Save your little ones from boredom with these fun activities for kids!
“Whatta we do now mom?!”
When kids start to go stir-crazy at home and complain about being bored, moms go crazy too 😩. So…we came up with a list of minimal supervision crafts and activities to keep in your back pocket on those frantic days.
If you know the look of boredom your kids get when they’re running out of things to do, then these fun activities for kids will come in handy for you too. These easy crafts and activities are suited best for ages 10 and under, and many of them are completely FREE! 🎉
Fun Activities For Kids to Try in 2024:
1. Create a suncatcher.
We love affordable art activities for kids and this adorable craft is budget-friendly and so fun to do! Help your child create their own sun catcher using cardboard, cellophane, and scotch tape. You can also attach your suncatcher to a dowel to create a wand!
2. Make table tents for indoor camping.
Don’t forget your flashlight! This is one of our favorite indoor activities for kids as it keeps them occupied for hours on end. Give your kids some sheets, blankets, and books and have them set up a magical getaway under your table.
If you have a small tent that’s easy to set up, that’ll work too. Have your kids gather whatever toys, books, or thingamabobs they want to take camping and then let them flourish while you get back to being super mom.
3. Complete a scavenger hunt.
This minimal supervision activity is quick and easy to set up. Simply hide the scavenger hunt clue cards. Your kids will solve the riddles to find out where to locate the next clue. They’ll be busy hunting down their next hint for as long as it takes! The more clues you have hidden, the longer they’ll stay occupied.
We kept our hunt indoors, but if you have a safe backyard space, feel free to take the adventure outside! Back in 2022, Reddit had a massive summer scavenger hunt and the list of over 400 items is still available online and perfect for older kids. For younger kids, print a simplified outdoor scavenger hunt list from Homeschool Share.
4. Creating vision boards is one of the easier indoor activities for kids.
Help your child visualize their goals and dreams! For this minimal supervision craft, you’ll need a poster and some markers or colored pencils. If your kids are old enough to handle scissors and glue on their own, they can create the ultimate vision board with magazine clippings.
Here are a few vision board questions to get them inspired:
- What are some of your favorite toys and hobbies?
- What are your favorite places to visit? (beach, water park, arcade, relatives, etc.)
- What activities make you really happy?
- What do you want to be when you grow up? Dream job?
- If you had all the money in the world, what would you do with it?
- What skills do you wish you had? What do you want to be better at?
5. Build obstacle courses.
Time for a challenge! With little to no supervision, your kids will have a blast navigating their indoor or outdoor obstacle course.
Get started with some of these DIY obstacle course setup ideas:
- Navigate through a streamer or string laser zone
- Crawl under tables or chairs without bumping head
- Toss ping pong balls into buckets or bowls
- Make it from point A to point B while balancing a book on your head
- Unscramble a word puzzle
6. Make a DIY car track.
Ready, set, go! Making a race track is not only one of the fun indoor activities for kids, but it’s budget-friendly too! All you need for this zero-supervision activity is washi tape and toy cars. Have your little one create their very own race track on a hard surface. You can customize your track with different tape colors, toilet paper rolls as tunnels, and paper race flags.
7. Plant a garden.
Grow your child’s gardening skills! Plant an indoor or outdoor garden together. This is a great way to teach your kiddo about science, nutrition, and agriculture! Get the DIY here on Hip2Save.
8. One of the timeless & fun indoor activities for kids is indoor bowling.
Time to rock ‘n roll! There’s no need for a bowling alley if you don’t have one nearby! A colorful bowling set like this one by Melissa & Doug can be an affordable toy your child can play with again and again.
Willing to leave the house? Register at Kids Bowl Free for up to two FREE games of bowling every day during the spring and summer!
9. One of our favorite fun indoor activities for kids is to write and perform a play together.
Give your kiddos a lasting memory by creating a play together! This indoor activity will challenge your children’s imagination and get them off the couch!
