quarantine activities for kids and toddlers during the stay at home order
KID-FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES

FUN ACTIVITIES TO DO WITH YOUR KIDS DURING THE STAY AT HOME ORDER

We are living in unprecedented times and everyone’s lives have changed. People are working from home if they were lucky enough not to lose their jobs, children are being home schooled (or learning virtually), travel plans have been cancelled, as have all gatherings and events. This has affected every one of us in one way or another.

Beyond all the physical changes, the virus has really affected all of us emotionally. We are filled with fear, anxiety and uncertainty about our future. I constantly think of the Maya Angelou’s quote: “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” We can stay home and do our part, however we cannot control the spread of this virus. What we can do is worry about our mindset. The best thing we can do at this point is take it one day at a time and focus on finding happiness in the small things. 

I don’t know if I’ll be stuck at home for another month or another year, but I do know that I will be home with my daughter tomorrow and I can spend the day worrying about the virus or I can make the best of the day with my daughter. I have made it my goal to plan at least 1 fun activity to do with my daughter the following day because I choose happiness and fun. This gives us something to look forward to, it makes sure my daughter is busy and happy, which in turn makes me happy and helps me forget my worries, even if it’s just for a short while. However, coming up new and exciting things to do each day has not been easy. Here are some ideas to keep your kids busy while you are home and most of them won’t cost you much, if anything at all….

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

Although we cannot go out to different places, we do try to get outside every single day…  Sunlight and fresh air will always lift your spirits. I live in Miami, Florida so we have been lucky enough to have lots of sunshine and beautiful days. I know this isn’t the case for everyone, but if you get nice weather, take advantage and go outside! 

WALK/BIKE RIDE –Take a walk around the neighborhood. If you have bikes, go for a ride as a family. Just get outside and get some fresh air. We switch it up… some days we go for a walk, other days I put her in a little wagon and take her around the block, we’ve even taken out her little horse toy she likes to ride and she has ridden it around the neighborhood. Just getting some sun and fresh air will make you feel better.

POOL DAY – If you have a pool, then this is an easy one. Kids usually love it and it tires them out, which is a major win in my book! We have spent several days by our pool while my hubby BBQ’s and it feels like we got to do something special that day.

Pool Day with my toddler to practice swimming
300Pool Day with my toddler to practice swimming

INFLATTABLES – If you don’t have a pool, this is a great option. We’ve collected several inflatables over the years and I purchased a few more since they’re so inexpensive. We fill up baby pools, beach balls, floats and go outside and play with water. It’s an easy way to let her play and I don’t have to go swimming with her.

Inflatable Kiddy Pool at Home
Inflatable Kiddy Pool at Home

 

SPRINKLER – Another fun water activity is a water sprinkler. There’s so many variations. We have a small one that just shoots water up, we have a big rainbow that the water comes down from. If you don’t want to invest in something else, then just go outside and play with the hose or have a water balloon fight. Kids love it!

GARDENING – It would be really cute actually plant flowers and do some real gardening, but we keep it really simple around here. I have Charlie help me water the plants. All she has is a small watering can and I continuously refill it to about 1/3 of the way so it’s not too heavy and she goes around watering all the plants out front.

Quarantine Activity for Toddlers and Kids by The Traveling Red - Gardening & Watering the plants
Gardening AKA Watering the Plants (Wearing her Sunuva swimsuit & coverup shorts)

WATER TABLE – This requires a bit of an investment, but water tables are great toys. We’ve had ours for almost 2 years and she loves it. I fill it up and throw some toys inside and she will be entertained by herself for an entire hour.

PICNIC – Here’s another super simple one that’s a lot of fun. Plan a picnic! I’m not talking about a fancy picnic, I just mean grab your lunch and set it up outside on a blanket. It’s so easy and it’s new and exciting for our little ones. Charlie helps me set up the blanket and bring out the food. It changes our usual routine, which is great when you’re stuck at home for a long period of time.

Quarantine Activities for Toddlers & Kids by The Traveling Red - Picnic Lunch under the trees
Packed up our lunch to have a picnic outside

PAINTING– I set up her little plastic table outside, put a big paper down for her and just let her paint. I bought her a set of washable paints that came in a kit with some brushes. Super easy and so much fun. Another option is sidewalk chalk and your little ones can even leave uplifting messages for the neighborhood.

