33 Fun and Simple Things to do With Kids at Home

If you’ve got young kids, there’s no doubt (at some point) you have found yourself looking for fun and simple things to do with kids at home. As unschoolers, our two young girls are with us most of the time. We also slow-travel full-time, so we’re used to getting creative with easy, cheap, and mostly free activities to keep the little ones happy.

Whether you’re homeschooling your kids or you’re simply looking for things to do at home with a young child, you’re in the right place!

We’ve put together a list of fun things to do at home with the kids. The activities we’ve written about below are things we do together regularly or occasionally. Older children may also enjoy some of the activities. Overall, we’re offering suggestions on what we’ve done and what has worked well so far for our girls, who are 6 and 1 years old (at the time of publishing).

By the way, if you’re looking to build confidence in your ability to foster a nurturing home learning environment, check out the awesome program via the button below. It’s not only for homeschoolers or unschoolers, and it can help you tap into your child’s unique needs and preferences.

(This post includes affiliate links for which we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you should you make a purchase. See our full disclosure and Privacy Policy for more information)

One of our top recommendations for fun things to do at home with the kids

Honestly, most of the time our girls just ‘play’. As unschoolers, they are used to making their own choices and choosing their activities. So yep, we just leave them to their own devices, and they come up with endless things to do.

Some of the things they have been choosing to do recently include drawing on cans or food packets and just doing all sorts of imaginative play. Sometimes we play along, too. This makes it even more fun for them, and it’s even kinda fun for us too!

The latest favorite game is “lava monsters,” where people are allowed to stand on certain things. The lava monster is only allowed on the wooden floor and has to try to catch the people to turn them into lava monsters.

Young children need plenty of time to simply play. A huge amount of learning and development goes on during everyday play. And it’s an absolute gift for the parents when they find things their kids can happily play on their own for a while.

We appreciate that many children aren’t used to self-directed play and learning. And no matter how self-directed they do become, it’s always useful to have a few suggestions up your sleeve for when you need them.

A few quick thoughts about these things to do with kids at home

Maybe you’re wondering, “How do you find things to do with kids on weekends”? Or “What are the best home activities for toddlers?” The ideas we’ve put together should help you to get started and allow more great ideas to unfold. 

Of course, every child has different preferences. These will evolve over time and often change daily. Suggest something to them, and give it a go if they sound keen. If it doesn’t work, move on to something else. 

You’ll soon find your flow, and you may need fewer ideas than you first thought. They’ll no doubt find certain things that they love doing and will spend lots of time on.

There are so many fun activities for kids at home. The ones we have chosen should be classified as cheap activities for kids. Many of them don’t require any special equipment, and a lot of them can be done with whatever you’ve already got at home. As I mentioned, we slow-travel full time with very minimal ‘stuff’ so we just work with what we’ve got.

Many of the activities are things you can simply help them set up, and then they can get on with them by themselves. You may also have fun doing a lot of them together.

Right, time to get into these fun things to do at home, kids will love!

Things to do with kids at home: Indoor activities for kids at home

Sometimes you might be wondering, “What are good rainy day activities to do with kids at home on weekends?” So we’ll start with indoor activities for kids at home. They’re great for rainy days or any other day!

Even though we identify as unschoolers, we’ve placed pretty clear boundaries around screen time while our kids were young. Overall, we believe that our young kids learn and develop better when they spend the majority of their time doing non-screen-based activities. We sometimes notice a correlation between less desirable behaviors and increased screen time, too, so we keep it as a kind of “use it when we really need to” option. There will be plenty of time for them to complete all the digital learning they need in the future.

We do use screens on occasion and for specific activities, so you’ll see a shorter list of screen-time activities a little further down in this section.

Indoor activities for kids at home that don’t involve screens

What are some things to do with your kids at home that don’t involve screens? Here are some of our favorites go-tos.

