Ways to Keep your Kids Busy During the Pandemic or at Any Time

     While going through some old magazines that my Mother saved years ago, I found a Woman's Day issue from January 1993. In the magazine, there was one article entitled 50 Ways to Keep Kids Busy (and out of your hair), that I thought was quite appropriate for our times, 29 years later. Some people today, due to the pandemic lockdowns and restrictions, are asking what they can do with their kids who are at home with them most of the time. Referring to this article, I have listed a few activities that I thought were good to use with your children and are still relevant today.

1. For 30 minutes, use no words, only signs and gestures.
2. Put your writing arm in a sling for the day. Tell someone how it felt to not to use that arm.
3. Write a story entitled Twenty-five Uses for Leftover Mashed Potatoes.
4. Write a letter to the teacher you had last year.
5. Write a love letter to each member of your family (don't forget the ones who live in other cities such as Grandparents).
6. Create something with a hammer, nails and scraps of wood.
7. Learn to juggle with socks.
8. Build a little library and maintain it for the neighbourhood.
9. Make up a song about your family.
10. Start a weekly newspaper.
11. Write a post card to your favourite aunt or uncle.
12. Act out a play.
13. Bundle up and take a walk after dark.
14. Interview your oldest relatives.
15. Write a poem about winter.
16. Make up a crossword puzzle.
17. Have an art show. Invite your family to attend and view your art.
18. Camp out right in the dining room (or a room where you have space). Don't forget the camp food, snacks, games and camp songs.
19. Look at photos of yourself as a baby. While you are at it, pull out the baby photos of your parents too.
20. If you have a pet, teach it a new trick. Teach yourself a new trick too.
21. Learn, with adult supervision, how to make pizza from scratch. (I added this one.)

    These are only a few of the things that kids can do either on their own or as a whole family. Appropriate supervision is very important for all activities

    Here is a sample of activities that our kids participated in when they were young:

One summer we held a circus in our backyard. This was one of the activities. 

Lots of games, prizes and of course, lots of time spent on making the activities. 

We invited the neighbours' kids over to join in the circus activities.

Decorating a birthday cupcake for our cat. 

Of course, the humans enjoyed the cupcakes.

Painting clothes on the outline of their traced bodies.

Dressing up in Dad's work uniform and catching the "bad guy".

Here the boys are tobogganing down the slope in our back yard.

Playing in the snow!

Going for a hike through the woods in the winter. 

We brought along sandwiches and a drink and had lunch while seated on a log.

    I have such great memories of our children's activities. The list of activities that your child can do is endless. Include your children when making up a list of activities. Let their imagination run wild. What activities have your children done to keep busy?