Last week, the state of Kansas announced that school is closed for the rest of the year. There will be “continuous learning” going on but going to a brick and mortar school this year will not happen. To give parents and kids some ideas for fun in between learning at home, I’ve put together several different ideas below!
Routines are Important
One thing that I’ve learned in my 17 years as an educator is that our kids CRAVE routines but they don’t know that they need them. 🙂 In my experience, when there is going to be a change in routine (winter break, spring break), there is an uptick in behaviors. Kids’ behavior can reflect the uncertainty they’re feeling inside but don’t know how to express; keeping the lines of communication open during this time of uncertainty is important! If you need it, Catlin Tucker posted a very simple “homeschool” schedule for families to follow on her blog. With her permission, I’m sharing it here.
ACTIVITIES FOR ALL AGES
Here are some low-cost/no-cost ideas for activities and FUN that families can enjoy together.
Maybe you’re feeling great about how things are going at home right now, so save this for a rainy day or pull it out when you need it. 🙂
Below are BINGO boards, a Tic-Tac-Toe and a challenge list for high school kids. These were designed to challenge different age groups to do a variety of generally old fashioned fun and could be incorporated into your daily schedule to break up the day…or just let your kids guide when they want to pick it up (maybe when they’re so “bored” they can’t take it any longer!!!). Click on the image to download printable copies and then keep scrolling for all printable options at the very bottom.
Here are some ways you can use these activities at home:
- The BINGO boards were designed to give kids opportunities to do a variety of activities, using different parts of their brains so each column on the B-I-N-G-O board has a different theme: Be Creative, I Can Do This, Nothing, Get Ready, Get Set, Go!, Own Your Learning.
- The Tic-Tac-Toe board is intended for younger kids, grades K-2, but could be used for any elementary-aged student.
- The BINGO boards may take anywhere from a few days to a week to complete. The Tic-Tac-Toe board may take a day or more. It just depends on how much your kids use them.
- The tasks were designed to use supplies most people have at home. Unless you need to order supplies on Amazon, these tasks have no cost.
- If you want to balance screen time, you could give your kids 15 minutes of screen time when they finish X number of rows, columns, or tasks. You may decide this based upon their age, level of independence, needs, and motivation.
- I’ve also given you blank copies of the BINGO board and TIC-TAC-TOE board. It would be awesome for kids to create their own!
For Early Elementary Kids (K-2)
For Grades 3-5
For Grades 6-8
For High School
I’d love to get your feedback on how these activities go, what your kids’ favorite was, and other ideas you’d like to see! If these are popular, I have LOTS of ideas for more BINGO and Tic-Tac-Toe boards. Let me know!