1. Art

Art is one of the wonderfully creative and fun activities for kids to do at home. The best thing is that it doesn’t need to be expensive or complex. To get started, use whatever you’ve got in terms of paper or cardboard and pencils, pens, felts, or paints. Here are a few really simple ways you can set the kids up to have some fun with art:

• Suggest they try copying pictures from their favorite books or copying their favorite toys
• Show them how to trace something (you should be able to trace with normal printer type paper)
• Think outside the typical coloring-book box and let them color in boxes and cans from your pantry!

Our daughter really likes sand art. It’s something I hadn’t heard of until a few years ago, but apparently it has been around for a while. Check it out at your local art store for something a bit different.

2. Baking and Cooking

What are some fun and productive things to do at home with kids? Baking is an amazing one! If you can relax a little, let things get pretty messy, and take your time, many kids will love getting hands-on with baking and cooking. And if it all goes reasonably well, you should have a delicious end result to enjoy.

Baking offers endless opportunities to learn math-based skills, which is a pretty sweet bonus. You can keep things simple to begin with and just let them get involved as your little helper. For example, when you’re making pizzas, let them arrange the toppings. 

Another option could be to let them make their own little ‘potion’ alongside your ‘real’ cooking or baking. I’m not talking about letting them go crazy with all your quality ingredients. Just let them have a little of this and that, or let them get creative with non-food items. Sometimes it’s easier to try this if you’re not in the headspace to really let them help with your cooking or baking. They will probably feel very accomplished when they’re allowed to make up their own creations!

When your kid is ready to do a bit more in the kitchen, just Google something like “easy baking recipes for kids.”

3. Feel and Guess Game

Here’s another simple idea for fun activities for kids at home. Get a bag or a box and place a variety of objects from around the house in it. Ask your kid to close their eyes and pick one up. With eyes still closed, they can try to guess what the object is. 

If eyes closed doesn’t work, place it in their hands behind their backs, or have them feel the object while it’s still in the box or bag, and just get them to look the other way.

4. Play-Doh

This is one activity that has stood the test of time. I remember playing with it a lot when I was a kid. You can let the kids go for it, or make things with them. If you’ve got cookie cutters, they’re useful for making play-dough shapes.

Playdough is pretty easy to make, with only 4 main ingredients – flour, oil, salt, and food coloring. There are lots of recipes available online. If you’re going to make your own, just use the cheapest oil, flour, and bulk salt you can find (save the good stuff for food). 

Play-dough is a good idea for activities with toddlers at home, as long as you can stop them from eating it! Lol, that’s what the salt is meant to be for, but it still doesn’t stop some of them!

If you don’t have the inclination to make your own, you can purchase some online or from your local toy store.

5. Dens

If you’re after things to do with kids at home that could keep them amused for quite some time, an awesome den could be the answer. Left to their own devices, your kids might create their own out of things like cushions, chairs, sheets, and blankets. 

Help little kids get theirs set up and help them choose some fun things to put inside it to play with. You might even get time to enjoy a hot cup of tea while they have fun playing!

Check out the pictures below for a couple of examples of recent dens made by our 6-year-old. The indoor one doesn’t even have a cover or anything. She has just kind of cordoned off an area for herself and placed some things she wanted to play with on the top of the couch.

6. Oil and Water Experiment

One fun thing to do with kids at home is to show them that oil and water don’t mix. Use an aluminum pie tray or similar and add a little water and oil to it. Let your kid try to mix it around and see what happens. 

You can also add food coloring and see whether that mixes in. After that, see if they want to dip a piece of paper into the mixture to create their own artwork. 

7. Shows

Ask your kids if they’ll organize an after-dinner show for you. If they agree, they can spend time creating it without your input, and then you can enjoy some wonderful post-meal entertainment!

8. Sugar Experiment

There are lots of things to do with kids at home that are also what the mainstream would consider to be very educational. The sugar experiment teaches them about the scientific concept of vibration in a fun and easy way.

