40 Activities for Adults + Kids during the Coronavirus Quarantine

Today we’re bringing you 40 activities for adults + kiddos to help you stay busy during the COVID-19 quarantine! 

This is a nerve-racking time for many, and most of us were out of ideas to keep ourselves (and the kiddos) occupied by the end of day 2 of the Coronavirus quarantine. We’ve compiled 40 activity ideas to keep both you and your kids entertained while homebound. Enjoy! 

Quarantine Activities for Kids

We think it’s important for your kiddos to get a good combination of rest, relaxation, play, and learning during the quarantine, and we’re bringing you ideas for each! 

Play

• Make a Fort – goodness, this used to be one of my favorite past-times as a kiddo. Get creative with the chairs and blankets in your house, and build a fort to watch movies in, for make-believe play, or even to flashlight read (reading in the dark with only the light of a flashlight) with your littles!
• Have an Outdoor Scavenger Hunt – print out this free outdoor scavenger hunt, and let your kids explore nature in their own backyard! This particular scavenger hunt also helps your kids learn textures + colors.
• Watch the San Diego Zoo Live Cams – as a former teacher, these live cams from the San Diego Zoo were one of my favorite things to have playing in my classroom. Kiddos love watching the animals interact.
• Bake Together – throw on some aprons and make memories while baking with your littles. This Cinnamon French Toast Bake only calls for a few ingredients that you likely have on hand and makes for a really special breakfast, and these sugar cookies are so fun to cut out and decorate. 
• Create Your Own Board Game – kiddos love this activity! It really keeps them busy, and the only supplies needed are paper (white, colored, or construction paper all work), scissors, markers or crayons, a pencil, and glue. Make different requirements for their game depending on their age. For older kids (2nd grade and up), have them write out the game’s directions + rules. You can find a great tutorial HERE.
• Listen to the Story Pirates Podcast – voted #1 podcast for kids and families for good reason, this silly podcast features stories written by kids and told by wildly animated performers to keep your kiddos entertained for hours!
• Learn Origami – need a departure from today’s typical technology entertainment? Origami is the perfect mix of challenge and fun, and watching your kids light up when they perfect a new fold is the best. Who knew our littles could be so entertained by a piece of paper?! 

Learn

• Listen to Josh Gad Read Children’s Books – this is SO FUN! Josh Gad, aka Olaf in the well-loved Frozen movies, has taken to Twitter and is reading a new children’s book (complete with the BEST character voices) every single evening. Follow #GadBookClub for a new story each day!
• Write Letters – teach your kiddos letter etiquette (heading, greeting, body, closing, and signature) as they write to their loved ones and communicate via good ole snail mail!
• Start a Journal – this is a great idea for your kids as they process the changes in their world right now. Many of your school-aged littles are home from school and that can feel really strange to them. Writing in a journal can help them cope with their emotions around the current circumstances.
• Practice Mindfulness with Dojo – a commonly used site amongst teachers, Class Dojo has released “Mindful Moments” geared toward helping your kids cope with anxiety and feel empathy.
• Listen to Storytime from Space – this is SO neat! Let astronauts that are currently in space (yes, SPACE!) read to your kids! My favorite book on their list is Ada Twist, Scientist. Definitely worth a listen! 
• Explore the African Wildlife – how amazing is it that we can be thousands and thousands of miles from Africa and get to watch elephants interacting at the water hole or gorillas in their natural habitat?! Such an incredible learning experience for kiddos and adults alike.
• Scholastic Learn at Home Free Activities – simply pick your child’s grade level and let the learning begin. Each of four learning experiences a day are built around a story or video and can be done by your kiddos independently.
• Practice Fluency + Comprehension with ReadWorks – while schools are shut down, your kids are losing a lot of valuable learning time. ReadWorks is a free reading resource (likely used by your child’s classroom teachers) and helps to keep your learner’s fluency and comprehension on a steady incline.
• Science + STEM Task Cards (K-3) – free STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) activities at your fingertips! After watching a directional video (linked using a QR code) that explains the science behind each challenge, kiddos will participate in creative challenges on their own using common household items (think: paper clips, dental floss, pencils, etc.).
• Participate in an online book club – Choose a book from their list for your kiddo to read, use the free curriculum guides along the way, and have your learner listen to the podcast upon finishing the book!
• Do an experiment at home + watch Bill Nye Saves the World on Netflix – if you were a child in the 90s, you likely remember watching (and learning) with Bill Nye the Science Guy! Bill Nye’s website provides at-home experiments and Netflix is now streaming Nye’s latest series, Bill Nye Saves the World. 

Move

• Get in some movement with GoNoodle – I cannot emphasize enough how much my former students LOVED GoNoodle. This free site is an incredible way for your kiddos to get some movement in and their pent up energy out!
• Exercise the brain + body with Fluency and Fitness (now offering 3 free weeks!) – Fluency and Fitness is a fun way for your littles to review reading and math concepts (K-2) while getting their wiggles out!

