7 Activities for Children During Lockdown

 

With us spending more time at home and being restricted to do the things we love, we wanted to share 7 activities for children during lockdown. Great for our physical and mental wellbeing

The activities we will list are some of our favourite physical activities for families and children to do in their own home, including obstacle courses, scavenger hunts and games. These aren’t just activities for kids, they can be implemented across the whole family. So nobody gets bored and we can all remain active during lockdown.

Each of the different activities use items that are easily accessible in our own homes, (although there are products you can buy), we will be discussing things that can be found or made in your house, or at low cost if you don’t.

These activities and lockdown game ideas aren’t just for lockdown but can be played and utilized anytime.

Please ensure you are fit and well before undertaking any physical exercise, if you have any concerns please speak to your doctor. Some of the activities require adult supervision and caution should be taken.

Things to do in Lockdown at Home

Scavenger Hunt

Our first activity is a good old scavenger hunt. There are so many different variations and themes you could adopt to create a fun and exciting scavenger hunt. The best thing about them is children absolutely love them.

From colour to themed scavenger hunts, the possibilities are endless.

Below is some of our favourite variations of different scavenger hunt ideas you could do, or get creative and invent your own. (We would love to hear your favourite).

• Colour – By using colour in the hunt, young children have the opportunity to learn about colours and for older children it’s an exciting challenge to find such a colourful mix of items. Why not create a rainbow scavenger hunt, where children have to find items the colour of the rainbow

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• Letters – Finding items beginning with certain letters is another fun and challenging hunt we can use. Why not have your child find items that spell their name, football team, pet name etc. Whatever their age or ability this one is a fantastic way to enhance learning and fun.

 

• Treasure Hunt – Get creative and draw a map of your house/garden and put clues to the location of the treasure you want your children to find. Items could include, favourite toy, teddy bear, real or chocolate coins.

 

• Team Hunt – More than 1 child? Then why not create team games and see who can find items on the list first. If not you could always have parent vs child hunts were you can create a list for each other, say 7 items each and see who can find all the items the fastest.

 

• Theme – There are so many themes you could include to make your scavenger hunt feel more topical and relevant. Such as seasonal  (things found in spring, autumn etc), football themed, superhero and senses (things you can smell, for example).

 

• Art/Mindfulness – A great activity we came across was the mixing of drawing and a scavenger hunt, creating Scavenger art. Perfect for children and families alike, with so many great skills acquired, such as creativity, mindfulness and developing drawing skills.

 One book we came across was a perfect recourse for this different kind of hunt, and can be found here. With 52 scavenger hunt ideas in, it’s a perfect companion to any scavenger hunt.

Review

“What a wonderful book! It’s easily accessible and adaptable for any circumstances, age, or even weather. An ideal present, this fun book would be appreciated by any child who loves to draw. Invaluable for both parents and educators, there are hours of enjoyment to be had within its pages.” Art teacher

 

 

 

 

So there you have it, a basic list of ideas to get you started for a scavenger hunt for kids and parents alike. There are so many other ways you can do a scavenger hunt, take a look here for more inspiration. Don’t forget to share your favourite in the comments below, we love seeing others ideas.

If you would like to take part in a scavenger hunt we did during lockdown, which includes some outdoor ideas too, you can view it here and also take part.

Obstacle Course

We love a obstacle course, there are so many benefits to obstacle courses and so many different ones, from basic equipment to full scale Ninja warrior Who doesn’t love Ninja Warrior?

However not as extreme, we can create a fun challenging obstacle course in our own home, that will have children entertained and active for a long time. The good thing about making a diy obstacle course is that we can change it regularly or let our imaginations run wild and for example, using pillows to walk on replicating a balance beam could quickly be changed into the plank on a pirate ship. Arrrrrrr!!!!!

Obstacle courses can be adapted both indoor and outdoor.

Below is our favourite items and ways you can create your very own Ninja Warrior in your own house.

• Pillows/Cushions (Balancing) – Cushions or pillows create a great balance beam activity line them up or zigzag and you have a safe but uneven surface to walk on, which will challenge your child’s balance. Not only does this activity work on balance but so many other gross motor skills. Change it up for your child or toddler and have them pretend they are an animal walking, ( for example, have them walk on all fours like a lion) on the pillows for added challenges.

