5 Fun Things To Do At Home With The Kids

1. Make a dinosaur diorama – I’m not talking about the shoebox-style one that I made back in elementary school. Do kids still do that these days? I’m envisioning something sturdy, possibly made from wood that he can play with long-term. It wasn’t all that long ago that I was looking at dinosaur toys and making a dinosaur diorama was one of the first things that came to mind. This is one of those things where I’d have the base or frame already created and sanded and I’d have my son help decorate it and turn it into a prehistoric scene. 

2. Create a ball pit – I can see it now. An inflatable pool in the middle of my living room filled with balls. He’d love it. I’m not so sure how I’d feel about it. Either way, if I stick with an inflatable pool, at least we can put it away somewhere when we’re not actually playing with it. This is the type of thing that would make a great rainy day activity, though. 

3. Build a teepee – I’ve seen numerous tutorials for making teepees. I’ve even stumbled across a few no-sew versions. This is definitely up there on my list. It looks like something that would be both easy and inexpensive – a few pieces of wood or PVC, some fabric, etc. I would probably use it to make the little guy his own cozy reading corner with lots of pillows and books. I was looking at one of these premade and it was several hundred dollars. It’s probably a really good thing right now that I love DIY projects so much. 

4. Build a digging box – I’ve run across these filled with both sand and rocks. Either way, this could be a lot of fun. I remember playing in the sandbox when I was little. Do you remember the old-fashioned Tonka trucks that were actually made from metal? We had the entire collection of them and my brother and I used to build entire cities with whatever we could find outside to use. 

5. Make a footprint stepping stone – You can buy kits for this type of thing at your local craft store. I’m definitely doing something along these lines when we finish the addition. I’ll put it in our front yard. I love memory-keeping projects that actually include the little guy and it’ll be so awesome to have this type of thing as a keepsake in the years to come.  

Do you have some ideas for fun things to do at home with your little one? Are there some things that you want to make, build, or create? Leave a comment and add to my list. 

Written by: Cristi Wuenschel