Fun Activities at Home
“Exactly what I was looking for! What a huge help for families!”
Check out our Home Learning Pages for more activities and ideas
Get Outdoors | Early Years | Discover New Things
Museums | Live Theatre | Craft Ideas | Baking Ideas
Take a Tour round the World | Music and Dance | Summer Time
Reading Resources | Free Colouring Sheets | Science Experiments
We do continue to update this page with new ideas. Please email [email protected] or leave a comment at the bottom of the page if you have anything you have enjoyed or want to share with others.
Create a Rainbow out of skittles – it looks amazing. All you need is skittles, water and a plate!
Balloon Volleyball – Set up your court by using a jump rope (or any rope) to divide your yard in two. Use a balloon for the ball and have players alternate serves. The first to 21 is the winner!
Milky Fireworks : Some very unusual interactions take place when you mix a little milk, food colouring, and a drop of liquid soap. Voila! Rainbow Milk!
Newspaper Netball: Grab a pile of old newspapers and three bucket/bins stationed at different distances away from your competitors. The aim is to use the newspaper to create a ball and throw it into each bucket/bin against the clock. The clock only stops when there is something in each bucket! Trust me – this is harder than it looks!
Make Giant Bubbles: Create you own homemade bubble wands and solution so that kids and adults alike can enjoy immeasurable outdoor fun! Click here for more information
Build a marble run (or ball run): Create the track using cardboard around the house. Make sure it starts high and ends low so gravity can work. Then let the ball go but don’t forget to film the result!! Can you make it quicker? Why not build clever corners or lifts – click here for a great idea
Collect items from outdoors during the day and make a collage: Get leaves, sticks, acorns from woodlands or fields; or sand, shells and seaweed from the beach and bring them home to create fantastic pictures – glue and paint required!!
Learn a Dance Routine together (or challenge them to do it!!): There are dance teachers out there who can break down the routines into step-by-step sequences on YouTube. Try these – some of the most iconic music video moves of all time.. https://takelessons.com/blog/dance-tutorials
Science Experiments at Home
Make a Lava Lamp, Rainbow in a Class, Secret Letters or Your own Volcano or work out some computer coding…
Check out our Links for Experiments to do at Home
Create a Flying Butterfly – Kids of all ages will enjoy painting the flying butterfly craft template to create a graceful butterfly with fluttering wings. Click here for instructions
Play Hiking Bingo!! This card makes the usual daily walk round the block (we’ve all been doing it) into a treasure hunt and gives children a sense of searching for every step on the trail. Good luck! Happy hiking! Click here to download the card.
Do some fitness – Get out Running! Kids are often natural runners, as they tend to love outdoor activities. Kids may sleep better and have more self-esteem and confidence if they run regularly. Some great ideas here
Create a Fancy Dress Photo Booth – Paint a backdrop on an old sheet or piece of poster board. Put on dress-up clothes (or raid mum’s closet), and take silly photos in front of the backdrop.
Go Star Gazing: Simply find a rug and lie down to watch the stars. Print out some star charts (or click here) and see if your kids can spot the Big Dipper, Cassiopeia, and Orion. If kids are curious about the night sky, show them how to learn more.
Create a Shadow puppet show – Great imaginative theatre under the stars. Use either a wall or fence and set up flashlights facing the “screen.” Kids can experiment with their hands to make a multitude of animals, or cut out figures and glue them to lolly sticks to move through the light.
Some really useful sheets here from Pobble for Non-Screen Activities
Make a Paper Boat: See if you can create the perfect design and put it to the test. Does it float? Can it hold anything inside – make paper passengers too! Try this tutorial to create the one in the picture
Play Flashlight Tag – The most important moves here are to dodge, duck, dip, and dive … away from the beam of a flashlight. Choose one player to be “it” and have them close their eyes at home base and count to 20 while the other players scatter. “It” then has to find the players and tag them with their beam of light. When tagged, players must return to home base. The last person tagged becomes “it” in the next round.
Make a Musical Instrument – If you and your family are looking for musical instruments that you find expensive to buy at stores, then homemade musical instruments are for you! Make the things you wish were real using these 15 homemade instruments that will definitely save your time and money. Click here for instructions
Create your own Mini-Golf Course – Your garage probably has everything you need for this game — small ball, cardboard clubs, ropes, cans, obstacles and boxes. Arrange everything on your driveway or in your yard to create your very own course.
