8 ways to entertain Birmingham kids bored at home
Reading time: 6 minutes
Stuck at home with your kids during the COVID-19 pandemic? To help keep my fellow Birmingham parents from hearing the dreaded “I’m bored” for the next few weeks, here’s a list of activities to keep your kids entertained.
1. Color and Draw
One of the easiest activities your child can do to keep busy is to draw and color.
Perks:
- It’s quiet and time-consuming.
- It’s a great way to express creativity.
- It’s a great way for littles to strengthen their fine motor skills.
So gather those coloring books, lots of paper and all the crayons, markers and colored pencils you can find and let them go wild.
Psst! Coloring is a great activity for adults, too. If quarantining is stressing you out or making you feel a bit blue, join in the fun. It is sure to help you relax and lift your spirits.
Trove is currently hosting drawing nights. Check it out.
In need of craft supplies?
2. Dive into those LEGOs
Looking for an easy way to keep your kids entertained for hours? Sounds like a dream come true. Just dump out those LEGOs for the ultimate no-more boredom activity.
3. Create a Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts are one of my daughter’s all-time favorite activities. They take a bit of parental involvement, but overall, they are easy to create. There are several different ways to do it, too. Here are some examples:
- Create clues to solve (as many as you want!) that will lead them around the house or yard. Be sure to put a prize at the end! For my daughter, I always use one of her stuffed animals.
- Make a list of items to find around the house or outside. Examples:
- Find something RED
- Find something ROUND
- Find something PRICKLY
Another scavenger hunt idea that I have done with my daughter is to go on an Alphabet Walk. She used to love the book, “Toby’s Alphabet Walk”, where a mouse walked around outside and found one item that starts with each letter of the alphabet. Examples: A-ant, B-bark, C-caterpillar, D-dandelion
This was not only a fun activity for us to do together, but it was a great way for her to learn while playing.
4. Tap into Their Musical Skills
Do you have a piano in your home that never gets played? Or an old guitar you haven’t picked up in awhile? Now is the perfect time to get your kids interested in music.
Feel free to teach them to play a few notes or find them an online tutorial to follow. It may sounds like just a bunch of noise at first, but who knows. Maybe your kid is the next Beethoven or Jimi Hendrix.
5. Play a Game
I grew up in a family that loved to play games—especially board and card games. If you haven’t played group solitaire with at least four family members at once, you haven’t lived, my friend!
From Candy Land and Go Fish to Monopoly and Cards Against Humanity, there are games for kids of all ages to enjoy. Plus, parents can join in the fun, too.
6. Get Active Outdoors
Just because you’re practicing social distancing, doesn’t mean you have to stay trapped indoors. Sure, you should steer clear of parks and other places that could draw a crowd. But you can definitely go for walks with the fam around your neighborhood.
My daughter is all about riding her bike. So she has spent lots of time zipping around our driveway and on our street. I’ve also taken her to several empty parking lots nearby so she could pedal her heart out.
Another great way to get active is to DANCE. Local Oak Mountain mom and business owner, Vallie Penn Pate, is offering Tippi Toes at Home—virtual ballet classes for kids.
You can also hit one of Birmingham’s state parks and go for a family hike.
7. Create an Obstacle Course
If you have several children, have them join together to create an obstacle course for each other.
Okay, so you may need to loosen up and give them free range if they have to do it indoors due to weather, but it will be worth it. Obstacle courses require lots of creativity and provide hours of entertainment.
So let them jump off some chairs, do forward rolls on the couch and more. At least they will be occupied.
And, if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to tackle their obstacle course, too.
8. Surprise DIY
I have one more idea up my sleeve, and it’s to make a rock band. No, I don’t mean play Rock Band. I mean make a rock band—with actual rocks.
What you’ll need:
- 3-5 rocks (palm-sized)
- Hot glue sticks and glue gun
- 1 piece of cardboard (the sturdier the better)
- Markers or craft paint
- Small items to create your rock band’s instruments. Examples: small pebbles and twigs, paper, pine straw, small pieces of fabric, leftover candy like Skittles or Twizzlers.
Directions:
- Collect 3-5 rocks. I have a lot in my backyard, but you are also likely to find them while going on a walk around your neighborhood.
- Find a sturdy piece of cardboard. Make sure it is big enough to fit all of your rocks.
- Draw or paint faces on each rock. These will be the members of your rock band.
- The piece of cardboard you found will act as a “stage” for your rock band. Using your hot glue gun, glue each rock onto the cardboard.
- Use smaller rocks, paper, twigs or anything else you can find outside or in your house to create instruments for your rocks to “play”. Glue these items onto the piece of bark or to your rock “people.”
The end result—a clever rock band. Cool, huh?
What activities are you planning for your kiddos, Birmingham? Let us know on social @bhamnow!
