What To Do With Kids All Day? 5 Easy Ways to Break the Monotony of the Day
Facing a long week with the children? Not sure what to do with kids all day?
Maybe you’re on vacation and it’s raining non-stop. Maybe the school break is looming large. Maybe you’re a sahm mom who’s routine needs a shake-up. Or maybe virtual learning is wearing you thin.
Here are 5 easy ways to change up your routine.
backwards day
This one is SO easy— announce with a lot of hype that it’s backwards day! Say silly things all day, like “go put on your pjs and get ready for bed” in the morning, and, “it’s time to wake up” as you tuck them in at night. Serve dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner. Occasionally walk backwards and have talking backwards challenges. You can even put your clothes on backwards :)
If backwards day isn’t your thing, try:
color day-pick a color, wear it & use it as much as possible all day
snack day-all meals are heavy snacks
opposite day-say the opposite of what you mean
reading day-fill your day with reading and book characters
outside day-do as much as you can all outside all day
play hooky day-skip school!
singing day-sing all day instead of talking
weird day-do as many strange things as possible, like serve breakfast under the table, wear silly clothes and let the kids do your hair and makeup
baking competitions
Even in lock-down food is essential, so we can always buy cake mix, icing and sprinkles. Our family has done quite a few baking competitions over the months, and it’s always a hit! We’ve done themes, such as Harry Potter and ocean, but often just let them go at it. Here are some theme ideas and a few tips.
I recommend piping bags because it lets the children apply the icing easier. We also tried fondant (available in some grocery stores!) but that wasn’t as successful and didn’t taste very good.
Sometimes I do the actual baking and they just decorate; sometimes they do the whole thing, start to finish!
We often pair this with watching a kid baking competition show at bed time - if you haven’t watched one of these shows with your children I would recommend it!
recycling fun
We always have a lot of fun building things out of recycle bin materials and tape, and it’s a great break from virtual school. There’s also a lot of mechanical/engineering/stability/balance learning going on… win! If you don’t have a low temp glue gun as part of your art supplies, I would highly recommend it! Some children might benefit from parameters, such as let’s build a robot, or let’s build a house for your cars- this would be helpful if your child hasn’t done this kind of activity before.
Glue guns and tape are the keys to success!
send and receive mail
Pen pals and snail mail have made a comeback, and care packages reign supreme. We write letters and send care packages, and the children LOVE getting letters and care packages in return.
In the past our daughter and her cousin took turns writing and drawing in the same notebook and then sending it back and forth.
We recently put together care packages of all things Canada. It was a lot of fun choosing and gathering all the items, decorating the boxes, and writing letters.
Our daughter and a friend send stickers to each other
We have one grandmom who often sends cards with $5 in them— super exciting!
And we love getting a little love from Philly, like pretzels and tasty-cakes
You can check out my Pinterest board mailing love for lots of ideas!
If you don’t have family or friends who will be your pen pal, you could mail your child letters from a favorite book character or on behalf of a relative. You could even ask your Elf on the Shelf how things are at the North Pole… get creative :)
get outside
This is the #1 way we break up the day, hands down. There’s no better way to rejuvenate the spirit than fresh air!
We
jump on the trampoline
ride scooters, skateboards, and rollerblades
walk or run around the block
ride bikes
play with our dog or walk her
explore our neighborhood
chalk the driveway
water the grass
paint the fence with water (yes, for real! LOL)
dig around and look for bugs
check on our vegetables
lay on the grass and look for shapes in the clouds
have a snack outside
shoot basketball hoops
have a catch
blow bubbles
sit on the porch and chat or play with toys
walk to the corner store for a cold drink
read under or on the trampoline
and even just sit on the porch and do virtual schooling outside
With the nicer weather it’s easy, but there are options for winter, too! Hot or cold, fresh air is powerful!
I hope you got some good ideas for breaking up the day… it’s so true that the days are long but the years are short!
Thanks for reading, and if you found these ideas helpful please pin or share!
xo,
Maria
Head over to the printable page for a free cheat sheet (instant download) of the 35 ideas shared on this blog post!