Learn, practice, and perform a magic trick: From the bendable spoon to the floating card trick, learning magic tricks takes practice. But, when magic works, it’s the best.
Create a Pin-Prink Art Design: Pin-prick art is easy for little fingers to create, but still fascinating and complex enough for teenagers, making this a scalable, fun activity for families to try together. Click here for instructions.
Camp out in your front room: Make a shelter and spend the night sleeping in a sleeping bag under the “pretend” stars. Marshmellows and camping food also a good idea!
Do some Baking
Everyone likes to bake cakes and then eat them. Why not try some of these recipes and ideas that we have found on our searches..
Check out our Links for Baking Ideas at Home
Create some driveway or pavement art! Use your chalk to create fantastically imaginative art ideas. The chalk will also show up at night with the right light! Maybe write a good luck message to those walking past..
Create a picture using a marbled effect: Use this video from the SEN Resource Blog to set up your marbling effect and have fun!! They look amazing when finished!!
Create a Gravel Picture: First design your picture with tape or chalk and then assemble your garden gravel into the shape you have created. It might inspire you to create a bigger Art Attack – who knows!!
Set the clock in the lounge two hours and fifteen minutes ahead. Whenever someone needs to know the time, help them figure it out by subtracting. This is both irritating and brilliant for mental maths!
Create amazing Night Light pictures – order or find lights like these or use a glow stick to create wonderful dramatic light pictures!!
Go on a Night Light Treasure hunt – For a great treasure hunt, try filling plastic Easter eggs with mini battery-operated lights and hide them around your garden. You will find them by hunting around for where the lights are shining. Why not try putting the lights in other places to see the effect!
Get Outdoors
Studies have shown that kids who spend more time outside might be happier and more relaxed so get outdoors and have some fun!!
Check out our list of things to do Outdoors
Try this LEGO SCAVENGER HUNT! This is such a fun activity for a rainy day, a family game night, or just a boredom buster. Hunt for LEGO® minifigures. All you’ll need to do is print the cards and hide some LEGO® figures
Make a Lava Lamp: Create a home made lava lamp with vinegar and bicarbonate of soda!! Click here for the instructions
Be completely silent for 10 minutes, then write about the experience: In a world where there are so many distractions, it’s amazing what we notice when we’re silent.
Build a Rocket and make it blast off!! This fun science demonstration is easy to do and will definitely impress your kids. Our rocket flew higher than our two story house! Click here for the instructions
Fairy House for the Garden – A little glue and a load of lolly sticks will do the trick! Line them up and secure the frame, then decorate! Maybe even used an old plant pot. Hint: Lolly sticks offer infinite possibilities, and craft stores sell boxes of them. Clear glue is great for this activity.
Build an Cardboard Automata: Cardboard Automata are a playful way to explore simple mechanical elements such as cams, levers, and linkages, while creating a moving sculpture. It is rewarding and really cool! Click here for more information.
Learn Sign Language: Use the internet to find out how to spell your name or say hello and goodbye. Imagine life without any sound. Go to https://www.british-sign.co.uk/bsl-greetings-signs-british-sign-language/ to make a start.
Ideas for Early Years
Activities and links for those at home with 2-5 year olds from Storytime to colouring to crafts and more..
Check out our Links for Early Years Activities
Glow in the Dark Bowling – Pop glow sticks into 10 bottles of water to make bowling pins you can use at night.
Glow Sticks are fun to wear and wave around, but you’ll be amazed at all the things you can do with these luminescent toys. Here are 23 different glow stick activities to brighten up your play.
Call a grandparent or older relative: Ask them to teach you the words to a song from their childhood days. This is something that can really help kids learn more about the people in their lives. Will also help Grandparents too (especially if they are isolated).
Search and Find: Go out before your children into your garden/backyard and hide lego people and give them a time limit to find them. Works with duplo and baby shoes just as well. They will also enjoy hiding them for you to find!
Do the IKEA budget challenge: Set yourself and your children a budget and see what you get for your new lounge using the catalogue and a calculator. Children will love the maths of adding it up and calculating what you have left to spend. (other retailers are available!!)
