70+ fun activities for boys at home or in lockdown
Since March last year we’ve had three lockdowns here in Sydney. As I update this list we are in week 12 of probably a 17 week lockdown with Spring school holidays about to begin. During this time as a stay-at-home Mum I’ve had to come up with endless activities for my boys. All 70+ of these activities are tried and tested by us. I’m sure your primary school aged boys will love them too. I hope this list helps you get through the remainder of this year. Then hopefully no more lockdowns after that (fingers and toes crossed!)
Keep your kids active now sport has been cancelled
1. Make up an obstacle course and time how fast your kids can complete it
2. Explore a new bike track as a family
3. Walk in your neighbourhood (looking out for teddy bears and rainbows in windows as you go)
4. Make up some backyard sport drills
5. Play retro games like hopscotch, skipping and elastics
6. Handball never gets old
7. Go on a family hike
8. Do daily challenges like how many times can you hit a tennis ball in the air without dropping it?
9. Everyone is loving the Joe Wicks’ home workouts on YouTube
10. Make up a nature scavenger hunt
11. Challenge your kids to learn one of the tik tok dances like ‘Renegade’
12. Set up a mini golf course at home. Use plastic cups for holes and cans/food cartons can be used to make bridges for the ball to go under. Pool noodles are great for marking out a course
13. Teach yourself a new scooter trick
Indoor activities for a rainy day
14. LEGO is a lifesaver. Head here for our endless LEGO activity ideas. My boys favourite activity is to build something from a small random collection of Lego I give them
15. Set up a treasure hunt with cryptic clues and a treat at the end
16. Learn some new dance moves with GoNoodle app
17. Create your own song using GarageBand App
18. Use the amazing Brickit app to scan your Lego pile and come up with new creations to build
19. Have a family movie night. Choose a new movie and make popcorn and pizza. Our current favourite movies are Paper Planes, The Lorax and Wonder
20. Go on an interactive adventure with Netflix series ‘You vs. Wild‘ where your decisions help Bear Grylls survive, thrive and complete missions in the harshest environments
21. Watch a ‘Minute to Win It‘ and come up with your own challenges
22. Kids versus adults bottle flipping competition on the kitchen table
23. Enjoy the special free 60 minute Cirque du Soleil show on YouTube
24. Stack tumbling dominoes
25. Google how to make an origami ninja star to throw
26. Make your own boardgames to play as a family. Don’t forget to write the rules!
27. Challenge yourself to completing the Rubik cube +/- using a YouTube cheat video
28. Make a movie using Stop Motion App or IMovie app
29. Build a fort or cubby
30. Make the most of David Walliam’s free audio stories and activity sheets. Sketch your favourite character
31. Listen to a kids podcast
32. Google or make up a quiz on a topic your kids know and enjoy
33. Make birthday cards for upcoming family or friends birthdays
34. Have a picnic lunch on a blanket outdoors or indoors
35. Learn a new song or teach yourself how to play a new instrument
36. Skype a friend, grandparent or cousin. Play a game together like charades or do a scavenger hunt where you have the same list of objects to find. The first person back to the screen with the object wins a point
37. For easy craft inspiration click here
38. Have a dance party and play games like Freeze and Musical Chairs. Click here to find the pop songs that always get my boys up and moving
39. Schedule a bedroom makeover. Even just moving furniture into new positions can be exciting for kids
40. Make bath time the highlight of the day with extra bubbles or new bath toys. Just using plastic containers from the kitchen or old soap pump bottles can be fun.
41. A bag of balloons provides endless fun. See who can keep their balloon off the ground the longest
42. Play simple games using pen and paper like hangman
43. Take part in the Australia-wide rainbow trail by drawing or creating a rainbow to put in your window
44. Join the Spoonville lockdown fad where communities create decorated wooden spoon villages. There’s one near us but you could start up your own
45. Paint on a smooth rock and drop it in your community for someone else to find
46. Paint a design on an old cricket bat for you to put in your bedroom
47. Build a tower as high as you can using cardboard boxes, lego or whatever you can find
48. Write a letter and draw a picture to send to your grandparents
49. Make sushi (Woolworths and Coles have sushi kits with everything you need)
50. Build a marble run on a wall using cardboard tubes and blu tack
51. Get the kids cooking entree, main or dessert with Mum and Dad’s help
Nature Play
52. Create a sculpture, mandala or piece of art using nature found in your backyard
53. Press flowers you find on your walk
54. Go beach combing after a storm
55. Slide down a sand or grass hill on cardboard
56. Skim a stone across water
57. Learn to fish
58. Make a kite and fly it
Educational activities
59. Find a new word and share it
60. Read a new book. My boys are loving Funny Kid and David Walliam’s books. For more inspo on boys’ books click here
61. Work through activity or NAPLAN books specific to your kids age. My 8 year old surprisingly loves these as he can earn stickers in the back of the book
62. Educate your kids about upcoming events such as ANZAC Day
63. Look at a world map and write a family travel bucket list. Put together an itinerary for your next planned trip
64. Learn a language for your next upcoming trip. Duolingo is a good app for this
65. Research important cultural customs for your next holiday destination
66. Teach your kids how to read analogue time
67. Learn times tables you find difficult
68. Use this as an opportunity to teach your kids about feelings using this cool balloon activity
69. Go on an alphabet hunt finding an object that starts with each letter of the alphabet and write them down
70. Google these fun and easy science experiments using ingredients in your pantry
- Make your own volcano
- Bouncy egg science experiment
- Lava lamp experiment
- Skittles rainbow science experiment
- Magic milk
- Oobleck – the cornstarch and water experiment
- Dip your finger in cinnamon and water experiment
So there you have it … my way of giving back to the community during this challenging time. Please feel free to add any more ideas or tips in the comments below and share this with your friends and family. We’re all in this together.
Stay safe, stay calm.
Belinda x
white mixer tap
thank you for sharing your blog
gold soap dispenser
I like this article, thank you
Cath M
I realise lock-down is long over but this is still a great boredom-busting list for kids. I’d like to add that cardboard boxes can provide endless creative opportunities. Last holidays we constructed an epic fort and my 8yo son recently built a life-sized adversary named Gerald to battle with. We even painted him and made some weapon accessories. Poor Gerald died in action but it was hours of fun.