Here’s a simple guide to get them started:
- Make up the story for your play (where it takes place, the characters in it, etc.)
- What’s the main goal or challenge for the characters?
- Gather props using only what’s in your room
- Practice your lines (write them down or make signs)
- Make sure everyone involved has a part to play
Amazon also has a ton of “play” accessories to make your home theater more exciting.
10. Looking for art activities for kids? Paint story stones!
Paint stones with images that make a story! Have your kids head out to the backyard and go rock hunting or order some smooth stones for this unique craft. Paint pens work best for this art project, but chalk or acrylic paint will work too (a little messier). If your kiddos are struggling to come up with their own story, they can also recreate a classic tale like the 3 little pigs.
11. Speaking of stones, you can also make a travel Tic Tac Toe set.
Photo from Balancing Home
This game? It rocks! Get the DIY on Balancing Home.
12. When it comes to fun activities for kids, you can’t go wrong with building toys!
Unlike a lot of one-and-done crafts, building toys are one of the indoor activities that can keep kids entertained for hours on end. If you’ve ever built a Lincoln Log town or designed the ultimate marble run as a child, you probably know how fun they can be!
It’s hard to find toys that can entertain my boys, they love LEGOs but they are so expensive to keep buying. I’ve been looking for other building toys that they can use their imagination with and these are great! – Amazon Marble Run review
Building toys challenge creativity, imagination, and motor skills– all things we want our little ones to excel at! If you don’t already have them at home, Amazon has plenty of great building toys to choose from:
13. Need outdoor activities? Make these HUGE bubbles with just 3 ingredients.
Want Bubbles for DAYS?! Get the DIY here on Hip2Save. This affordable activity is always a hit!
14. Do some art activities for kids with homemade puffy sidewalk paint.
I don’t care how cool you think you are when there’s puffy paint, we’re ALL in. Get the DIY here on Hip2Save.
15. Take advantage of online educational resources.
GoNoodle.com is an incredible resource for educational and fun activities for kids! Plus, you can do these activities indoors! The website has tons of free printables to teach your child about things like the water cycle or eating a healthy and balanced meal.
They also have mindfulness exercises and sing and dance videos to get your kids moving and grooving while learning at the same time!
I love this site and so does my 7-year-old daughter. The videos are very interactive, intelligently funny, teach important lessons, and really get my daughter moving. The yoga and mindfulness videos are outstanding. We do these as a family and absolutely love them. -GoNoodle parent review
16. Take online music lessons.
We love indoor activities that can help your child grow useful skills, like music lessons! Whether your child has taken piano lessons before or is picking up an instrument for the first time, they can practice and progress with at-home music lessons.
Music To Your Home is a company that can provide virtual music lessons for popular instruments like piano, guitar, violin, cello, clarinet, flute, saxophone, drums, and more. Online lessons start at $45 for 30 minutes.
17. Bathtub art projects are always fun activities for kids.
Contain the mess! If there’s an activity that doesn’t involve turning the house upside down, we’re ALL FOR IT. Purchase some bathtub finger paint or crayons and let your little artists create a masterpiece!
Bathwater isn’t necessary for this activity and isn’t recommended if your children are under the age of 5. If using water, children should be closely supervised at all times.
18. Paint a shower curtain.
Looking for more fun art activities for kids? Buy a cheap shower curtain at Dollar Tree and some paints. Hang the curtain outside on a fence or lay it flat on the ground. Then, let your kiddos have at it! They’ll create a one-of-a-kind piece or artwork that is functional too!
19. Attend a Home Depot Workshop.
Kids can get hands-on and tackle fun DIY projects for FREE at The Home Depot! Check their list of upcoming workshops to get your kiddo registered. While you’re there, look for adult workshops as well — while they’re not free, they’re certainly worth checking out!
20. Get involved in library activities and reading programs.
Reading is a great way to keep kids engaged in learning. During the school year, I check for local reading programs near me and you can too!