Learn about the great outdoors with great ideas from the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust new home learning pages
Make a paper horse that walks! This has to be seen to be believed. Really simple, really creative and yet mind-blowingly for a piece of paper – it walks by itself. Click here for more details
Learn how to read a map: create a quiz based on the map in front of you. First write some questions then get them to do the same! OS maps are great for this!
Discover Something Amazing
Find out more about the world we live in. Fascinating facts about Space, animals, humans plus live cams and games..
Find out some amazing new facts by clicking here
Create a Home assault course: This sounds really hard work or dangerous but it doesn’t have to be. Getting under chairs, round sofas, over shark infested waters, through deep jungles can all be created with some imagination. If you don’t want to make it competitive – don’t. Maybe let them create the assault course on paper first then see what you can create… or try these ideas..
Start a Bear Hunt: Make walks more interesting if everyone puts a teddy bear in their windows, so that families can go on a “bear hunt”. This might also be a good way to do Easter Egg Hunts as well. Maybe you can catch a big one too – but stay 2 metres away!
Build a Rubber Band Car: Using just cardboard, straws, rubber bands, sticks and some glue – you can make a car that moves!! Click Here for instructions
Build a fort: Hide the breakables and let the kids use every pillow, blanket and piece of furniture in the living or family room to create a giant fort. Add a couple of flashlights, a light snack and a few books, and you’ve got a recipe for fun.
Create a Chain Reaction: A chain reaction requires concentration and good thought beforehand and can look spectacular. Try and make one that moves a ball or lasts the length of your hall! Don’t forget to film it!
Build a Bridge: We are challenging you to build a bridge that is 30cm wide – this is called the bridge’s ‘span’ – and a minimum of 15cm high in the centre, that is able to hold 500g – e.g. a bag of sugar or rice – for 10 seconds without collapsing. Sounds too complicated – its not – click here!!
Explore Sounds by Using household materials to make and play stringed, percussion, and wind instruments. Try out these other ways to make instruments out of household goods.
Drawing for a purpose/theme: Yes its an old suggestion, but its a good one. To keep them interested – Give them a theme and clear a space on a door. Then, tell them you want it filled with beautifully coloured pictures that they can stick up to fill it.
Craft Ideas
Make cards, paintings, and loads more of great ideas from a variety of sources
Check out our Links for Craft Ideas at Home
Do the LEGO Maths challenge: 54 challenge cards for primary school age. Each one a maths challenge to build using lego!! Click Here
Make a home made ARCADE game: Do your kids like to do mazes? Do they enjoy designing, building and creating? If your answer is yes – they will love this box lid maze creative design project that incorporates art, engineering and critical thinking! Click here for instructions
Animation Storyboard: Every animated film requires a storyboard so create the greatest movie ever made on a piece of paper. Divide your sheet into 8 parts and create the story in each segment. Maybe even take a picture to make the movie later!!
Learn Morse Code and use it to communicate with your siblings through walls and floors. It’s pretty fun (and clever) to use Morse Code as a way to keep messages hidden…
Create a Da Vinci Bridge with Pencils: This needs to be seen to be believed as if done properly it can hold up 3kg using just pencils and loom bands!! Well worth the effort!! Click here for instructions
Water carrying challenge: The aim is to get water from one bucket to another. Sounds simple? now put a hole in the carrying device and place the buckets at either end of the garden. Give them 5 minutes and measure out how much water has made the journey.
Reading Ideas
Whether its a online book, literacy-themed quiz, or just your favourite characters – these links will help you encourage readers.
Check out our Links for Reading Activities
Go on a Maths Scavenger Hunt: Walking around with a clipboard and a pencil is so much fun! There are three scavenger hunts to print: one for measurement, one for shapes, and one for making comparisons.
Build a structure with a single point that you can balance on your finger. . . or on your nose! Sounds mental but a really interesting challenge!! Click Here for more
Den building: There’s not a kid in the land – big or small – who doesn’t love to build a den. Grab all the pillows, blankets, covers and create a fantastic place to read a brilliant book.
Play Doh: If you have young kids you will almost certainly own play doh. So, forget about the mess for a couple of hours and let them get their creative juices flowing. Just be sure to set up on a wipeable surface and steer clear of all carpets!
