Guys, two full-time parents working from home during quarantine with two young kids is NO JOKE! I am basically in a constant state of needing either caffeine or alcohol. With Holden and Asher being only two and four, we don’t have any school guided curriculum to keep their days filled, nor do they have the attention span to do elaborate at-home activities. Not to mention, the last thing I have time to be right now is the Martha Stewart of fun and easy activities to keep my young kids busy.
I have a feeling that a lot of other mamas might be in this same exact boat…which seems like it may sink any day now. Jesus take the wheel. So, I put together a list of 5 activities that my kids are loving right now that don’t require a ton of time, planning, or supplies. Hope this helps!
IT’S A RAVE
Yes, this sounds crazy, but hang with me for a minute. Our kids absolutely love a good dance party, so I have ordered a glow stick kit (this one here is perfect) from Amazon and we have created our own little at-home rave. We turn off all the lights in the family room, crank up some booty shaking family-friendly dance-tunes, hand out the glow sticks, and let them jam out. It is honestly a win-win situation. It 1) gets the kids’ wiggles and energy out and 2) gives Ryan and I a good dose of wine cardio.
Another fun activity that is easy and the kids love is to do a glow bath. I am sure you have seen this one on the Internet, but it is so simple and fun I had to mention. Basically you just fill up the bathtub, pour in a bunch of glow sticks and turn off the lights. If you want to get really crazy you can add a fun disco light and some tunes to really amp up the party. Check out this great disco light that has 4.5 star ratings and is less than $20.
GET THAT WATER SLIDE OUT
This next one has literally been the MVP of my entire quarantine experience and one of the most purchased items by you guys. I realize not everyone in the country has springtime weather right now, but one of the blessings of this quarantine time period is that we have had mostly beautiful weather #findingthegood. This is our reward for what has been the rainiest winter in the history of forever.
If you are still waiting for warm weather to hit your area, do yourself a favor and go ahead and order this water slide so you are ready for the first day the weather hits above 60 degrees. We blow the slide up almost every day at some point throughout the day and let the kids have at it. Truly a LIFESAVER!
LET’S PAINT
I don’t know about y’all, but I do not have the time, energy, or patience to let my kids paint in the house right now while I supervise them. That is why we started doing driveway painting. I got a roll of white craft paper that I can roll out in the driveway or on our covered porch. Then, grab a bunch of washable paints out, and let the kids go wild. They love the sparkly ones!
Since Holden is still too young to do anything organized he just paints whatever he wants, including his entire body. We usually just let Asher paint whatever he feels like, but if you wanted to do something a little more structured this is an easy way to get some fun learning in too. You can write letters, numbers, their name, easy sight words, etc, then let the kids trace over them with their paint.
AT THE CAR WASH
If you are really brave, you can let your kids do this in the kitchen or bathroom sink. I am not that brave, so I do it in the yard. I get out a couple of Tupperware containers fill them with water and a little bit of dish soap, give the boys a sponge and a towel or two, and they are ready to go. I let the kids get all of their Hot Wheels and trucks out and go to town cleaning.
After the cars are cleaned, the boys can then take them on a “drive” around the back yard. I draw roads with chalk around the sidewalk, and the boys can use their imagination to drive their cards all over the “roads.” This is a great one for kids of different ages/skill levels, because both my 2 year old and 4 year old can easily play this game together without getting frustrated. #avoidingfightsatallcosts
LET’S DECORATE (AND EAT) SOME COOKIES!
Asher and Holden absolutely LOVED this activity. My good friend and sorority sister (#hottytoddy) Sally McKay has everything you need to do this. She is even hosting virtual cookie decorating classes via Instagram Live. In this blog post about all things cookies, she gives you the exact ingredients you need to make delicious sugar cookies and icing. Holden LOVED licking the icing off decorating each cookie, and Asher was so cute wanting everything to be perfect. Mama even made a pretty cute Easter bunny, if I say so myself!
ACTIVITIES TO KEEP YOUNG KIDS BUSY: LET’S PIN IT!
Want more ideas? Head over to Pinterest and of course, follow me on Instagram to see what we do everyday!
