In these days when we are all homebound due to limitations to curb the spread of the coronavirus, children easily get bored. With few stimuli or games it seems to them that we don’t have enough to do and we do n’t always manage to entertain them as we would like.
You can opt to show him some television. However, TV is not a good pastime, above all because it risks making them excessively lazy. There are numerous activities and games, much more stimulating and able to allow him to develop some skills or knowledge.
Stimulating children can be quite difficult, but it’s not impossible. By offering them activities that they have never done or seen, they will hardly pull back and almost certainly end up having fun and asking us to do them again in the following days. Furthermore, they can become authentic moments of union for the whole family , improving and welding the relationship.
Let’s discover together some original games to entertain the little ones at home in this moment of isolation !
Origami
The ancient art of origami originated in Japan and has been a source of inspiration for many people for centuries. It requires enough manual skills and the use of scissors, so it is generally indicated for ages 7 and up . Just search the internet for some diagrams for creating the figures, starting from the simplest ones and growing gradually in difficulty. The activity can be really stimulating, both for the children and for you who assist them , get involved and after having learned the basics of the technique challenge yourself in a speed race!
Hide and seek
It is by no means to be taken for granted that hide and seek is an activity to be done exclusively outdoors. Suitable from the age of 3, as soon as the child acquires full capacity for movement, it can be done in two different variants . The first is the classic one where one counts and the others hide around and then be searched for . It is necessary to set some rules and prohibitions, such as avoiding climbing the closets or going out the door, first of all for their safety. Alternatively, we can opt for a seated hide-and-seek, where we choose an object to hide and everyone in the family (apart from those who have hidden it), through simple questions such as “and in this room?”, Or “is it near the oven? “,and without moving from the chair, they have to work together to find him.
Hand and foot painting
Painting is a favorite activity for most children . Always have fun, it’s simple and encourages creativity. Suitable for all ages, with older children you can opt to paint with the classic brushes , perhaps creating paints naturally with the things you find at home (turmeric and water, for example, create yellow). For the little ones, on the other hand, we can get an old sheet or a very thick sheet, spread it on the ground and let them indulge themselves with the paint directly on the little hands and feet.
The trunk of disguises
At home we can easily find numerous old unused clothes , carnival wigs, capes, masks, gloves and anything that can be worn. Let’s put them all in a trunk or a box (in this case we also use some time to let them color and decorate it as they prefer) and in turn we fish three or four items and then wear them ! The activity is suitable for any age , for the little ones it will be enough to dress up and see ourselves dressed in funny ways, while with the older ones (from 6/7 years old) we can create characters, on which we can then build a bizarre story!
Obstacle course
This activity would be preferable to propose it from 4/5 years upwards, so that the little one has an understanding of what could cause him pain. Of course we don’t have to create circles of fire or dangerous walks on burning braziers, but by running and jumping you never know what might happen. It will be enough to move some furniture , if it were cluttered, or use them to create tight curves, then mark the path through adhesive paper tape and finally arrange along the path chairs, bedside tables, poufs and anything that could constitute an obstacle. It’s a great way to work on your reflexes and get them tired (and why not, train) with a little running.
Home camping
Who among us has never built a tent with sheets or blankets, then pretending to be an Indian with the name of some majestic animal, or a small fort between the beds. If we did, we also know how fun it is. It helps develop imagination and creativity, and also gives children a place that makes them feel safer and more protected . We can let them do it independently by providing them with what they need if they are already about 7 years old, otherwise we could consider helping them if they were younger . With our help, the fort can also be large enough to accommodate the whole family, turning off the light and using torches or candles (eye in this case) it will seem to be camping, freeing the imaginationeveryone in telling funny or scary stories.
Read, build and reinvent
Suitable for any child who has already learned to read! Let’s take a story, which you may not know, short and not too complex. Let the child read it aloud, so he trains himself in this important activity, following what he says. Let’s identify with him the characters he liked the most and invite him to draw them as he imagines them, or perhaps transfiguring them into animals . At this point, forgetting the original story and with a new set of characters, we reinvent the story with his help Di lui. If we want, we could also help him put it in the form of a comic, making him draw the environments, the characters and also allowing him to train in writing!
Set up a show
Let’s say that from the box of disguises mentioned earlier we were able to find a disguise that particularly struck the little one. At this point we could help him set up a little show, in great secrecy from the other family members, to show us as if we were his Di lui audience. Alternatively we can help them set up a ballet, starting with a rather simple choreography. These activities are also excellent from the age in which they can walk and talk independently without problems, they will take up a lot of time and energy, and then feel gratified by our appreciation once they show us the fruits of their commitment!
Make a basket!
With this activity we can proceed in different ways, it is suitable from 3 years upwards. Let’s get some cardboard and create rings large enough to allow a ball to pass through it, or to be able to slip them around a rod. Then we turn a chair and try all together to get the circles into the legs of the same, perhaps even challenging ourselves to whoever manages to get the highest score. Otherwise we can attack the circles around the house, “arming” our child with balls that do not do damage (those for ping pong, rather than balls created with tape and paper or aluminum) and then challenge him to see how many he can hit.
Discover the intruder or the fugitive
This is suitable for ages two and up and can be adapted for each age according to the size of the objects we choose. Let’s take a few things, small or large, and arrange them in bulk on a table . Let the child see them for a few seconds, then ask him to close his eyes. Now let’s remove one of those objects, move them or add another . Then ask him to reopen his eyes and identify what has changed. It may seem easy, but if on the table, for example, we arrange 7 chickpeas and remove or add one, it’s easy to imagine how complicated it can become!
Little architects
In this case , the activity is suitable for children from 6/7 years of age . We take a couple of shoeboxes, straws, string, cloth, cardboard, glue, scissors, and more generally anything we can deem useful for the purpose. The child is then asked to free his imagination and build something with those objects . Whether it’s a dollhouse rather than a castle or whatever comes to mind. Obviously our help is welcome, and we could help to finish everything with das or plasticine and then paint . Nothing could be more satisfying for a little creative and, why not, for us too!