Build a Recycled Suspension Bridge: The key here is to get tension correct in the wire. The weight of the deck is supported by carefully balanced forces on the two towers. Click here for instructions
Outdoor Hunting: Go out before your children an hour before or the night before and create a list of things for them to spot. Look for clues in your neighbours garden from a distance. Put chocolate in a hidden place and say if they are warmer/colder.
Build a Cardboard Box Ball track: – Here’s a fun STEM challenge – combine cardboard boxes with Hot Wheels track to make a really awesome ball track! Kids will enjoy this building challenge. Gravity in motion and a great use of a cardboard box!!! Click Here
Start learning a Musical Instrument for real using online guides and Youtube videos!! You’ll be the family Von Trapp in no time!! For music lovers, there is a 21-day free trial to learn an instrument with Prodigies Music or simply play a virtual one by clicking here.
Take a Tour of the World
Take a tour of some of the most famous places on Earth.. View the world from space, see the snow in Lapland and the inside of Buckingham Palace..
Take a Tour with our QuickLinks
Create or download a Scavenger Hunt: Scavenger hunts provide a wealth of opportunities for active fun. Many children, as parents could likely attest to, have a natural urge to explore.. Try this one by clicking here or get some great ideas here: 22 Best Scavenger Hunt Ideas
Using paper, tape, and string, design, build, and test a device that warns you when someone opens a cabinet in the kitchen. Developing ideas that can be helpful for human beings is one of the best skills we can develop in kids. If you want to dig a little deeper, teach them about engineering design to help them plan and execute.
Design and build puppets that perform a show about a subject at school (Romans, Maths, Famous Book): Thinking about things in new ways drives new learning. It’ll be fun to get puppets teaching, and really nothing helps kids solidify their understanding than teaching someone else.
Learn a new language – one new phrase at a time. Try and learn these 16 must-know words and phrases.
Label your house in another Language: Label up the tv, sofa, kettle, table, bed and other everyday objects in another language. Its amazing how well you will pick them up!
Sit silently for 10 minutes while you write down every sound you hear: When you are done, classify the sounds (high/low pitch, high/low volume, manmade v. naturally occurring, etc.). In this activity, let’s get kids making comparisons.
Beat the Mirror: Can you take a selfie in the mirror with a message held up? You will have to write it backwards on the card first!!
Free Colouring Sheets
Sometimes the best challenge is to calm down and sit still. Dig out all your old colouring books, arm them with pens and pencils and watch them create.
Download loads for free with our Free Colouring Links
Classify twenty everyday objects by shape, size, color, height, mass, and material. Learning how to classify and organize things is a skill that’s helpful for reading, math, science, and history. In other words–everything.
Start a Bear Hunt: Make walks more interesting if everyone puts a teddy bear in their windows, so that families can go on a “bear hunt”. This might also be a good way to do Easter Egg Hunts as well. Maybe you can catch a big one too – but stay 2 metres away!
Change your TV channel to one in a different language and try to figure out what is happening. Make up your own explanation – always hilarious!
Create a Venn Diagram that compares and contrasts two people connected to you in anyway: Understanding that people who seem very different may have a lot of similarities shifts our perspective and creates room for kindness and understanding.
Do Yoga: If you have kids then chances are, you’ll have access to YouTube. Check out Cosmic Yoga – the kids love it. They will be familiar with it already as a lot of schools and nurseries will have already introduced it to them. It’s a great way to pass the time, but also get you spending some stress free time with them and the various videos are super fun and friendly.
Write and mail a [real] letter to your teacher, classmate or relative. Address the envelope yourself. Learning to write a letter and address an envelope is important even in the age of email. Don’t forget – the thrill of getting a letter in the mail cannot be overestimated.
Play schools: Kids love any role play games and what better one to play while their school is closed than this. Also a good way to keep their brains ticking over, especially if you get them reading and writing as part of the game. Maybe even let them be teacher as you become pupil…?
Movie marathon: Perfect for cold or rainy days. Get everyone in PJs and each select a movie of your choice. Start with the youngest and watch their choice first. Roll out the cosy covers, get the snacks, sit back, relax and enjoy the movies!
Wash the Car: Make sure you cover every part and splash each other a lot on the way! Don’t miss a spot!