If your kids are out of school for summer break, check out our post on the many FREE summer reading programs that reward kids for hitting the books all summer long. With incentives like free books, Chuck E Cheese tokens, Scholastic digital rewards, and Pizza Hut pizza, it won’t be hard to convince them to get those pages turning!
21. One of our top outdoor activities for kids is to go geocaching.
Love the outdoors? Looking for a unique experience? Don’t want to spend money? If you’ve been searching for “outdoor activities near me,” then you should consider Geocaching! This real-world treasure hunt involves looking for hidden boxes (known as Geocaches) using your smartphone or GPS unit and then documenting your experience online.
22. Visit museums or historical sites.
Introduce your child to arts, history, and culture by visiting museums and historical sites near you. Your local museums may offer discounted or free admissions days. Other ways to save on admission include:
- Museums on Us Program – Bank of America and Merrill Lynch cardholders can get free admission the first weekend of the month at over 225 museums.
- Get Out Pass – Buy a pass when it is discounted and you can get free admission to many local attractions.
- Museums For All – If you have SNAP benefits, you can receive free or discounted admission through this program.
Hip Tip: Did you know you can also tour factories? Visit FactoryTourUSA to see educational tours near you.
23. Host an indoor or outdoor movie night.
Gather up the kids and host a movie night. If you have a projector, you can even watch your favorite films outdoors!
24. Cook together.
Whip up something special and create a memory together. Your kiddo will learn cooking skills and feel proud of what they made. We have tons of fun recipes to try here on Hip2Save!
25. For more outdoor activities, visit a botanical garden.
Depending on where you live, your local botanical garden may offer free admission days for all (or for children under a certain age). Search for “botanical gardens near me,” to find ones in your area. Be sure to check their website or call ahead to find out about any promotions so you can score a free visit!
26. Explore a state or national park.
Search for “state and national parks near me”, and you might just find some in your area. Our state and national parks offer so many fantastic and fun outdoor activities for kids. You can go hiking, animal watching, cross-country skiing, fishing, and more. Some parks may be cheap or affordable to enter and others may cost more.
Luckily, there are ways to save and get discounted or FREE admission:
27. Emotional ABC’s
This is a wonderful resource to help children who struggle with social and emotional cues and the Emotional ABC’s website teaches them how to deal with impulses and frustrations.
It also teaches them self-soothing techniques for how to manage their emotions. 🙌 Keep Emotional ABCs in mind next time your little one has an outburst!
28. Come summer, join a camp or local day program.
Camps and day programs are a great way to occupy kids in the summer. See if your local park district may offer affordable camps for kids near you.
Or, consider sending your child to a specialized summer camp that caters to their interests. For example, if your child loves STEM activities for kids, they can join Microsoft’s YouthSpark program which is held at Microsoft stores across the country and offers a range of activities to suit all interests.
Kids 8-12 can also join Apple’s FREE Apple Camp. Your kiddos will expand their digital creativity through hands-on projects with experts at Apple!
Meanwhile, little ones who love crafts may enjoy Michael’s Camp Creatology which runs in the summer. There are different fun activities for kids on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. They can attend in-person, live online, on demand, or do a self-guided activity using a downloadable booklet.
Also, Lakeshore Learning offers FREE events for kids ages 3 and up every Saturday from 11AM-3PM (no reservation required).
29. Visit a splash pad or pool.
Have little ones looking to cool off in the heat? Head to a local splash pad where kids (and adults 😉 ) can play in the pads – and most splash pad sites are completely free! It’s one of the outdoor activities for kids that is always a hit!
30. Volunteer together.
There are ALWAYS volunteer opportunities for families to give back to the community. Ask around to neighbors or friends to see if they’re active in any groups they feel are worth joining. You can also search Volunteer Match for a more comprehensive list of available opportunities near you.
Not only is it a bonding experience for your family, you’ll be teaching your kids a valuable lesson in the importance of giving back — how sweet!
Check out this FREE printable Bingo chore chart for kids, too!
