10 Easy & Fun Indoor Kids Activities

Having fun activities on hand for young children can sometimes be difficult. It could be storming outside on a day you had planned to take your children out to have fun. Now, you’re stuck at home with nothing to do. Coming up with a fun activity last-minute can seem stressful, especially if you need to buy supplies for the activity.

Luckily, there are plenty of fun activities that can be done last-minute in the comfort of your own home! Not only can you put them together that day, but many of the supplies needed for these activities are common household items. So when it’s rainy and cold, extremely hot outside, or you’re snowed-in, enjoy one (or more) of these 10 indoor activities with your kids.

Make a Zoo

Maybe you had planned to go to the zoo, but the weather didn’t permit it to happen. Luckily, you can still “go to the zoo” with your kids by having them make their very own zoo with paper and crayons!

This is a super easy craft to do. Just let your kids draw and color their favorite animals on paper. You could even ask your kids if they want to draw the animals in their habitat. Then you can set up the pieces of paper around the house so they can tour each room to see the zoo handmade by them!

Painting

Kids love arts and crafts and a great way for them to show their creative side is by letting them paint some pictures. If you have some kid-friendly paint on hand, grab a few brushes and some paper and let your kids express their inner Picasso! Turn this into a game by giving them a photo to replicate or topic to paint and watch as they give it their all.

Scavenger Hunt

Making a scavenger hunt is another great physical activity you put together for your kids to enjoy indoors.

Simply make a list of clues on a piece of paper for your kids to follow until they find the final treasure; you can even print out fun templates for free to get them into the spirit. This game is very simple for you to make, your kids will be thrilled while playing it, and they’ll love that they get a reward at the end that makes it even more exciting!

Paper Crafts

Paper crafts are another great way to show your kids’ creative side and there are so many different types of papercrafts.

Making paper dolls is one way to have fun with paper. Draw a person on a piece of paper for your kids and cut it out. Let them design their own clothes for the paper dolls and watch as they have fun!

Another great papercraft is making crowns and tiaras. Help your kids draw a crown or tiara shape a piece of paper. Cut it out the tape the two ends together. Your kids can wear their crowns while pretending they are the king or queen of a magical realm, don’t forget to add a blanket cape to complete the ensemble!

Freeze Dance

What kid doesn’t love dancing? Not only is this a super fun game for kids, but they let their energy out while playing it.

All you need for this game is music. Play music and let your kids dance to it. Stop the music every now and then. When you stop the music, your kids have to freeze! If someone moves while the music is off, they are eliminated from the game. Last player dancing wins!

Dancing

Much like Freeze Dance, just play some music and let your kids dance. Dancing is a great way to have fun while exercising and your kids will get to try out some new and fun dance moves! You could even have a dance competition. Let each kid pick their favorite song to dance to, then you can be the judge of who will win the competition or have categories for them to win such as “Best Energy” and “Best Creative Expression” so no one is disappointed.

Fish Plates

If you have any colorful paper plates on hand, making fish plates is a simple and fun craft to make with your kids.

If you have colored plates, let your kids pick out the color fish they want to make or have them color a white paper plate to make a fish with any color(s) they choose. Cut out a small triangle on one side of the plate to make a mouth for the fish. Then tape the same piece you cut out the other end of the plate to make a fin for the fish. Draw some eyes on the fish and it’s done! It’s as easy as one, two, three!

Hide and Seek

Hide and Seek is a classic you can never go wrong with. This game is perfect for stormy, snowy, or sunny days where you just want to have some indoor fun.

Playing the game is quite simple. You choose one seeker who finds the other players who are hiding. The first player the seeker finds becomes the seeker in the next round. Each round ends once all players are found. This game is sure to bring out your kid-at-heart as you try to squeeze into some unique hiding spots around the house.

Cardboard “Guitars”

What kid doesn’t love playing instruments or “air” guitar? Luckily, you can make an easy and cute cardboard guitar for all of your kids! This is a very fun activity that will require some help from parents

All you need for this activity is a box (like a shoebox) for each guitar you plan on making, a tube (like a paper towel tube) for each box, four large rubber bands for each box, glue, and scissors.

Parents should cut out a circle in the center of the top of each box. The circle shouldn’t be too big, but big enough to fit your fist through it. Let your kids decorate their boxes if they want. Next, wrap around 4 rubber bands on each box so that all four rubber bands are equally spaced out over the hole you cut out. Glue a tube on one side of the box (if the box is square, it doesn’t matter which size. If the box is a rectangle, glue it on one of the shorter sides). Once the glue has dried, your kids are ready to rock out!

Tag, You’re It

Much like Hide and Seek, Tag You’re It is another classic game to play with kids. Before you play this game, just be sure you have enough space in your house and remember to avoid wearing socks on slippery surfaces. You wouldn’t want anyone getting hurt or anything breaking.

The rules are simple: one player is “it” and the others are running away from them. Whoever is “it” tries to tag another player, which would then make that other player “it.” The object of the game is to avoid getting tagged, which will give your kids plenty of exercise and tire them out!

Next time you and your kids are cooped up in your house, try out one of these fun and simple indoor activities for kids. They’re all very simple to make or play and the best part is that most of the supplies needed are something you should already have in your house. So, what are you waiting for? Let your kids pick out what activity they want to play next!

To learn more about our fun indoor activities for kids, check our online calendar for upcoming special events and Open Jumps.