INDOOR ACTIVITIES

SPA DAY – We did a girl’s home spa day and had such a great time. We put on our matching robes, painted our nails and took a bubble bath, all with relaxing music on. I also wanted to lay in bed with cucumber slices on our eyes, but she wasn’t having it. That would be so much fun with a bigger kid. 

Quarantine Activity by The Traveling Red- At home spa day and bubble bath with a toddler / kids
Getting our bubble bath ready during our home spa day

SUNDAY BRUNCH – We also love Sunday brunch, so we’ve done the at home version. We get dressed up and prepare a nice spread for family Sunday brunch at home. There’s something about getting dressed up that instantly makes you feel better. 

BAKING – Charlie loves Starbucks pumpkin bread, but we are not going out at all, so I got some pumpkin bread mix and we’ve been making it at home. I never imagined she would enjoy baking so much at only 2 years old, but it’s become one of our favorite quarantine activities. She loves helping me crack the eggs, measure the water, pour it in and then whisk it all together.

Quarantine Activities for Toddlers & Kids by The Traveling Red - Baking Bread or a cake
Baking Pumpkin Bread

GLOW PARTY – I ordered a small kit of glow in the dark accessories (rings, glasses, necklaces, etc.) and a small pack of glow sticks and we now have glow parties all the time. I spent about $25 on Amazon and we have had at least 10 glow parties already. She asks for “glow party” everyday and now she knows she has to wait for it to be nighttime, so she looks forward to it all day long. We just turn on some music, bring out all the glow accessories and have a fun little dance party as a family. 

ALL DRESSED UP WITH NOWHERE TO GO – What’s more fun for a little girl than getting all dressed up? I decide to plan a day I call “All dressed up with nowhere to go”. We brought out pretty matching dresses, she got to try on my heels (which she loves) and we did our makeup together (she helped with my blush and she got some chapstick). It was all about getting ready and doing all the girly stuff together. Obviously we had nowhere to go, so it became a dance party. She said she was a ballerina (and Cinderella) in her flowy dress, so we ended up dancing around the house together.

Quarantine Activities for Toddlers & Kids by The Traveling Red -All Dressed up with nowhere to go / dance party at home
Dancing around the house in our matching Sunuva dresses

ZUMBA KIDS & FREEZE DANCE (YOUTUBE) – I’ve been trying to workout at home, which is impossible with a toddler present. I ended up finding Zumba Kids and Freeze Dance on YouTube and she loves both of them. I connect YouTube on my TV and we watch either of those two and just follow along. We usually go for about an hour and I’m sweaty and she’s exhausted by the end of it. Mommy gets to do some cardio and the little one burns a whole lot of energy. It’s a win in my book! 

LEARNING TIME/ SCHOOL – Since there’s no school right now, we also spend some time every day focused on learning activities. She’s only 2, so our options are limited, but we do flashcards with sight words, work on sorting games and read tons of books. I recently purchased a tiny bookcase so that she could organize her books at her height and it has been one of her new favorite things to do. We read books every single day and she gets to select them.

Quarantine Activities for Toddlers & Kids by The Traveling Red - Reading books and practicing letters and words
Our daily reading time in her rocking chair

Plan something fun and out of the ordinary each day. Even if it seems like it’s no big deal, it’ll make your little one excited. They love planning new activities and taking part in the process. Get creative! If your ability to do outdoor activities are limited, there’s still plenty to do indoors. Just do something different every day and talk to your little one about it so they’re excited for it. 

Let’s remember that we are all in this together. It’s ok to have a bad day, but remember to focus on your mindset and make tomorrow better. Reach out to a friend if you feel down. Reach out to me! I respond to every message. We will get through this and we will be even stronger. 

Remember that we have the opportunity to make this point in time a memorable one for our children. They don’t understand our worries. Let them remember this time as when mommy and daddy were home and we did so much fun stuff together every day and we took up baking and riding bikes, etc. We control how they remember this time in their lives. Stay home and stay safe!

quarantine activities for kids and toddlers during the stay at home order
quarantine activities for kids and toddlers during the stay at home order
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