You can make a pretend eardrum that creates vibration. Cut a large piece from a plastic bag. Stretch it over the top of a large container, such as a cake tin or ice cream container, and fasten it with a rubber band. Sprinkle some sugar onto the plastic. 

Then hold a metal tray, such as a small oven tray or muffin tin, near it and hit it with a wooden spoon. The grains of sugar will jump about, which shows them how things vibrate with sound.

[We got the above idea from an encyclopedia that our daughter has been reading a lot of at our current house sit. It has a bunch of cool little experiments and activities throughout].

9. Let them play dress up in your clothes

If you’re feeling game, let your kids into your wardrobe to play dress-ups. Chances are, they will amuse themselves for a long time. And if you’re feeling extra generous, let them use your makeup too.

10. Crafts

Maybe you’re wondering, “What are some creative things to do at home with kids?” As an extension of the art theme, crafts are super fun and creative.

If you want one of the simplest and easiest options around, just give them a big cardboard box. Yep, leave them to their own devices and see what they come up with. Maybe it’s a cool robot outfit, or maybe they’ll just have loads of fun pushing their little sibling around in the box. Ok, so that’s not exactly a ‘craft’, but the main thing is that they’re having fun!

Some of the other crafts we’ve enjoyed making at home include creations from milk bottles and pasta necklaces like the one in the photo below.

11. Water Pearls

Another idea for things to do with kids at home that can be both a bit science-like and a bit crafty is to play around with water pearls. Add water to show how they expand and make table centerpieces with them. The ones we used were clear, so we added food coloring to them as well.

We also tried freezing them and drying them in the sun to observe how they changed in size and color and to see how well they held up to these processes.

12. Cards and Board Games

Classic games you may have forgotten about can provide loads of learning opportunities and, most of all, fun for kids. Cards and games are examples of fun things to do as a family. 

Our daughter learned to play a couple of types of solitaire when she was 5, so that’s a useful activity she can do on her own.

Most of the time, though, we’ll play board games and card games together. It’s a little tricky with Romy only being 1, so we take the opportunity for games when Romy is napping or has gone to bed early.

If you’re interested in games, you might want to follow the gameschooling Facebook page.

13. Play Kids’ Games With Them!

If you want to have fun at home with kids, they will absolutely love it if you play games with them, even if it’s for a short while. Get involved in their imaginative play, or try one of the classics like hide-and-seek (both of our kids love this game).

14. Read Books

When you’re looking for things to do with kids at home, don’t go past the simple things, such as reading books. Take a regular trip to your local library for a new supply.

15. Treasure Hunts

Our older daughter loves it when I create a treasure hunt for her. With younger kids, you can just show them five objects and explain that you’ll hide them in a certain room. You can then let them find the objects and give them clues if needed (e.g., hot, cold, etc.)

Now that my older daughter is 6, she likes treasure hunts with lists and clues. It can take me a little while to organize this on my own, so I get her involved. First, I ask her to choose the items she wants me to hide. Then I ask her to decide on the boundaries. We normally use the whole inside of the house.

Then I ask her to make 10 (or however many objects we have) small bits of paper. On those pieces of paper, I ask her to write a number (1-10) and the name of the object, so then I know the order I need to hide them in. It’s great writing practice for her.

Then, all I need to do is write out each clue and hide each item. We also used this idea for an Easter treasure hunt this year.

Indoor activities for kids at home that involve screen time

Sometimes, a bit of screen time can be absolute gold when everyone (especially Mama) needs a rest. There aren’t many things that our daughter has done using screens so far, so this part of the list is shorter. Again, this post is focused on pre-school and early primary years. 

The following suggestions are tried and tested and, I believe, offer her much more value than blobbing out and watching episodes of ‘this or that’.

