The Big List of Easy Boredom Busters For Kids Stuck At Home

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Social distancing has thrown us all into a bit of an unexpected vacation, where we are now in charge of education and entertainment for our children. I am in the same boat. I have my three boys, 7, 5, and 3 home all day now, and life can be a bit stressful as soon as boredom sets in.

I’ve found some super fun activities that work well for my boys so far, as well as some I can’t wait to try. I wanted to put together a big list, to help us all stay happy and sane in these uncertain times. This list is EASY! Not huge projects with lots of stuff. Just easy, straightforward games and ideas that my kids ACTUALLY do regularly.

The big list of boredom busters:

12 Indoor activities:

• • • Indoor scavenger hunt. The key to a successful scavenger hunt for my boys is points for each item. They are competitive and want to earn more points. The most points get the most candy, or to choose the movie that night. There are tons of free printables on the internet, but here are some items that my boys like to find:
      • Something with wheels 10 points
      • Something around 15 points
      • A ball 5 points
      • Something blue 15 points
      • Something pink (very rare in our house!) 25 points
      • A missing piece (or broken piece) 25 points
      • A pokemon 10 points
      • A green leggo 10 points
      • A blue marker 5 points
      • one sock 5 points
    • Coloring Any Page of Choice: if you have a printer and computer, I’ve found my boys LOVE to color what they choose. So, we search google for things like “pokemon coloring pages” or “super Mario coloring pages.” Because my boys get to look at the computer with me and get excited about coloring what they choose, they will color for so much longer!
    • Window Markers: These were super exciting when I did them a while ago. They colored all over the windows, then they had to clean them off. We did math quizzes and spelling too.  A great way to incorporate home school activities.
    • Print Out Characters: This one actually works really well for my boys. I print out a pokemon, Mario character, or whatever they are into, and cut it out. You can glue it to cardboard to make it thicker, but mine will play with them just as paper. They basically play with the cut-outs like a new toy! It is fabulous! Just Google images, print the image, cut it out, and be done! No buying any supplies at all.
    • Timed Station Activities: This is something I am working on now that the kids are home. I set up stations with coloring, cars, legos, magnet blocks, and the tablet. I set a timer for 15 minutes at each station. Their goal is to always get to the tablet, but they have to do the other stations too. For some reason, the timer really helps them focus in one station, and 15 minutes seems to be the best time frame. Not too long, not too short. Here are the best activity toys:

  

  
  

  • Audio Dramas and Books: These work really well right before nap, when they are tired, but not ready to sleep, or in the late afternoon when they are still kinda getting going from a nap. We loved the app, Pinna because all the stories are narrated by children with music and sound effects. It really gets the imagination going. We also love Audible, for older children, who can listen to a story being read aloud. My 7-year-old is loving Harry Potter on Audible right now. My 3-year-old loves Sugar Monster on Pinna. Definitely worth a try because it forces your child to use their imagination to picture the story and not stare at a screen!

• • Charades: This game has been fun for us! It helps get my boys out of a bad mood and feeling bored. They have to choose to act in tv shows, movies, or animals. Usually, they think of a character they love and act it out. It’s not perfect, and there is a lot of noise, but it seems to help everyone get their creative juices flowing.
  • Obstacle course: I got this idea from my oldest’s gymnastics class. Set up a pillow for jumping over, maybe some cans or water bottles to run around, put a mat down for summer saults and time them on how quickly they can get through it. My boys love a timer to see how fast they are. I just use my watch, and they each take turns doing the course.
  • Hide N’ Go Seek: This is easy to play inside because the boys can find some pretty good hiding places. They hide, I seek and it helps everyone get moving. It doesn’t last long, because they run out of hiding places, but it does get them out of a bad attitude.
  • Simon Says: This game actually works. They enjoy the challenge, and my littlest one basically fails every time. If they fail, they have to do 10 jumping jacks or 10 push-ups. Getting them moving and playing is so helpful.
  • Large-Piece Puzzles: My boys will do the larger-piece puzzles, with about 24 pieces. They don’t have the attention span for more, and I don’t want to clean up more when they give up. I buy them at the dollar store, and keep them hidden until I need them 🙂
  • I-Spy Books: These are really good for the afternoon! I have to read and help the little two, but my older one can read the items to find, and this is super fun because I give points for finding items! The winner gets candy or chooses the TV show later.

Those are my best indoor activities for bored kids. We are very fortunate to live in sunny Florida, so we get to spend a lot of time outside. I also have some good outside activities that work really well to keep my kids busy, and they are very similar to indoor activities.

