Our delayed March Break, April Break? is in less than a week as we're facing even more lockdown restrictions. Whether you're in lockdown again, or stay at home orders, or just in an area where things are starting to open again, odds are you're hoping for something to quell the calls of "I'm bored" without more screen time.
As we work on our plan of action, take a few days off work ourselves, we decided it's best to be prepared with some fun events leading into the break to keep things light, fun, and safe. Our family loves lists and bucket lists, so coming up with some things to look forward to in advance just made sense. Feel free to add your own ideas, borrow these for your spring break, summer vacation, or random Sunday afternoon.
10 Kid Activities To Keep Your Kids Entertained During Lockdown
Image Courtesy of Moms.ca
Kid Friendly "Fancy Dinner"
Break out the table clothes, napkins, goblets, and fancy clothes. Put on some Vitamin String Orchestra (or whatever music your family listens to when hosting a dinner party) and get ready to eat kid favourites in style. Make the food yourself, but make sure it's stuff your kids will like. Bonus points for supporting a local restaurant you love. We're going to have burgers.
Neighbourhood Clean Up
Earth Day is April 22nd, but that doesn't mean we can't celebrate all month long. Turn off all the lights and devices for an hour one evening to create your own earth hour or complete a garbage clean up on your street. Just make sure to wear masks, gloves, and wash your hands when you're done.
Plan a Garden
Living in Ontario, I don't usually plant my garden until the May long weekend, but that doesn't mean you can't start some seedlings, micro greens, or indoor plants that you can move outside in a few weeks. Let your kids get crafting to paint and decorate pots or marker stakes in preparation for whenever you plant.
Enjoying our winter "hot tub"
Spa Day
Okay, this one may rely on a bit of screen time, but we're going to enjoy an afternoon of Cosmic Kids Yoga, face masks, nail painting, and listening to an audio back while we relax. We may also break out our turtle pool for a "hot tub" outside (something we tried this winter that was a resounding success).
Master Chef Mini Challenge
Pick the challenge, (be it ice cream sundaes, cupcake decoration or otherwise), buy them the ingredients, set the time limit and let them prepare, plate, and display for their panel of "judges". They can even take photos of their creations to send to "impartial" grandparents or other family member judges. What you decide to have them prepare will obviously depend on the age of your child(ren).
Bedroom Rearrange
This is tricking your kids into spring cleaning (sort of). As a kid I always liked to rearrange my room. It made it felt brand new. Let your kid create a blueprint on changes they want, clean as you rearrange, and maybe reward them with a new poster or accessory as a reward for their "new room".
Image Courtesy of Edraw
Lego Masters Challenge
This was something we did at the beginning of the pandemic and forgot about, inspired by the show Lego Masters. We worked in teams of two, set a time limit and theme (like make a Lego animal) and sent photos to friends to judge the best work.
Sidewalk Chalk Mural
Plan it, draw it, and photograph your art work so you can remember it (even after it rains).
Family Game Day or Night
This is a classic because it's so good. Chris and I are big fans of puzzles, but our 500 to 1000 piece projects are too big for the kids. In preparation for next week we ordered an adorable Totaro puzzle that is 205 pieces and just right to complete together.
Courtesy of Scary Mommy
