There’s no doubt about it: keeping kids busy while you work from home is challenging. Whether you’re teleconferencing, focusing on writing, or trying to balance a budget, having kids around your home office is tricky.
Having options is the key! The following activity ideas include some that even very young kids can do with limited parental involvement. Most require no special equipment, only common household items. Set-up time for most of these is minimal, so you can get the fun started in between emails or phone calls. Or, if you have older kids, you can show them how to get started and then leave it to them to set up the games.
Dress up: If you have a dress-up box, pull it out and if not, create one with hats, socks, coats, purses, shoes, boots, kid glasses, costume jewelry, old dresses, jackets, mirror, brush, old cellphone, old keys (no scarves or other possibly choking items).
Camp out: Set up a tent or fort and fill it with multiple items for a game of camp. Let your kids get comfy with pillows and blankets, keep them fed with healthy snacks, turn out the lights, and give them flashlights for making shadow animals. Throw in some stuffies for company, some binoculars to keep a watch on the bears, and some animal picture books.
Rubbings art: Lay out a number of thin items such as leaves, flat pieces of Lego, coins, or buttons (for kids who know not to put these in their mouths!), a stack of thin white paper, and crayons. Show your children the art of putting a piece of paper over an item and rubbing it with the side of a crayon until the item appears.
Scavenger hunt: Create a page of photos of items that you have around the house and send your kids off with a crayon to tick off their finds. Or let them use your phone camera to capture the images. Ensure you have lots of items on the list to keep them busy for a while!
Secret house cleaning: Provide your kids with a broom or a Swiffer and a sock ball to pass back and forth on hard surface floors. Voilà! Your floors will be sparkling.
Balloon volleyball: Tie a ribbon, yarn, or string firmly between two walls, and voilà—you have an indoor net. Use a balloon or beach ball and let the volley begin.
Adjusting to working with (very) young colleagues is truly challenging, but having some activities for your kids to play independently while you work will make for a happy and less anxious time. When work is done, family playtime will be all the sweeter.
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