16. Cosmic Kids Yoga

Cosmic kids yoga is where Ayla has spent the majority of her screen time. I absolutely love this YouTube channel, and Ayla has been enjoying it since she was 3. It’s full of fun yoga adventures for kids, so they can move their bodies in a playful way that’s also imaginative. Kids can also try the guided relaxations or boogie to the yoga disco tracks.

17. Duo Lingo

Duolingo is a great option for things to do with kids at home if you and the kids are also interested in learning languages. There’s a free version of the app that lets you learn quite a lot, and there’s also a kids-specific app (although we have found that both versions work for our daughter). Once she got the hang of it, it was something she could mostly do on her own as well.

18. Daniella Ballerina

There are lots of great YouTube channels out there, and lots of not-so-great ones as well. I prefer to supervise Ayla’s YouTube time somewhat, mainly because some channels have loads of ads that pop up, which take away from the flow of the activity itself, and some of the ads aren’t really child-friendly. 

Ayla really loves ballet so I looked around a bit until we found a fun YouTube channel offering ballet lessons for kids. We both really like Daniella Ballerina who adds song, dance, and plenty of imagination into her lessons.

19. Google an Animal

If you’re after things to do with kids at home, at a pinch, you can try googling an animal. It won’t keep them entertained for too long, but I’ve pulled it out once or twice recently just so that I could get dinner served up!

If you don’t mind your kid using a device for a short while, go to Google and search the name of their favorite animal. Scroll down the page, and there should be an option to “view in 3D”, although I don’t believe it’s an option for all animals. It then very cleverly opens up a 3D view of that animal in the room with you. 

The animal moves around, makes noises, and is life-sized. It is very ‘real’ looking, considering it’s only a 3D image. You can also take photos of the animal. Some of the ones we have tried are “cat” (see photo I snapped of it below), “deer”, and “bear” (you’ve got to try that one!).

20. Take a Virtual Tour

There are lots of websites that offer virtual tours. You can take virtual tours of places like theme parks, zoos, and museums. Not all of them are likely to be interesting for really young kids. 

We enjoyed looking around the San Diego Zoo website, which offers virtual tours and a lot more. They have arts-and-crafts activities you can download for offline fun, lots of videos about animals, games, and information about saving animals.

Things to do with kids at home: Outdoor and nature-based activities for kids at home

There are loads more fun, cheap things to do with kids outside at home. And so many benefits to spending plenty of time in the great outdoors. If you have a yard and/or a garden, you’ve got endless possibilities of things to do. If you’re in an apartment, you can still take advantage of these ideas. They can be turned into mini fun field trips to your local park or nature area.

21. Water Play

Water play is at the top of our list of fun things for kids to do with kids outside. Grab any buckets and plastic vessels you have, fill them with water, and let them have fun. Or simply turn on the hose or sprinkler for a short time on a hot day, and away they go!

22. Hopscotch

All you need for this one is some chalk and concrete. I vividly remember playing hopscotch as a kid, and I loved it. Hopefully, you did, too, and you know how to draw it up.

Single squares for numbers 1-3, then two squares across for 4 and 5, one square for number 6, and then two squares across for 7 and 8. Throw a stone into the first square, jump over it, and through the course. Then, repeat for the other numbers. 

These instructions show you how to play in case my little description above doesn’t quite cut it.

23. Obstacle Course

An obstacle course is another idea for things to do with kids at home. You could also do it inside if you have a bit of space and can set it up safely. As you’ll see in the photo below, we just grabbed things like chairs, ladders, and bricks from the garage and set them up in a circle.

Ayla found it pretty easy after a couple of tries, so we moved everything further apart, and then I encouraged her to come up with different ‘rules’, such as doing the circuit without using hands, and then using hands and feet on every obstacle.

24. Elastics

This is another game that featured strongly in my childhood. We call it elastics in New Zealand, but it also goes by many other names. Apparently the game began back in 7th Century China. One of the names it’s most commonly known as is Chinese jump rope.

