It’s fair to say that life has looked very different than usual for the vast majority of people lately, with most of us working from home and being unable to see the friends and family we’d usually spend our free time with.

It’s been an unsettling and emotional time, and if you’ve had little ones to keep busy at home during the lockdown period too, then you’ll know that finding activities to keep them occupied every day can be tricky.

We’ve homeschooled by choice for two years now, so we’re used to having to find ways to keep our three children entertained at home on rainy days and I’ve built up a little go-to list of activities that are always sure to keep them interested and out of trouble!

Activities to Keep Kids Entertained Indoors

The activities on this list have proven time and time again to be big hits with my three children, guaranteeing me at least a couple of hours without hearing the dreaded “I’m bored!”

The great thing about these activities is that they can be enjoyed as solo activities for only children, used as a way to keep children busy while you get on with some work or take your Zoom meeting, or enjoyed as a family activity.

1) MAKING SLIME

Now I admit, the words “Mummy, can we make some slime?!” used to fill me with dread! It took so much time and SO many ingredients to try to get it right, I rarely managed to make perfect slime and I was usually left with a lot of mess to clean up and a disappointed child.

But I’m pleased to say that I’ve now managed to perfect our slime recipe so that it produces PERFECT non-sticky slime every single time, and it takes five minutes to make!

My kids love to get involved in the slime making process, and will spend lots of time playing with their creations afterwards. I love to use this activity on afternoons when tempers have been running high and tantrums are on the horizon - something about the sensory element of the activity seems to really soothe my little ones and calm down a troublesome atmosphere.

To make the slime, you will need:

• 6 oz/177 ml of coloured glitter glue
• 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
• 60ml of cold water
• Glitter (optional but beautiful!)
• 1.5 – 2 tablespoons of contact lens solution (must contain boric acid) 

All you need to do is empty the glitter glue into a mixing bowl, sprinkle in the bicarbonate of soda and mix it into the glue. Add the water and stir well. Pour in the glitter, mix again and add in the contact lens solution. Mix together and keep adding the contact lens solution a little bit at a time while kneading the slime together.

Once the slime starts to become less sticky and more stretchy, it’s ready to play with!

We like to theme it with different colours – this week we made a glittery blue which we called “Frozen Slime” and a glittery gold, which was “Pirate Treasure Slime”!

I’ve put together a little video to show the process below. 

2) THEMED TEA PARTY

During lockdown, it can feel like one day often blends into the next with no real distinction between weekdays and weekends.

To give us all something to look forward to, we introduced Themed Tea Party Fridays to celebrate the end of another week in lockdown!

Each week, the children make some bunting and colour in some pictures to fit in with our theme and I put together a little afternoon tea for us to sit and enjoy together.

Over the last few weeks we’ve had an Easter themed tea party, a jungle theme, a Disney theme and this week we’re looking forward to our VE Day themed afternoon tea celebration.

3) HOME CINEMA NIGHT

This is another favourite of the little ones, and it’s something we usually do on a Saturday night as a weekend treat.

The kids get really excited about making movie cinema tickets, someone takes on the role of being “the popcorn server” and then we all sit down together in the living room with lights out to enjoy a movie. It’s so simple but something we all really enjoy doing together.

4) HOME HAIR SALON

This was an activity we tried out last week for the first time but it’s fast become a favourite!

My kids have always loved to play hair salons – they like brushing and styling each other's hair – but last week we decided to step it up by introducing some crazy hair colours.

I found a hack online that showed how to use tissue paper to temporarily colour your kids’ hair. It worked perfectly!

All you need to do is take some coloured crepe paper and rip it up into small pieces, and place into a bowl. You then pour a little hot water over the paper, just enough to cover it, and leave it for a few minutes.

You then strain the paper, leaving just the coloured water in the bowl.

Then you take the hair you want to colour into sections, and place it into the bowl of coloured water for around three minutes.

Squeeze out the excess water, and dry the hair without rinsing.

And voila! You have coloured hair!

The colour will, of course, be more effective on lighter hair, and it’s always best to do a strand test first to make sure it washes out properly.

We’ve done this twice now and the colour has washed out completely in three washes. If you’re not keen on letting your children colour their own hair, you could always let them colour yours or perhaps a doll’s hair – just as fun!

5) SALT PAINTING

My kids love to paint pictures but now that we’re in week six of lockdown, they’re starting to get a little bit bored of just normal painting so we’ve been trying out some different painting techniques – salt painting has been a big hit!

All you do is use PVA glue to “paint” the outline of a picture (it’s best if you can squeeze the glue from a bottle or piping bag so that it forms a raised line), then cover the glue with salt.

Once the salt glue is dry, use food dye or water colour paints and lightly tap your paint brush along the salt outlines - and watch as your painting transforms into a colourful work of art!

The Importance of Taking Time for Yourself

While keeping the children entertained and engaged during lockdown is something on all of our minds, it’s worth mentioning the importance of trying to make sure you’re looking after yourself during these unprecedented times too.

Try to schedule out a little bit of time each day to do something that you enjoy – even if it’s just 15 minutes before bed each evening to read a few pages of a book or do a face mask. You can’t pour from an empty cup, and it’s crucial that you don’t neglect your own needs.