I recently did a post on our favourite outdoor games, but what about the days when you really don’t fancy being outside?
Firstly I do recommend encouraging outdoor play all year round, help children understand that all weather can be enjoyed, life will be very long and boring if they’re forever waiting for nice weather!
But some days inevitably will be spent indoors and for those days, here are our favourite indoor activities
- Building forts: Encourage children to use blankets, cushions, and furniture to build their own forts or hideouts. They can pretend to be explorers, knights, or have a cozy reading nook inside.
- Arts and crafts: Set up a designated area with various art supplies like paper, crayons, markers, paints, glue, and scissors. Children can create drawings, paintings, collages, or even make their own puppets or masks.
- Indoor scavenger hunt: Create a scavenger hunt by hiding objects or clues around the house. You can design it based on themes like colors, shapes, or letters. It adds an element of excitement and problem-solving.
- Dance party: Clear some space in a room and put on some lively music. Children can dance, jump, and move to the rhythm. You can even incorporate simple dance routines or games like musical statues and bumps.
- Sensory play: Fill a sensory bin or tray with materials like colored rice, sand, water beads, or kinetic sand. Add scoops, cups, and small toys for exploration and tactile stimulation. I talk about lots more sensory play ideas in this post.
- Board games and puzzles: Bring out age-appropriate board games and puzzles for children to play. It helps develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and social skills. We also love games such as Uno, top trumps and bingo.
- Science experiments: Conduct simple science experiments at home using household items. For example, make homemade volcanoes with baking soda and vinegar, or create slime with glue and borax (ensure safety and supervision).
- Reading corner: Create a cozy reading corner with a variety of books suitable for your child’s age. Encourage them to explore different genres and let their imagination soar.
- Puppet show: Help children create their own puppets using socks, paper bags, or popsicle sticks. Then, let them put on a puppet show, either by themselves or with friends or siblings.
- Indoor obstacle course: Set up a mini obstacle course using pillows, cushions, hula hoops, and other safe items. Children can crawl under tables, jump over pillows, and navigate through the course.
- Finally, playdough! Over the years I have found that children of all ages love playdough, no scrap that, its not just children, I’ve also seen many adults happily playing, fiddling and creating with playdough its a fantastic way to occupy and promote creativity……………I’ve shared my favourite play dough recipe on another post, but if you don’t fancy making your own you cant go wrong with something like this one below:
I hope this gives you some ideas, I’d love to hear any other favourites, please add them to the comments.