 

• Chairs (Crawling) – We can use chairs we have in the house to crawl under (watch your head!), enhance the experience and throw a bed sheet over them and create a tunnel. This activity can also be achieved with a table too or  by tying some string (adult supervised) to two objects so your child can crawl under them. There are so many possibilities to create a tunnel, we could even use ourselves by going on all fours and creating a bridge.

 

• Painters Tape (Jumping) – By using painters tape there are so many activities we can do to create an exciting obstacle course, from balance beams (put a line down on the floor, hey presto balance beam), to jumping activities. To create some jumping activities we could put some masking tape down on the floor in various places and have our children jump from one to the other and see if they can land on each mark.

 

• Painters Tape (Stepping Over) – Like we said there are so many ways in which painters tape can be used to create an obstacle course, we just couldn’t leave this one out. Set the tape on the floor in the position of hurdles (lines spaced evenly on the floor horizontally), and we can have our children step over the lines, either running or walking depending on age and ability. Also by having our tape set up like this we could challenge our children to see how far they can jump from the starting line.

 

In terms of activities this is certainly one of our favourites and by no means is this a full list of things you can do. Depending on your space you could add all these ideas together and create a big obstacle course with a start and finish point, time your child/ren and see if they can beat their time.

As always we would love to hear your favourite ideas, please use the comments to share yours with us. You can see a video we did during lockdown to see an obstacle course we set up, by clicking on the link here.

 

Relay Races

Relay races create an amazing competitive edge to them and a great team building activity, from challenging each other to racing against the clock trying to beat our own time.

There are so many ways we can do a relay race and we list below some of our favourite ones.

• Teddy Bear relay – Grab you child’s teddies (rolled up socks are a great substitute if your child is too old for teddies). Mark out 2 lines with painters tape or something similar at a comfortable distance, depending on your child’s age and ability. Line the teddies or socks on one line and have your child stand on the other, when you say “go” they must retrieve an item, one at a time, and bring it back to the start line and continue until all items have been retrieved.

 

• Lined Relay – Create 5 lines or more (depending on space), evenly spaced out horizontally. Have your child or toddler at the start line with the same number of rolled up socks as lines, When you say “go” your child must take one sock at a time and place it on on one of the lines, then run back to the start grab another sock and place it on the next line up from the first one. Repeat this until every line has a sock on it and your child is back to the start line. Time them to give it a competitive edge. Take a look at a video we did here for an idea of the activity.

 

• Egg and Spoon Race – We just couldn’t leave this classic out, a true favourite of many. No introduction needed here. If using a real egg, don’t forget to boil it or if you have no eggs you could just use rolled up socks.

 

• Balloon Relay – Grab a balloon, put it in between your legs and have a race against your family from one point to another, or time each other to see how quick they can do it. Expect lots of laughs in this really fun activity.

 

Who doesn’t love a good race?

By adopting some of these relay races, you are guaranteed laughter and great family bonding activities with a little bit of a competitive edge. Which family member is going to come out on top?

 

Dance Party

What better way to burn off some energy than a good old fashioned dance party, with so much choice, there is really something for everyone. From Twist again to baby shark, so crank the volume up and stick on some kid-friendly party music.

To view the benefits of dancing and some more ideas, please visit here.

• Dance off – Why not have a dance off to your favourite fortnite dances or to your best genre of music, bust your moves and express yourself in the best way you can. Children love to dance and a dance off is a great way for them to show off their moves.

 

• Spotlight Dancing – Dancing to the spotlight is an exciting dance game for families and children. All you need is a handy spotlight, a music system, and a dance floor to pull off the game.

Form a group as a family (this game works best with 4 or more participants). Select one child or family member to hold the spotlight and another child or family member to work on the music.

The one with the spotlight should be made to stand in the middle of the dance floor. As the music starts the kids should start dancing, and the person holding the spotlight should shine the flashlight on the dancers one by one.

The one that controls the music can stop it at any point. When the music stops, the family member with the spotlight should freeze and hold the light on the dancer it was on when the music stopped. The dancer with the spotlight on will be considered out.

The game continues until there is only one dancer is left.

