32 Things to Do at Home: Fun for the Whole Family

Bring science class into your house by making your own volcano! Take a disposable paper cup and some Play-Doh to sculpt the perfect volcano, and then take baking soda, vinegar, and red food coloring to make the ultimate volcano explosion.

Channel your inner wizard as you explore all that Harry Potter at home has to offer. Wizardingworld.com is bringing Hogwarts to you by offering a bunch of magical activities to keep you occupied. Enjoy magical craft videos, articles, quizzes, puzzles, and much more. These activities are available for first-time readers as well as those who are already familiar with the wizarding world!

Search through some of the most iconic pieces to see all that is offered in the Guggenheim museum. With over 1,700 pieces of artwork by 65 different artists, kids have the chance to get up close and examine the art of their computers and get to learn more about the artists. Enjoy a virtual stroll through the museum with the entire family!

Photo via azuremagazine.com

Turn your living room into your own dance studio and get ready to learn some new moves. BalletNova Center for Dance is streaming classes on Facebook Live for future dancers to enjoy while stuck at home! Each class is taught by one of the company’s instructors and is designed for all different skill levels. 

Photo via eventbrite.com

Catch up with Josh Gad, the voice behind one of Frozen’s most lovable characters, Olaf, as he reads children’s books via Twitter. Tune in to hear this actor read a variety of books in different voices to make reading at bedtime a little more exciting!

Photo via eonline.com

Homemade slime is one of the most entertaining crafts to make while at home. All you will need is baking soda, glue, and contact solution in order to make a craft that will keep your kids busy for hours! 

Do you have a little artist on your hands? If so, take advantage of all the free resources the Children’s Museum of The Arts has online! CMA’s free resources include How-To videos, curricula guides, daily art challenges, and art projects that can be enjoyed by kids of all ages. All of these activities are available online to affirm CMA’s mission of making the arts accessible to all children and families.

Shiny crystals don’t always have to be hard to find if you learn how to make them at home. This experiment shows kids how safe-to-use chemicals can mix together to make a beautiful crystal that the whole family can admire!

Popsugar’s Family-Fun Cardio Workout is a great way to get your heart rate up in your living room while enjoying a fun workout. Instructed by Anna Renderer, this family workout includes cardio moves that feel like games to get your kids up and moving. This class is designed so the whole family can be included.

Photo from youtube.com

Catch a glimpse of what the marine life is doing in the Georgia Aquarium webcam! There are cameras all around the aquarium which will allow you to watch your favorite fish or penguins. Even though you might be at home, this up-close encounter makes you feel like you are in the water with them!

Get your kids outside and interested in nature and planting by creating a fairy garden. Making a fairy garden doesn’t take many supplies but it will allow your kids be creative and spark their imagination while making a space for their little friends!

Kids can take a moment and wind down in their day with Cosmic Kids Yoga. Have your kids become stronger, calmer, and wiser through different yoga classes that stream on YouTube. These classes are designed for kids 3 and up and incorporate different themes and characters that your kids can connect with. These classes make yoga and mindfulness fun and interactive and give kids a better use of their screen time.

Photo from cosmickidsyoga.com

Bring science class into your living room by testing out Newton’s Third Law of Motion. Using styrofoam, a balloon, and a straw will result in a toy car that will be able to move! This experiment will have your kids thinking outside the box and creating a science project that would certainly get them an A.

Are your kids wondering what it is like to be up in space? Get a glimpse of life as an astronaut and listen to them read your kids a story. Learn more about space through a variety of books while also learning first hand from someone up in the sky!

Photo from simplemost.com

Take a trip to Ohio through your computer and go to visit some of your favorite zoo animals. The Cincinnati Zoo is live streaming events where you get to learn more about these exotic animals and interact with them through the screen. These daily events will also include an activity that kids can do while at home!

Getting sick of playing the same old board games you have in your house? Make some games of your own! PBS.org has a great outline to make a board game that offers kids lessons in design, teamwork and whatever else you’d like to include. Depending on how old your kids are, you can scale the activities up or down based on their skill levels.

