Awesome Lockdown Activities for Kids

I’m writing this article in consultation with my nearly 10 year old daughter, we can call her the co-author. Let’s be honest she is an expert on these matters.

This is the second time we have created a list to get through lockdown together- but for the first time we are sharing it.

Tie Dye Fun

We found a little kit at Kmart (Australia) for just $6. We are not sponsored, but this was an amazing bargain- kits at other stores were ten times the price.

A couple of white tops, some plastic for protecting the table, vinegar (helps the dye hold apparently) and we were good to go. Needless to say we needed to wait until toddler nap time for this activity to go ahead. 

I had no clue, so we consulted a few YouTube videos for ideas and guidance (the girls were particularly interested in how to make different patterns and I wanted to know the best way to wash the items afterwards).This was probably the most useful video for us.

 All the preparation was worth it as it was so much fun and the ‘new’ tops look great!

Baking 

It really doesn’t matter what you bake- as long as it is a tasty treat, everyone will be happy. Whether it is a packet mix or something from scratch as long as everyone can be involved and they get to lick the spoons at the end, then everyone's a winner in our house. So far this lockdown we have made brownies (from a packet mix) and vanilla cupcakes (find the link to the recipe here). Both of these baking sessions were great as there were no tricky instructions and no need for any electric mixers- we have one but it just gets too messy with my children.

Making Slime

I’m not going to lie to you- this is really my least favourite of all the activities. But the co-author insisted that it be on the list as kids love it, so I just have to go with it. Thankfully we had a slime kit sitting around (okay yes I had put off doing it for as long as possible) so we didn’t need to go out and buy ingredients or find the best value slime kit. 

Pamper Session

My girls love a ‘pamper’ session and really it doesn’t take much preparation- just time and a little energy. I’m not a girly girl but even still I usually have at least one face mask in the bathroom vanity and some long lost bottle of moisturiser needing to be used up. I fill a couple of bowls with warm soapy water for soaking hands and feet before manicures and pedicures and we are good to go. Cute matching headbands and dressing gowns are optional.

Scavenger Hunts

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of elaborate Christmas scavenger hunts that our Aunt and Uncle used to organise for us every year. When I say elaborate I’m talking treasure buried in the baking yard, mission impossible themed videos and actual bank accounts to hack (hmmm is that even legal?). Although these were amazing, no one is expecting these efforts of epic proportions in a lock down. Last lockdown I organised a nature scavenger hunt for the girls (then 7 and 8 years old) in our little back yard and they absolutely loved it.

Yoga 

I love yoga and with all the sporting activities that the girls get up to I honestly thought they would naturally be quite good at it. Turns out they can learn something from me- even if it has a weird name that makes them giggle like ‘downward dog’ or ‘mountain pose’. There are plenty of YouTube yoga channels for kids- Cosmic Kids Yoga is a good one for younger children.

Knitting

This is the new craze in our house and I’ll be honest I am a little out of my depth so we have been relying on Google and YouTube. I did find some kids’ knitting needles which were very reasonably priced (just a few dollars for a pair) at Spotlight, which was much more reasonable than the price of wooden or bamboo knitting needles that are recommended for children. I have learnt to knit three times already in my life and it just doesn’t want to stick in there, hopefully they can now teach me.

Online ‘Zoom’ Activities

This one was a surprise to me as our family we didn’t really get into Zoom last lockdown. However, this week there have been some great opportunities offered to us for the girls to take part in some Zoom sessions and they have really engaged and enjoyed them. Martial arts and acting classes have been a daily occurrence this week. I’ve loved the structure that these commitments bring to the day and consulted with the girls and they agree that these classes make the list and they they have enjoyed interacting with some of their mentors and friends in these communities.

Super-Sized Bubble Making

This activity is inspired by the huge bubbles made by street performers in Barcelona. For me this activity is the most fun when it is run as a science investigation (yes I have done it with a Year 4 class and it was so much fun). What is the best bubble mixture recipe for huge bubbles? Research, trial and error, making bubble wands...this activity could go on for days. We are planning this activity for the upcoming week- I’m not sure who is looking forward to it more- the girls or I?