You could make your own elastics if you can get your hands on an elastic band of the appropriate length and thickness. Just Google how to DIY it, or purchase one of the commercially made ones. These ones are a lot more colorful than the white band I remember playing with, which was probably just from the local sewing shop. 

Check out the video below if you don’t know what I’m talking about when I say elastics. It’s not really a game for really little kids. The required motor skills are better suited to slightly older children. I’m sure my daughter would get into elastics now at age 6. I remember playing a lot when I was 11 or 12.

25. Bark Rubbings

Outdoor things to do with kids at home can be as simple as drawing a bark rubbing. Simply take some paper and crayons outside. Place the paper on the trunk of a tree and draw back and forth all over the paper until you have a nice picture that shows the patterns from the tree trunk. Try a few different ones to see how the patterns differ.

26. Leaf Rubbings

While you’re outside, pick some different leaves from trees, or find them on the ground. Take them to a table and place them under a piece of paper. Draw back and forth over the paper with your crayon until the leaf pattern appears. Some leaves will work better than others, so try a few different ones.

27. Flower Picking and Arranging

Children may enjoy arranging flowers in vases or on plates. It’s a lovely way for them to enjoy the beauty of nature whilst engaging in a quiet, creative activity. See the picture below of Ayla with her flower arrangement.

28. Pressing Flowers

Flower pressing is also on our list of fun activities for kids at home. We’re quite into the nature theme when it comes to the outdoors, as you can probably tell! Choose a nice flower and lay it carefully in the middle of a book. Ayla puts hers in a journal. Then put a stack of heavy books on top of it and leave it to dry out for a week or so.

Some flowers are easier to lay flat and press than others. A little bit of trial and error will show you which ones are easiest. Your child can use their pressed flowers to make cards or artwork, or keep them in a journal to draw around them or write about them.

29. Looking for Bugs

Looking for bugs is another fun activity we like doing. Try looking under rocks and logs, and amongst plants and bushes, for a good chance of finding some! You don’t need any special equipment to enjoy looking at bugs. A magnifying glass is probably the thing we find most useful.

Ayla was lucky enough to receive a bug kit while we were in France. She and Romy both enjoyed checking out a wide range of critters and then gently releasing them back into nature (although most of them have actually been found in the house, to begin with!).

The bug kit enables her to carefully pick up a bug without touching it and then easily study it up close. Some bug kits are very comprehensive, including dress-up clothes and more.

30. Climbing Trees

In terms of outdoor activities for kids at home, this is such a simple idea. And at the same time, it offers numerous opportunities for growth and development. Head to a nearby park or nature area if you don’t have any suitable trees at home for your kids to climb.

31. Take a Picnic Outside

By now, I really hope you’ve got a load of simple ideas. And yes, fun things for kids to do at home can be as simple as setting up a picnic blanket with snacks and a few toys. At the place we’re currently house-sitting, we often take a little picnic to this area, which is full of stones. And then the girls spend ages literally just playing with stones or using their imaginations.

32. Exercise with your Kids

Fitness with your kids might not instantly spring to mind as a fun activity to do together. But it absolutely can be. Get yourself warmed up properly and play a game of tag or Stuck in the Mud. Or, involve your kids in your at-home workouts!

33. Kick a Ball Around

We may add to these ideas later, but for now, we think you’ve got quite a lot to work with! The last one I’m going to leave you with is another simple idea that you just might not have thought of. 

Grab a football and enjoy kicking it back and forth with your kid, or try some throw-and-catch together. 

With toddlers, sit on the ground opposite each other, both with your legs in a straddle. Get a ball (a tennis ball will do) and roll it back and forth between each other. If your toddler doesn’t “catch” the ball, his or her legs should “catch” it and stop it from rolling away.

DISCLAIMER: This article/page contains affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links, then we may receive a small commission – at no extra cost to you. See our full disclosure and Privacy Policy for more information. Thank you for supporting our site and helping make it the inspiring location-independent, long-term family travel and worldschooling blog it aims to be!