When the weather turns wet and cold and school is out for the holidays, it is nice to have some fun and educational indoor activities in your bag of tricks to keep your children engaged and learning. The best thing to do is to identify things your children can do themselves. Aim for activities that engage the senses and are at the correct level of difficulty (e.g. not too easy, not too challenging). Create an “Activity Box” with coloring books, action figures and a puzzle to encourage independent play. You can update the activities in the box every few months.

If you are looking for things to do indoors together, the following is a list of Indoor Activities:

• Construct an indoor obstacle course
• Build an indoor tent or fort with blankets
• Find a yoga tutorial for children on Youtube and follow along
• Help your child rearrange their bedroom
• Break out Twister and hold a tournament in your family room
• Play Hot Potato – use anything from a bean bag to a bar of soap
• Play Lily-Pad leap with small rugs and towels strategically placed throughout the playroom or family room
• Put on some music and have a dance party
• Start a game of Simon-Says
• Act out your child’s favorite book
• Design and fill in your own mad libs
• Find a website that teaches you various ways to make paper airplanes and have a contest to see whose airplane goes the farthest
• Find a website that teaches you simple origami
• Pull out the costume box, put on funny clothes and have a photo shoot
• Write letters to soldiers overseas
• Make homemade playdoh
• Pull out your photo album and let your child “read” family photos to you or they may be content to sit and peruse them on their own
• For older children, pull out the photos you have been meaning to put in a photo album or on a CD or thumb drive and enlist your child’s help.
• Create a video from the video footage you have taken at your children’s sports games or music recitals
• Blow homemade bubbles (just mix 1 cup soap powder and 1 quart warm water)