cincinnati Zoo
Disney Rides – go to youtube and search Disney ride-through
Georgia Aquarium
Great Wall of China
Houston Zoo
Melbourne Zoo
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Monterey Bay Aquarium
The National Aquarium
The San Diego Zoo
The Smithsonian National Zoo
Wild Earth
download free guide filled with ideas and activities to stay busy during the quarantine
Download the free guide and see how many things you can do. The guide has links to everything on here including the live streams.
What are your thoughts on these ideas and activities to help pass the time?
I hope this list of ideas helped get your creative juices flowing and inspired you to think of some other activities to stay busy during this time.
If there’s anything left off of this list, please share in the comments. I know everyone is looking for things to do and stay busy during this time.
I will continue to be thinking and praying for everyone. We will all get through this. We are in this together. Stay strong and know that this won’t last forever.
xxoo
pin “ideas and activities to stay busy during the quarantine”
DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service after clicking on an affiliate link, I may receive a small commission from the sale at no additional cost to you. Please note that I only recommend products that I love and want to share with you! This helps make The Silver Lined Life possible. For more information, see my disclosures here.
Leave a Reply