Keeping children occupied outside of school hours can be a challenge for any parent whether you stay at home or have a busy work schedule. To get the most out of your time spent at home with your kids, you don’t have to spend a lot of money on expensive toys or games. The list below gives you fun and frugal ways to entertain your kids.
1. Cooking with Kids
Cooking with your children is a naturally engaging task. Since cooking must be done regardless, spending time with your children in the kitchen is an easy way to entertain them without spending any extra money. You can modify what your children do to make it age appropriate. Younger children may enjoy mixing or collecting ingredients for you out of the fridge or pantry. Older children may be able to help with preparing ingredients or even help with the stove or oven (you, as the parent, know what your children can handle).
When deciding which recipes to prepare with your children, you may want to consider the skill level and the cooking time involved to make sure the experience is positive and smooth. Food Network has compiled a special collection of kid-friendly family recipes to try.
2. Videos for Kids
Everyone loves youtube. Children especially enjoy kid-friendly videos. While some parents may be hesitant to let their children browse youtube unsupervised, these videos for kids and others like them can be a great way to spend time with your children, enjoying videos with them.
There are more resources than just youtube for videos for children that are both appropriate and educational. BrainPOP is a great resource available for a nominal subscription that will give your children access to thousands of educational and engaging videos on a variety of topics. Each video includes a comprehension quiz and some even include games that children can play after viewing the video.
3. Crafting for Kids
Arts and crafts are a great way to help children avoid boredom and develop fine motor skills. Kids can use their imaginations and creativity to make crafts from items you already have in your home. Pintrest is a great resource for crafting ideas using things you already have.
Encouraging your children to participate in arts and crafts teaches them important soft skills such as patience, how to deal with mistakes, and how to solve problems. Nothing teaches a child how to problem solve than trying to figure out why their craft may not look exactly like the one in the picture!
4. Playing Dress Up
Kids of all ages will (even secretly) enjoy playing a quick game of dress up. Adult clothing can feel like a special, usually off-limits item. Bringing out an old suit and bow tie or that wedding dress that hasn’t seen the sun in years for a young child or even teenager to try on can be a powerful bonding and story-telling opportunity for both parent and child.
5. Planting Seeds from the Kitchen
Teaching children about plant life cycles doesn’t have to happen in a classroom. You can expose your children to the ways that plants grow by collecting various seeds from vegetables and fruit from your kitchen. You can find tips for which foods you can grow from seeds in your kitchen here.
Keeping kids entertained doesn’t require a lot of money, but it does require a little bit of planning. Think about the kinds of activities your children enjoy while encouraging them to try new activities. The five ideas explained above will get you started on a plan to fight the boredom monster!