Stuck Inside? Ideas for Indoor Fun

Rain and Coronavirus fears can dampen spring break spirits, but why not make the best of it. Maybe it’s the week to embrace the Danish concept of hygge (pronounced hoo-guh): spend quality time with family, try not to stress, wear your jammies all day, make some comfort foods – do whatever it is that makes you feel warm, cozy and happy. It may be spring, but circumstances have pushed us into social distancing and forced confinement that makes it seem more like the dead of winter. Take the time to refocus and recharge – and find ways to have indoor fun. Here are a few ideas:

Read a story about leprechauns.

Or find the YouTube read-aloud version of “The Story of the Leprechaun.” 

Now you’re ready to make your own leprechaun trap. Preschoolers love making Leprechaun Traps. These three versions from The Best Ideas for Kids website give the basics for three types of traps. Use these as models or have your kids imagine what would be the best type of trap and let them create their own.

And, why not make some Rainbow Slime?

Rainbow Slime Ingredients

This rainbow slime recipe is colorful and made without borax!

From www.thebestideasforkids.com

Ingredients

• 6 oz clear glue
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1.5 tbsp Contact Lens Solution (Renu Fresh or Equate have Boric Acid and Sodium Borate)
• 1 bottle liquid food coloring (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple). Or mix colors to create each color.

Directions

Pour 6 oz Elmer’s glue into a bowl (you can also use glitter glue)

Add baking soda and mix thoroughly (for stretchier slime, add 2 Tbls. or more of water)

Slowly add contact lens solution and mix so that you can adjust amount as you go. Add a few teaspoons at a time and mix. Knead and mix thoroughly before adding more. If you add too much, your slime with get hard. Add food coloring. It may take a lot of kneading to make the slime form.

Repeat for each color that you want to make.

Leprechaun Trick

When my kids were little, I used to play this trick on them on St. Patrick’s Day morning. Before I went to bed, I would put a few drops of green food coloring in their cups or glasses. At breakfast, I would offer them some milk or orange juice. Using the food coloring-doctored cups, I would pour the milk or juice in front of them and the liquid would magically turn green. This is most dramatic if you use clear cups or glasses.

Cook with Your Kids

Tacos

Most kids love tacos. This crunchy version is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Ingredients

• 8 hard corn taco shells
• 6 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon taco seasoning or chili powder
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cups shredded cheddar or Monterey jack cheese
• 3 scallions, chopped
• salsa
• shredded romaine or iceberg lettuce
• chopped tomatoes
• sour cream for serving

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Warm the taco shells on a baking sheet for about 5 minutes. Whisk the eggs and taco seasoning in a bowl. Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add eggs, stirring with a spatula until set. Put some scrambled egg in each shell, top with cheese, scallions, lettuce, tomato and salsa and serve with sour cream on the side.

Here’s a smoothie recipe that tastes like a cookie from the Food Network. It’s great for a snack or breakfast

Oatmeal Cookie Smoothie

Ingredients

• ¾ cup rolled oats
• ¼ cup raisins
• ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup whole milk, plus more if needed
• ½ cup full-fat vanilla yogurt
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

Directions: Put the oats, raisins and pumpkin pie spice in a blender, pour in the milk and add more to cover oats, if needed. Stir and set aside until the oats are soft, 15 minutes. Blend on high speed until pureed and smooth. Add yogurt, brown sugar and 1 ½ cups ice and blend until smooth. Pour into 2 pint glasses.

Unicorn Cupcake Cones

Ingredients

• 1 package white cake mix
• 1 cup water
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• red, blue, yellow and green food coloring
• 2 sticks of butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 cup powdered sugar
• 12 ice cream cones

Combine the cake mix, water, eggs, and oil in a large bowl. Blend with an electrical mixer on medium for 2 minutes. Separate the batter into four bowls and add food coloring to each, then mix. Put an ice cream cone into each cupcake space. Alternate batter colors in each cone until it is about 1 inch from the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes on 350°F. Now it’s time for the rainbow frosting. First add your butter to a bowl use your mixer to fluff it up. Next, add your vanilla, sugar, and milk. Mix it with the electrical mix on low until it’s combined well. Evenly divide the frosting into four separate bowls. Tint each bowl of frosting a different color. Fill three piping bags with frosting and cut the tips, or use Ziploc bags filled with icing and cut a corner. Swirl the a strip of each color separately to create the magical rainbow frosting on your cooled cupcake cones,

25 Free Activities to Do With Kids

And, here’s a list of free activities that you can do with your kids. When you play together, ask questions, listen a lot and encourage conversations. Who knows? Those interests may lead you to the next fun activity?

1. Make a tent out of sheets or blankets. Create a cozy reading or play space inside with pillows.
2. Take turns reading to each other. If your child can’t read, encourage her to talk about what might happen next in the story.
3. Paint your nails together.
4. Give each other homemade facials using honey and oatmeal.
5. Put on music and have a dance party.
6. Do yoga or exercise together.
7. Find photos and create a scrapbook together or let your child create his or her own storybook using images cut from magazines.
8. Play a video game together.
9. Do a puzzle.
10. Play a board game.
11. Help them rearrange their room.
12. Play dolls or Legos.
13. Look at the stars and find constellations.
14. Teach your child to play chess.
15. Plant some seeds inside to transfer outside when it’s warmer.
16. Play school together.
17. Have a tea party.
18. Learn about another country or state and cook food and read stories or folktales from that place. This will be even more interesting if your family has history there.
19. Teach your dog to do a trick.
20. Write songs, stories or poems together.
21. Write a letter to a grandparent or other relative.
22. Have an inside picnic.
23. Make a pasta necklace.
24. Create a memory box for your child’s favorite pictures, artwork or mementos.
25. Plan a pretend trip.

And, if you just can’t keep from being uber-productive, you can always start cleaning out your drawers and closets. Get the kids to help.