Photos from PBS.org

Bill Nye has been teaching kid science for years, and now Bill Nye is having you bring the science lab into your home! Learn more about life, physical, and planetary science through home demos and experiments. Each experiment is easy to accomplish and asks for many items that you have lying around your house.

What’s better than eating a creamy treat that you made in a bag? Making homemade ice cream is very easy and it is fun for the kids. All you need is half and half, salt, ice, vanilla, sugar, and some of your favorite toppings to make the perfect treat at home.

Photo from delish.com

Being stuck out home is the perfect opportunity to spend some time in the kitchen. Tastebuds Cooking is offering a free at-home cooking club for kids to create their favorite dishes. Tastebuds release two new cooking videos a week that are made with simple ingredients everyone (hopefully) would have in their pantry already.

A cloud is formed when water vapor condenses into water droplets that attach to particles in the air. If you love to sit outside and watch the clouds go by, you are able to watch some clouds while you’re in your house as well! Using hot water, ice cubes, and a glass, these items will allow you to watch the cloud float through the air in front of you!

Photo from giftofcuriosity.com

Spend some time making a new accessory for your room by making a homemade lava lamp! This experiment asks for items and ingredients you have lying around your house and will result in a fun and bubbly lamp that you can watch and admire while you’re going to sleep.

Here is a challenge to add a little creativity into your kid’s day. The something that floats experiment has everyone involved using anything they can find in the house to design an object that would be able to float on water. Add a little bit of fun competition and see who will rise up to this challenge.

All the Fortnite fans will have a great time with this experiment. Water density can be a hard concept for kids to understand, but this drink will make it a lot clearer. Being able to watch how the sugar reacts to the boiling water and using different food colors to show the different layers makes for an interesting experiment to try.

When you aren’t using eggs to cook, they are great for science experiments. Take a hard-boiled egg, a glass bottle and some matches and you will watch science work its magic. Have your kids learn something new during this time at home with a fun and educational experiment.

Playdough has always been a widely popular indoor activity for kids to play with. However old you are, you are never too old to play with playdough. If you aren’t able to get to the store and buy some, you can make your own at home. If you really want to make it fun, grab some glitter for a little sparkle.   

Photo from iheartnaptime.net

While at home you can take the time to help our flying friends. Making bird feeders for you to put by your window is a fun craft to do at home and will also help the birds get their food. This easy craft will get your kids thinking of helping others and teamwork in a fun way.

Photo from greatstems.com

Want your kids to get up and explore? Create a nature scavenger hunt near your home. All you need is a list of items, a pen or pencil, and a bag for collecting in order to send your kids off to be detectives of nature! This fun activity will have your kids getting up and active while getting some fresh air.

Have you ever watched spy movies and wondered how hard it is to get through a laser maze? Put your skills to the test at home by creating a DIY laser maze. Give your kids some crepe paper you used for a birthday party and some masking tape and have them create their own maze for the rest of the family to try to get through!

Get creative with some paper around the house and try your hand at origami! Learning how to make shapes and objects with paper is a great way to keep yourself and your kids occupied while also learning a new skill! For beginners, creating a basic shape, such as a square, is a great first step towards some amazing pieces of art.

Who says you can’t enjoy a fun dance party in your living room with your family? Enjoy music from DJ Mel to brighten up your day! DJ Mel’s videos are great for the whole family to kick off your shoes and enjoy some quality family dance-offs.

If you have a Brooklyn Public Library card or are planning on getting one, you’re able to access all of the fun and exciting resources their virtual library has to offer. Enjoy kicking back and reading one (or two) of the many books that the BPL has, as well as getting involved in a variety of events and classes the library is putting on. The library also offers access to educational programs that can help keep your kid’s minds stimulated while they’re off from school.

Let your kids make their own first footprints on the moon by making moon sand at home! Have the kids help by measuring out the flour and vegetable oil, and let them mix it all together. Put the sand into a tray or a sensory bin and let your kids play and experiment with it. You can even get toy astronauts and rockets to make their first space experience memorable!