With schools closed officially closed for the remainder of the year, you might be running out of activities for your younger kids to do, or fun things to keep older kids entertained outside of their schoolwork. Here’s a calendar with some themes/things to do on each day from April 13 through April 19. Do a few, do them all. Let them inspire ideas that work for your children’s ages and interests. And be sure to check out some additional ideas and helpful links with fun activities and educational websites at the end.

Monday, April 13:

It’s International Plant Appreciation Day, so dedicate the day to plants! If you’ve been meaning to do some work in the yard, this is the week to get started! Get the kids involved! Talk about what you’ll be planting this year, how you want to lay out the garden, jobs that each person can have, etc. Visit this link for some gardening tips and a local spots offering safe shopping options.

If the weather keeps you inside today (it’s looking like it might), do a craft or indoor activity and save the actual gardening for a nicer day soon. Here are a few links to help:

Egg Carton Seed Starter for Kids

Garden Sensory Bin You Can Make in Minutes

Free Counting Flowers Printable Book

Make Garden Markers By Painting Stones

25 Tulip Crafts for Kids

Tuesday, April 14:

Give toys a bath! Kids love water. And this activity has a dual purpose. It’ll hopefully keep the kids occupied for a while, and let’s face it – their toys could probably use a good cleaning! Let them use the bathtub, a sink, or even a large container. Fill with soapy water. Give an assortment of wash cloths, sponges and brushes if possible. Let them know which toys need to be washed, and then let them loose. Have a towel ready for them to place wet toys.

Wednesday, April 15:

If you haven’t done chalk art by now, have you even been quarantined?! But there’s bound to be something you haven’t tried yet. Here are some creative ideas:

101 Genius Sidewalk Chalk Ideas

22 Totally Awesome Sidewalk Chalk Ideas

Sidewalk Chalk Games

Learning Upper & Lowercase Letters on the Sidewalk

Thursday, April 16:

Today is National Librarian Day! Since our local libraries are closed, you might not be able to thank a librarian in person. (But if you know one personally, it’s a good day to FaceTime them to send a little extra love.) Otherwise, make today a book all about libraries and books.

Talk to younger kids about the ways that libraries display books in sections and in order. Have them play librarian by sorting their own books – by color, size, type of book, alphabetical, etc. Place their stuffed animals in a circle and host a storytime for toys.

Older kids could do some research on libraries. Learn about the Dewey Decimal System, then come up with a system to organize the books in the house. Take a virtual tour of famous libraries around the world. Finally, have older siblings play librarian by reading to the younger ones. (Or FaceTime a younger cousin or friend!)

Friday, April 17:

Movie Night! You might be watching a lot of movies with being home so much, but make tonight special. Tell the kids during the day that you’ll be going to your home theater that night, complete with a snack bar to purchase their movie snacks.

In the morning, have them design what your family money should look like. They can craft it out of paper, color, cut it out, etc. Throughout the day, give them opportunities to earn money. Doing remote schoolwork, chores around the house, helping siblings or parents. Before the movie begins, line up an assortment of snacks (great time to get out the extra Easter candy!) and then have a sign listing what each snack costs. You could also include things like – whoever earned the most money that day gets to pick the movie, or pay to get the best seat in the room.

If your family isn’t into the concept of buying their own snacks, make an activity out of choosing the movie and then making a themed snack together. (Check out Pinterest for ideas.)

Saturday, April 18:

Go camping … at home! If you have the gear and the desire, camp outside tonight! If not, pretend you’re camping in your living room. Try some of these ideas:

Get out sleeping bags and build a tent with blankets and chairs.

Make hot dogs since they’re a campfood favorite.

Make microwave s’mores. (Use leftover Easter candy!)

12 Fun Indoor Camping Activities for Kids

Indoor Camping Day

Sunday, April 19:

Does your family enjoy the show Chopped? (If not, they can still have fun in the kitchen.) Pick a meal today that will be eaten Chopped-style with members of the family competing to make the best tasting dishes out of the same slightly unusual ingredients. (If you haven’t been shopping as much, you’re probably getting familiar with this already!) If your kids are too little to do much cooking on their own, make this a snack challenge where they just need to combine different things in the pantry to make their own snack mix. Or divide the family into parent-child teams that can compete.

And here are some extra links/ideas to use any day or EVERY day!

Pick a friend or relative to Facetime every morning! Start each day with some connection and smiles.

Elmwood Park Zoo is doing live Facebook videos every weekday at 11 a.m. introducing different animals.

Bucks County Library: Let’s Play School – activities for ages 3-5

6ABC’s Adam Joseph is doing live storytime on Facebook each morning at 9:30 a.m.

Kids’ author Mo Willems is releasing a new “Lunch Doodle” video each weekday at 1 p.m.

Cape May County Park & Zoo is doing daily virtual tours daily at 11:30 a.m.

50 Inside Activities to Burn Kid’s Energy

50 Plus Indoor Activities for Kids

Fluency & Fitness is offering 21 days of free unlimited access to their site with lessons in reading and math that incorporate movement.

Scholastic Learn at Home – free articles, stories, videos and fun learning challenges

Education Companies Offering Free Subscriptions

Printable Family Chore Chart

  

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