Quarantine Activities for Adults

Consider going through this list as you take the time to rest, move, and play catch-up! 

Rest

• Read a Book – with our typically fast-paced lives, sitting down and reading a good book is laughable to some, and just downright impossible for others. Take this time, when we’re forced to slow down, to crack open that book that’s been on your list. Our March picks are Oona Out of Order, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, The Girl with the Louding Voice, and The Giver of Stars. If you’d rather listen to an audiobook (while, say, organizing that space you’ve been determined to avoid), consider supporting local bookstores through Libro.fm, and get 3 books for the price of 1 using code: FEDANDFIT.
• Meditate – try downloading a meditation app like Calm, Headspace, or The Mindfullness App for guided meditation during a time when your anxiety may be through the roof.
• Journal – journaling through all of the emotions that you may be feeling during a stressful season like this is an incredibly powerful processing tool. Even if you feel like journaling isn’t your thing, give it a try…you may be surprised at how much clearer you feel afterward! 
• Facetime with Loved Ones – take a few minutes each day to virtually connect with your loved ones and have real conversations that our typical busy day-to-day doesn’t always allow for.
• Throw on a Face Mask + Have a Virtual Spa Party – grab your favorite face mask (this one is our favorite), pour yourself a glass of wine, and have a virtual spa party (via Zoom, FaceTime, Skype, etc.) with your girlfriends! For all of our BEST at-home pampering tips and our most beloved products, click HERE!
• Watch a Too-Long Movie Series – with each movie clocking in at over three hours (some over four hours) long, the Lord of the Rings series, if you’re into that kind of thing, are the perfect movies to pass the time away!

Play + Move

• Do a Puzzle – clear off your kitchen table, grab a snack + drink, and hunker down with a puzzle! This fun bookstore puzzle is sure to keep you busy.
• Work Out – staying active during this time is super important. We like Fitness Blender and Juli of PaleOMG’s Power Program (currently on sale!) for strength training and cardio. If you’re looking for a yoga workout, Glo, YogiApproved, and Gaia are all great options. It’s also worth calling and asking your local studios if they are live-streaming classes, as many are. If you’d rather get outside, walking and running in your local park or neighborhood are also great!
• Bake – baking just has a way of bringing a sense of peace and calming to even the most stressful moments. Need ideas of what to bake? Here’s a list of our favorites!
• Learn a New Skill – what is something that you’ve always wanted to try, but have just never had the time to actually do it? Calligraphy? Yoga? Sewing? Knitting? Whatever it is, give it a try! This is prime time to take up a new hobby!
• Learn a New Language – download the Duolingo app on your phone or device, and start learning a new language right away!
• Start a Garden – harness your green thumb and start an indoor herb garden, a veggie garden, or a flower garden! New to gardening? Check out our Beginner’s Guide to Gardening for everything you need to know to get started! 
• Reignite an Old Hobby – think back to your high school or college days…what did you love to do? Did you play an instrument, dance on the dance team, run cross country? If you have the supplies, try picking up that once-loved hobby! You may have to start from the beginning or it may come right back to you, but either way, it’s sure to bring back some old memories!

Productivity + Catch-Up

• Cook – get in the kitchen and throw together a few Crockpot freezer meals to stay stocked, and if you’re low on groceries, check out our pantry staple recipes for delicious meals made with pantry items that you likely already have on hand!
• Organize – take the time that you’re stuck at home to organize often neglected spaces like your junk drawer (everyone has one!), Tupperware cabinet, pantry (in-depth guide HERE!), fridge, freezer, under-sink cabinets, and closet (click HERE for our guide).
• Complete Your Home To-Do List – check things off of your neverending home to-do list! You’re home anyway, so you may as well fix that squeaky door, leaky faucet, or running toilet. 
• Create a Budget – this is a big one! Having a budget really keeps you on track financially and can help you feel steady and secure during an otherwise unpredictable time. We like using You Need a Budget (YNAB).
• Spring Clean – do a deep clean of your house! In addition to typical weekly cleaning, take this time to dust the shelves + fan blades, clean the baseboards, wipe the windows (inside and out), remove splatter + drippings from the oven and microwave, and blow or sweep off the patio.
• Deep Clean the Car – wash, wax, and polish the outside of your car, and wipe down and vacuum the inside. You’ll be glad you did this deep clean when you’re heading out for your first post-quarantine outing! 
• Do a Virtual Clean Up – clean up your phone + tablet! Delete any apps you don’t use and then organize the rest. Do the same with the desktop on your computer! 

We hope these lists gave you some great out-of-the-box ideas for keeping yourself and your kids busy during the Coronavirus quarantine. Wash your hands + have fun!