Fun Activities at Home
Discover New Things | Museums
Live Theatre Productions | Craft Ideas
Baking Ideas | Tours of Famous Places
Music and Dance | Reading Resources
Free Colouring Sheets | Get Outdoors Educational Resources | Early Years
Other great sites to have a look at
- https://www.stemtoyexpert.com/things-to-do-when-kids-are-bored/
- https://ladyboss.com/blog/lets-move-staying-active-for-kids/
- https://smartparentadvice.com/great-games-for-kids/
- https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/category/stuck-at-home/
- www.thebestideasforkids.com/indoor-activities-for-kids/
- www.weareteachers.com/hands-on-activities-for-families/
- https://familyeguide.com/boredom-busters-110-fun-at-home-activities-for-families-kids-2/
Please note.. this list should not be taken as a recommendation for any products or services by DAISI Education (and those featured should not claim any recommendation), and all data and GDPR rules – and terms and conditions – should be closely scrutinised by schools and parents.
Thank you. Loving the craft ideas
Thank you – Don’t forget to keep coming back for more ideas – we aim to keep updating and adding.
My 6 year old adored the Teddy zip wire. Great ideas. Thank you
We love that idea too!
We like that one too
We made gravel pictures today. My 3 year old loved it. Thank you.
My family loved this one too
Some great ideas on here – Thank you so much. Love the outdoor ideas..
Thank you – Don’t forget to keep coming back for more ideas – we aim to keep updating and adding.
Thank you so much for the Easter links. Really enjoyed them with our family
Thank you.
Some fab links on here – have recommended this page to fostering agencies in our location.
Thank you for all the work put in!
Please do share – we have set these pages up to support as many people as we can.
Thank you for your kind feedback.
Great Ideas on here. Loving the links too. Thank you
Thanks Andy. Keep visiting – we are always looking for new ideas to post.
Really useful list. I keep coming back for more ideas. Have shared with friends.
Thanks Rob. The aim of these pages is to help – so please do share with others. We keep updating every day.
Do you have anything for Secondary School age? Lots of good ideas here but not Home Learning..
We accept a lot of the links here are for a primary age group but secondary school age can take a lead and design more themselves.
For recommended Educational Home Learning resources try this link: https://daisi.education/home-learning-quicklinks/#secondary
Thank you so much for sharing this with us! Great Resource!
Pleasure! Really glad you are finding it helpful
Loads of great ideas and resources here. Thank you for collating them.
Thank you. Do share with others
This is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you so much for taking the time to make this page. What a huge help for families!
Thanks Andrea – So great that you found it in America. Thank you for your email too.
Hi,
Really like your site. Thanks for sharing this with us. You may also visit: https://www.thelearningapps.com/quiz-games-for-kids/
Thanks for the reply and recommendation!
Really helpful list of ideas and resources here. Great Find!
Thank you Jessica – please share
More great resources to help parents cope with the lockdown – Thankyou
Thank you for the feedback – please do share..
Hooray! Some new ideas on how to beat the boredom! This rainy weather is certainly making it harder to get outside for a lovely walk.
Thank you Debbie. Great Feedback – we keep looking for new ideas
I would just like to say a quick word of thanks! As a youth services librarian and educator, I’ve been running fun virtual wellness activities and field trip projects for a small group of 12-15 year olds over the last few months online during these difficult times of uncertainty and remote learning, and thought you all might enjoy hearing that we were able to get some great use out of your fun activities at home resource links list. Thank you so much for sharing with us!
Our pleasure – hope it has been useful
Great post – I actually plan on sharing – thank you!
Thanks Tim – Please do!
Really useful find – Thank you
Such a great find for half term – Thank you!!
Thanks for the feedback!
I wanted to thank you for this fantastic read!! I absolutely loved every little bit of it.
I’ve got you book marked to look at new things you post…
Thanks Elaine – do keep sharing..
Fantastic collection of links and ideas – thank you so much for creating and sharing. Has been a real help for me and my family.
Thank you for sharing Fiona. Great to hear that our list of ideas has really made a difference.
Really valuable – I’ve bookmarked your blog so I can take a look here regularly.
Thank you Steven. It has been great seeing the pages being used by so many.
What a great find! Thank you for creating this and keeping it available. There are some fantastic links on here – really useful!
Thanks Jenny. Really glad the links have helped – we do try and update where we can but are determined to keep the pages available for families and schools to use. Do send in any other links you have found..