14 Simple Indoor Activites For Kids

14 Indoor Activities for Kids

14 Fun and Engaging Indoor Activities for Kids

Ever wonder how to get things done around the house like loading a pile of laundry or reading your favorite book without little to no interruptions? Need to have dinner ready before the sun goes down? I hear you.

Once upon a time, there was a mother, who didn’t know how to manage it all in the way that she wanted to. Clothes were piling up (I mean, it still happens, let’s be real. But not as much as it used to) a load of dishes were in the sink and the bed sheets were not done until later in the day.

 

My kids needs always come first, but I didn’t know how to keep them entertained while being able to get chores done around the house. That mama happened to be – me.

What are some fun activities to do at home?

I finally figured out a way to entertain them in a fun and engaging way while adding learning to the mix. I quickly learned that some of the items that provided these sensorial and beneficial experiences were items I already owned.

 

These simple items that could be used as indoor activities for kids constituted as:

  • large pasta

  • Rice

  • mixing of batches to create cloud dough or play dough

  • Craft sticks

  • Painters tape

  • Cardboard boxes and more…

I stumbles upon the gold mine of indoor games for kids that were simple to create and lasted quite some time entertaining them.

 

I prepared fun and engaging kids indoor play ideas each time I’d have to get things done around the house. And it worked!

What activities can kids do at home?

Outdoor activities are great but indoor activities are really cool, especially when its raining, it gets cold outside or if you’ve a chore to complete indoors. Each of these activities are simple, easy, effective and contain materials you may already own. If you don’t have these items on hand, that’s okay! I’ve included other options you can try instead.

These are my top 14 indoor games for kids that we love.

My top 14 Indoor Fun for Kids

  1. How can I make my child busy at home? Here’s one idea: The next time you go to the grocery store, try using paper bags to store your items. When you arrive home, cut up those paper bags to create a sort of long and wide paper for drawing/painting on. These are great for children’s creative and imaginative ideas coming to life.

  2. Do you have a roll of contact paper in your office? Tape that to a window/wall to where the sticky part faces you. You can use manipulatives such as pom poms, or craft sticks for sticking. Take it a bit further and draw shapes or numbers on the opposite side for an awesome learning activity before you tape it to the window/wall so your child can practice matching.

  3. Sensory activities; Rice, beans, shaving cream, sensory bags are all great forms of entertainment as they stimulate the senses. You can read more about sensory play here. Always supervise your children with smaller items such as these.

  4. The next time you receive a shipment, dont throw away the box! A box is not just a box to throw away. It can be a car, boat or house to your child. The next time you get a shipment, save that box. This is a great outlet for your child to use their imagination and start creating.

  5. Get crafty! Do you have beads or rigatoni noodles in your home? Provide a shoe lace or string. This is a wonderful fine motor activity that your children can enjoy. Get creative and color those noodles too!

  6. Painters tape. It is such a versatile item that can be used for so many learning activities, educational games or gross motor activities for kids. Use the tape to create a grid on the floor, a zig zag, a hop-skotch, or shapes for some fun kids indoor play!

  7. If your children are a bit older, you can try creating some slime. The easiest slime is made of 3 ingredients: baking soda, glue and contact eye solution. That’s it!

  8. Rainbow Noodles. This is by far, top 5, in our household. Add some pasta and a few drops of food grade dye into a pan of hot water and cook them like you would pasta.The noodles will cook in that color. Once the pasta is ready, take it out and let it cool. Add the pasta to a bin and your little ones will be amazed at the different colors. This is one of those house games for kids activities your little one will surely have fun with.

  9. Do you sometimes lose the bubble wands and are left with extra bubble solution? An empty water bottle and sock or mesh miten or item works wonders to create bubbles. Cut the bottle on the opposite side where it opens. Attach the mesh item to it. Dip it in some bubble solution and Voila! You’ve got some awesome bubbles!

  10. Set-up an indoor play area for kids using play-doh. Whether you are using homemade play dough or not, it is great for keeping the kids entertained. Add straws, kid friendly scissors and noodles to the mix to get those creative juices flowing and creating!

  11. Set-up an indoor play area for toddlers. Take out a recycled cereal box carton only. Have them drop markers and crayons within it. Make sure to set this up close by so you can keep an eye on them closely.

  12. Dot stickers. These are great as indoor group games for kids. Draw a line, squiggly line, or zig zag line with a sharpie marker on a long roll of paper. Your child will cover the lines with the stickers. Make the lines in different colors for some added fun and a wonderful learning experience.

Don’t have dot stickers? That’s okay! You can try any manipulative you feel comfortable giving your little one. Some examples are toy animals, erasers, pom poms, letters magnets, foam numbers. The possibilities are endless!

  1. Water play. Non-used Sponges and alphabet magnets are great for play and extremely versatile. Add a little bit of water to a bin. Then, add the sponges or alphabet magnets for a fun water play game. You can also add in plastic spoons for some giggles and fun.

  2. Last but certainly not least, craft sticks! They are so fun! There are a variety of different play activities you can go about with these awesome crafty items. You can use them for making shapes, color matching (if you have the colored craft sticks) or you can try making a puzzle, like we did!

I just laid out a few craft sticks next to each other. Add a sticker to combine them together. Finally, use a craft knife to cut in between each of the craft-sticks through the sticker to create a puzzle!

What can kids do when bored indoors?

Hopefully, these 14 fun and engaging indoor things to do with kids helped you out! Even when mom needs to get things done around the house, kids can become bored indoors too. In that case, these tips will definitely help as a boredom buster.

These have all been very fun and engaging. Some have offered an educational twist. Some are great for important skills like:

  • fine motor skills

  • gross motor skills

 

I hope you enjoyed and give some of these fun indoor activities for kids a try in your home too! You can also try these activities together as indoor family fun and not just when you need to get something done around the house.

 

Please always supervise when attempting any of the activities within this post as some come along with smaller manipulatives.

 

What indoor house games for kids can you think of?

 

So even when I couldn’t get much done around the house at one point in time, I finally figured out some quick and easy indoor activities for kids that I could put together quickly. They are fun, engaging and boredom busters!

Do you have any fun and engaging indoor activities for kids tips? What are your best tips?


Hi, Im Tam. I am the mother of two beautiful and smart little girls. I love setting up hands-on, engaging and fun activities at home for my kids. Creating early learning printables is something I am also passionate about. Into free printables like I am? Check out 7 versatile fun learning games for early learners! For more fun play ideas and freebies, go to Active Littles.

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