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This is a sponsored post by Mom It Forward and Hasbro.  All opinions and ideas about these fun indoor activities for kids are 100% mine.   Enjoy!

When it is too cold, wet, windy or hot to be outside, I like to try to keep our kids busy with things other than electronics (Of course, I’ll add my favorite online websites in this post, too, but I’ll share my favorite indoor activities for our kiddos)!  As most of you know, I was a teacher, so I like anything that encourages our kids to learn and use higher level thinking.  I am also a play therapist, so I know how playing fosters learning!

                     ps- Isn’t this picture beautiful?  I took it on a street near the house that I grew up in. 

Fun indoor activities for kids

Here are a few ideas to keep your kids stimulated, having fun & learning when you can’t go outside.

1- CREATE!   Our kids love to be creative: making boats, jet skis, airplanes, houses for their stuffed animals, etc…  They use glue, glitter, ribbon, felt and whatever else I have in their DIY Creativity Kit.
gift for creative child

2. Act out a story or play.   You could do a puppet show, dress up in outfits (mom & dads clothes are perfect for this!) or make your own costumes using paper plates, strings, paper bags, etc…  If you have a pizza box, just cut out a circle for their head at the fold and it looks like a knight’s armor.  Our boys love this!

3.  My best tip is to save a new toy for a day like this!  I try to have one toy that I keep hidden for days like this.   I hide them in my closet (a few toys are in there that are saved for a rainy day… shhh… don’t tell!)

indoor activities for kids

Here is a great example of a toy that I would keep hidden for a day when you can’t be outside. The boys had a blast playing with with two Hasbro’s Marvel Super Hero Mashers figures!

Super Heroes and Villains with completely interchangeable parts and accessories, so kids can create their ultimate (or ultimately silly!) hero.  We have the MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS BATTLE UPGRADE figure that comes with multiple Battle Gear pieces, including a launching missile, for even more crazy combinations!

indoor activities for kids

I loved it because it brings out their creative side.  We have Spider Man and Iron Man.  The kids mixed and matched their weapons, body parts, etc… and made their own superhero.
Our 5 year old made: Spy Bad Man.    (They are into playing “spy” these days, so I’m not surprised by the name. haha!)

indoor activities for kids

4. Another idea is to Make up a story.
Give your kids a story-starter.  “Today we walked into the cave and saw a huge _______.   They fill in the blank and they LOVE this game!   Then they start the next sentence and I have to fill in the blank.  If we are all playing, we sit in a circle and play, each taking a turn with filling in the blank and starting up a new sentence.
5.  Play Store.
We set up a table with a cash register, toy money,  little pieces of paper (the receipts), and a scanner (We use the little attachment of our vacuum as the scanner.  The other kids fill their toy shopping cart with toys and take it to the cashier.  They use the paper bags that I’ve saved from shopping trips as their grocery bags and they have a blast!

PS- make sure that they clean up when they are done.   The shopping cart makes clean up easier.

 

6.  Let the kids play online for a little break or down time.   I try to save the computer for nap time.  The older kids can play online or watch a movie while our younger kids are sleeping.  It keeps them engaged and quiet.  A few of my favorite kid-sites for them are StarFall.com, PBSkids.org, and they love Hasbro’s Marvel Super Hero Mashers online site (you build them online).  Here is a screenshot of our 7 year old’s mashup on the Hasbro webpage to show you what I mean:
fun indoor activities for kids

Here are 13 more indoor activities if you are looking for more… 

What do you like to do when you are ‘stuck inside’?  Give me your best idea! 🙂

Hi there!

I’m Becky, a former elementary school teacher turned certified child development therapist and blogger. I work at home with my husband and together we are raising (and partially homeschooling) our four children in the Carolinas. I love diet coke, ice cream, and spending time with my family.

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6 Comments

  1. You must be having weather like us. I plan on using these with our kids because I am running errands later today, so I will be picking them up as a surprise activity! I’ll get some things for the DIY kit, too!

    1. haha! Cold? Then yes! 🙂 Your kids will enjoy these, I’m sure!