14 Outdoor Activities That Bust Boredom Fast:

• • • Outdoor scavenger hunt: Just like the indoor one, there are some more things you can find outside. Definitely use the point system if they are old enough because it keeps them interested. Have them draw what they find next to their item! This makes it super fun! Some things we look for are:
      • Lizards
      • Spiders
      • Ants
      • Potato bugs
      • A blue flower
      • Something sparkly
      • A missing toy
      • A butterfly
      • A Dragonfly
      • A special leaf
      • A special rock
      • Something beautiful
    • Hide N Go Seek: I like this game more outside because there are often more places to hide, and it works really well at parks too. Definitely play with friends, at a park, or in your yard. Everyone can take turns seeking to make it fun. My littlest one likes to hide with me, which gives me a good challenge.
    • Duck Duck Goose: My kids love this game, and because I have three plus me, there’s just enough to play with just us. They think it is super fun and gets them moving and thinking.
    • Painting rocks: I have no idea why they like this, but they really do. They will sit and paint or color rocks for a good length of time, then we will hide them for scavenger hunts later.
    • Mini Car Wash or Toy Wash: My two little ones like this game. They love a few tubs of soapy, bubbly water, rags, and scrubbers and they will sit and wash their toys and cars. You could technically do this inside too, but I don’t like cleaning up the mess.
    • Side Walk Chalk: This usually ends up on the house somehow, but the boys love this every once in a while. It doesn’t last as long as I would like but does do the trick when the kids are very bored.
    • Bubble Machine: One of their favorites!! They will use all the bubbles in no time, so get a lot of bubbles. But, it is super fun in the backyard, and it will keep them busy!

  

  •  Outdoor Obstacle Course: Just like the indoor obstacle course, but with outside items. You can add a bike ride, scooters, or anything with wheels to a portion of the course, maybe a box to climb through, and some things to jump over. This is super fun with the timer and some music. My boys get really into it!
  • All the Parks: I still go to parks. I can’t help but find that they are so enjoyable for my kids, and many of them are very close to us. I rotate the parks we go to, so they always seem exciting. As things get worse, we may not be able to do parks at all, but for now, we are still enjoying them.
  • Long Walks: Getting out and walking, while my oldest rides his hoverboard is super helpful for us. There’s a lot of talking, pretending, sometimes listening to music, and just exercising for us all. We have a few safe and beautiful trails nearby, as well as a safe neighborhood, so I encourage you to drive somewhere where you can walk and walk. Even a hike or nature park may still be open, and I think it is definitely worth the drive.
  • Target Practice: This is fun because you can do it with a ball, and try to throw it to any target, or nerf guns and shoot a target. Maybe set up some toys and use a small tennis ball, or whatever you have. The challenge makes it more fun. My boys prefer it with nerf guns.
  • Pretend Safari: This is one that requires more attention and participation on my part, but we walk around the yard pretending we are on a safari. I create animal scenes and adventures as we go, and the boys LOVE it. Sometimes it turns into a Pokemon adventure, depending on what they want, but this one is good for the times when mom has extra energy to spare too. Packing a backpack of supplies, maybe some sunglasses, and any safari tools won’t make it seem more real.
  • Map Adventure: I just did this one in the house, and I’ve done it in the yard. I draw a map of the yard, and tell them somewhere in the yard is an iguana, treasure, or missing item. I give them clues, and they walk around “following” their map. Really they just color on it, pretend they are following it, and report back to me with what they find.

These activities have all been very successful for my boys. I rotate them around and choose ones depending on how much energy I have. I also have a few items in my Amazon shopping cart now, that I wanted to share because I think these activities are going to go over very well with my kids!

What I’m buying to keep my kids active and busy while social distancing:

Trampoline:

I’ve been wanting one of these, and I think during these times of social distancing and being stuck at home, it is the perfect time to buy! I am just searching OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace to see if I can find a good-used one, but if not, I’m grabbing this one.

Basket Ball Hoop:

My boys have recently been into sports more, so some fun competition will be great to keep them super busy. Because my 7 and 5-year-old are really only 18 months apart, they can keep up with each other really well. Sometimes this means extra fighting, and sometimes it means extra fun.

Bow and Arrow Set:

I think my boys will have a blast with this! Just like the easy target practice I mentioned above, this will make them feel more like warriors. I will just have to monitor their behavior, so their little brother doesn’t become the target.

Scooters:

My kids actually don’t have scooters. We always walk, or they like to ride in the stroller, and my oldest has a hoverboard, so my goal is to use this time to have their scooter more.

Cornhole Game Set:

I’ve found this is a really fun game whenever we go somewhere and they have it, so I’m gonna try it at home. I will have to make sure the bags don’t get lost, but hopefully, this will be a fun game!

I know we can all get through this together, and I hope you are enjoying the extra time at home with your kids. I am doing the best I can to take advantage of the time, enjoy it, and not totally stress out when everyone is in a terrible, boring mood.

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