TL;DR:
- There are many activities that can be done to keep kids entertained without breaking the bank.
- 5-minute hacks for playing at home include The Floor Is Lava, Cardboard Kingdom, Fort Building, Kitchen Band, and Family Portraits.
Have you been wondering what you can do at home without breaking the bank? Want some ideas to send home for the winter break without the use of worksheets? This blog post is all about play with items that are commonly found in your home already.
5-minute Hacks: The Floor Is Lava
Start with the couch cushions! Spread them out all around the living room and kitchen. In five minutes or less you have a spectacular game of The Floor is LAVA! This game is simple. The floor is lava and you cannot touch the floor. You can add learning into this game for your early learners by placing objects to count at the end of the lava game, skip counting by 2s, 5s, or 10s as you jump on each cushion, or place different toys at the end of each route and say the beginning letters and sounds of each toy. This game works on motor skills and gets kids moving. Adults should join in too—the giggling will be amazing!
5-minute Hacks: Cardboard Kingdom
Do not forget to save all of those Amazon boxes that just never seem to stop arriving. Carefully make some of the boxes flat by cutting the tape off of the bottom. This will be the floor or grass of the kingdom. Let your children’s imagination run wild with possibilities.
Cardboard box play was the inspiration for my children’s book Play? Yay! Keep those extra big boxes for children to climb inside and make a rocket ship.
Cardboard is not just for the littles; your older students can use the flat pieces for drawing, cutting and creating designs, or using it for a base of a puzzle that can be cut and put back together by someone else in the family!
Paint the cardboard green and use it for an animation stage. There are so many quick ideas that can lead to hours of play.
5-minute Hacks: Fort Building
Take a couple of kitchen chairs and a large comforter, throw the comforter over the top of the chairs, and like magic you have a fort. A secret entrance ups the property value of the fort pretty quickly. Make your fort fancy with flashlights, stuffed animals, or an extra blanket for the bottom.
My own children love to add pillows, snacks, and a pile of books. The fort stays up for several days and usually transforms into a drive-thru with play food, a secret treehouse, and if I am being honest, a wrestling mat. Teenagers can also enjoy a fort hideaway with their own do not disturb sign posted.
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5-minute Hacks: Kitchen Band
This hack is not for the faint of heart. All you need are pots, pans, wooden spoons, and secure ear-plugs. Begin with freestyle mode where your tiny drummers go wild with energy. You can put on your favorite tunes and see if they can match the rhythm.
If you are into holiday music, it can be fun to bust out a contest to guess which song they are playing on the pot. For early learners, you can give them a word and have them hit the pot for each sound they hear. For example, snowman “/s//n//ow//m//an/”.
5-minute Hacks: Family Portraits
Make family portraits of each other or other family members using whatever art supplies you have around the house. This can include crayons, paint, markers, cheerios, beans, or macaroni.
It could be really fun to ask one of the kids to make a picture of grandma, grandpa, aunt, or uncle and send a picture of it to them with a little ‘thinking of you’ note!
If you want to work on fine motor skills with your early learners, use a cotton swab instead of a paintbrush for painting. This can get really creative and as messy as you want.
Now let’s go and Play Better this month. Connect with me on Twitter @playyay!
About BreAnn Fennell
Mrs. BreAnn Fennell is a first-grade and second-grade looping teacher in Ashland, Ohio. She has worked in both public and private settings and is passionate about providing exciting learning environments for students. Mrs. Fennell is a published author of children’s books including Play? Yay! and Choose Your Cheer. She is a mom to two energetic boys and a defender of play!
