Tips of activities for kids indoor in the time of lockdown?

[xin li]

We are officially in lockdown situation from 6pm today. The last shop I visited today was a hobby shop to get some handcraft materials to keep my 3 years old busy.
I have got some art supplies, origami papers, kinetic sand, easter egg decorations. And here is one of the first artwork my 3 years old and I collaborated on during our second home studioing time today:

This will be a great time for me to start with mixed media and collage experiments :-). I think I am going to stare at Christian Robinson's art after my kid went to sleep tongiht.

So any more tips for activities to keep a 3 year old busy? Any simple games that can be made with paper, glue or things can be found around the house?

Hope everyone stay safe, and keep making art.

[lmrush]

My daughter and I used to build blanket forts and take in a flashlight and books. Blanket picnics with play food cut from paper , we made hungry caterpillar puppets from paper and straws and acted out the story. Water play in the sink with her plastic horses, dance parties... I you tubed singing/dancing videos to dance to, singing in the rain is a good one to tire her out- Good Luck- I am sure we are next and I will be asking for 6 year old boy activities

[Marc Osborne]

My friend Ryan illustrates his daughters drawings. They talk about what is happening in the drawing and his daughter will give her charcater a story and then he illustrates a little scene with that character.

Like this! @rysanz

[demotlj]

Maybe you could start a thread with a prompt and everyone on the forum who is entertaining kids stuck at home could post their children's creations to the prompt so they can all see what others have done. Like the SVS contest except everyone wins

I may have my college age son home with me soon possibly until the end of the semester because of the college's precaution against coronavirus which is not as bad as having a toddler home but after 3 1/2 years of empty nest, I know it will be an adjustment for us both!

[sarahlash]

We make play dough a lot and my two year old can spend an hour with that. I saw blanket forts and water play mentioned - we also like those things. We read a lot of books and he’s just starting to build with legos. After that . . . I’m also looking forward to some new ideas!

[burvantill]

@xin-li couch pillow and blanket forts will keep kids occupied for a LONG TIME! Building decorating, and if you let them sleep in it then it’s like camping. Lol

Good luck. I hope the lock down won’t be too long.

[burvantill]

@lmrush great minds think alike

[charitymunoz]

There are a TON of things to do! I have a 3yo and used to homeschool my 2 other children. If you have painter's tape (masking tape in a pinch), you can make temporary hopscotch, roads for cars, or even obstacle courses (each strip would be a place to walk along, jump turning your feet, etc - there are a lot online). Balloons are for indoor volleyball, paper plates are great masks, and if you cut out shapes from all different colors of paper you have a Simon says that's educational. I used index cards for numbers and letters and would hide them all over the living room until they found and matched everything. When in doubt documentaries can often spur great play. Our coffee table has been a hobbit hole, an ancient Egyptian tomb (complete with resting mummy that could come to life), and a beaver dam. The beaver dam was after my 2nd child had seen a PBS documentary on beavers and began dragging pillows and blankets to the table with her teeth "swimming" to make her "beaver dam". It lasted 3 weeks. If you need any other ideas feel free to message me and I'll send them out!

[deborah Haagenson]

I just saw a funny post on facebook recently. A parent had 3 kids. He wanted to take a nap, so he had them all draw him while he took a nap on the couch.

[TessaW]

I love all the suggestions so far. Homemade playdough is always a winner with us and kept my 3 year old occupied for longer chunks of time than most activities. We've been playing lots of hide and seek this winter. Little cooking projects seem to be fun for them. Even something as simple as crumpling up a ball of paper and kicking it around is entertaining. 3 is such a fun age where you could do almost anything and they are super into it.

[xin li]

Thank you so much for all these wonderful suggestions. I would definitely try them out. We know it is at least 2 weeks school/kindergarten lockdown. Luckily shops are open as normal. We are not short in anything yet.

I might design some papercut out dolls like this one! I thought it might be fun for a 3 years old, and it will keep painting/drawing. If I manage to do so, I will release the pattern for free on my website, so all stay-at-home parents can use them if they want to.

[NicolaSchofield]

@xin-li these paper dress up dolls were my absolute favourite thing when I was kid

[Julia]

Same as the others : my niece (who is 4) asks me to draw something: she is really interested in the process and watches quietly until the image is traced. Then it is her turn to colour the image. This is a quiet activity and keeps her busy 1 hour or more.

Good luck!

[lmrush]

@xin-li What a wonderful idea! I should think of something to share...pay it forward right?

[nadyart]

@demotlj That sounds like fun!

[A Former User]

@xin-li I used to make paper dolls like this when I was a girl, but out of felt. That might be better for a 3yo.

A lot of homeschoolers have been speaking up because they are accustomed to having their kids home all day when others are not: https://www.facebook.com/LovingEarthParenting/photos/a.209205382425665/2973726835973492/?type=3&theater

[Coley]

I just found this link @xin-li that might be great! They're providing a list of materials and then going live every day with a different activity starting I think on Monday.
https://www.mcharpermanor.com/post/supply-list-for-our-first-week-of-projects

[xin li]

We are in self-isolation at this moment. My toddler has a bit cold symtom during the last couple days (mostly running nose). We are almost certain she is just having a common cold. But since there is no way for us to really know, we decide to go full self-isolation mode.
Luckily we live in the city center, there is online grocceray delivery service, there is neighbor volunteers offering to do shopping for you service.

Thank you so much for all the tips. Yesterday we built a cozy hole with blanket, pillows, and sofa. And we kept making art together. Here are some art pieces we made it together. I like to draw on top of my toddler's drawing :-). Everything is looks so much more raw when I do my art on top of hers.I wonder if my art will have a complete new style after the corona is over.

[Laurel Aylesworth]

My mom neighbors and I had a conference out on our street after the schools were shut down to share resources/support. One mom suggested this website (I know, screens, but it's kid friendly):

https://thekidshouldseethis.com/

[Coreyartus]

Hm. @xin-li I wonder if you could make some family pop-up book "dummies" together? Or maybe some rotating dials using a brass brad in the middle, giving homemade paper dolls different heads and torsos and legs? Or maybe plant a "paper garden" with some drawn flowers taped to straws or utensils--you could put it in a planter in the window and suspend some clouds and rain on string from the curtain rod. Or even decorate the room with drawn and taped stars or rainbows or trucks on the walls? Or maybe make drawn and folded rectangular paper houses to create a little village with no roofs to play with the people inside? Paper plate masks?