• Musical Statues – A great game that has been a favourite for many generations of families over the years and a classic at birthday parties. Take it in turns on who controls the music. Add in some extra physical fitness by whoever loses must do an activity such as 5 star jumps before joining in again.

 

The benefits of dancing is huge and the fun it generates is easy to see why dancing is a firm favourite of so many.

 

Balloon Fun

Balloons are such a versatile and fun object that children and adults can play so many games with.

Not just for decoration at parties, they are a fantastic way to burn energy, improve so many fundamental skills, like hand eye coordination and gross and fine motor skills and with so many colours, a great visualization aid.

We love balloons and the fun they bring, below is a list of fun things to do with balloons.

(Parental supervision for young children)

• Keep it up – Keep the balloon in the air as long as you can, use different parts of your body, to stop it from touching the floor. This activity is also to play as a team game, passing it to each other for as long as you can until it touches the floor.

 

• Balloon tennis – A fantastic game which can be played indoors, grab something for a line in the middle ( a rolled up towel works great). Serve your best shots and and get a point when the balloon lands on the floor in the other persons area.

This game can be played with hands, feet, head or other body parts. You could also get creative with items such as kitchen roll tubes, paper plates and design your own tennis racket.

 

• Waddle Races – A great outdoor or indoor game. Have them start at the starting line, place a balloon between their knees and race to the finish line without dropping or bursting their balloon. If you have a large group and limited space, the races can be done as relays. You can have a lolly in the balloon as a way to limit any losing upsets.

 

• Balance – Place the balloon on a body part such as your head or back of your hand and see how long you can balance the balloon before it drops. See who can balance it the longest in your family by adding a stopwatch and create a little competitive edge to the activity.

So there we have it, blow some balloons up and have hours of family fun. There are so many activities to do with balloons.

Why not share yours with us ? Leave your balloon ideas in the comments at the bottom and share them with other families.

 

Hide and Seek

Not much of an explanation needed with this classic game but it doesn’t need to just be limited to children and adults hiding, we can use objects too. Our best hide and seek games are:-

• Classic – No explanation needed for this one

 

• Object – Grab a favourite toy or teddy and hide it somewhere in the house, this activity is generally harder than the classic version, therefore you may want to give clues such as hot or cold when they are cloe or far away from the object.

 

• Get Creative – There are so many variations you can do for this version. Draw some letters on paper or card that spell out your childs name and hide them round your house and see if your child can find there name. Another good variant is to get really creative and draw a map or write down clues of all the locations you have hid some items.

 

A fantastic classic that never gets old and children and adults will continue to play for years to come.

 

Our 7 Best Of The Rest

We wanted to add some of our best alternative exercises that didn’t quite fit in the categories above, but we felt we had to share some of these in this post.

Below is our 7 best of the rest activities.

• Animal Walks – Imitate an animal and move around that like that animal, making the noises and movements. A really fun and energetic game that will have you and your family rolling around in fits of laughter.

 

• Simon Says – Catch each other out with a simple game of simon says, get creative and throw in a variety of different commands, but don’t forget only when Simon says.

 

• Bowling – Use some left over toilet roll tubes or bottles and place them down like pins, roll some socks up and get bowling. Can you score a STRIKE!!

 

• Pillow Fight – No explanation needed for this highly energetic and fun activity.

 

• Bubbles – Blow bubbles till your heart’s content and have your children pop them before they hit the floor.

 

• Chalk Fun –  Chalk is such a wonderful thing. Head outdoors and get creative, with activities such as hopscotch, drawing and line jumping. There really is no end to the fun you can have with chalk. For ideas and inspiration, take a look at this video we did on this during lockdown.

 

• Bubble Wrap – Bubble wrap is a fantastic and cheap piece of equipment. Get some and stick it to the floor and stomp, jump, step on it till all the bubbles have popped. (Parental supervision advised)

Lets Get Active

So there we go, our list of 7 activities for children and families during lockdown, to do whilst you are stuck at home. We hope you like some of these ideas and can incorporate them into your family life. Lets get creative, lets have fun and lets get active.

Have you got some ideas and activities you would like to share with us and other families?

If so please do let us know in the comments below.

As always take care, stay safe and lets get active.