Creative ways to keep your kids entertained in self-isolation

Parents are now faced with a big question: How am I going to keep my kids entertained at home for the next few months?

Below is a list of some creative suggestions we were able to find to keep kids busy and having fun.

Ocean Wise at home learning, activity resources

Ocean Wise and the Vancouver Aquarium have collaborated to offer a plethora of online activities, including live-streamed learning, ocean-inspired crafts, animal webcams, and interactive live-streamed classes parents can book in advance for kids interested in animals or careers in conservation. 

Easy Outdoor Crafts

Getting kids out in the backyard may help with a bit of cabin fever. Here's an easy outdoor craft from the Dad Lab, using a pop bottle, a sock and soapy water.

Cut the bottom of the bottle off, pull a thin sock over the bottom of the bottle, and fill a dish with water and dish soap. Dip the end of the bottle into the soapy water, and have your kids blow at the other end to make bubbles. Add food colouring to the water as desired, for coloured bubbles. Make sure the kids don't tip the bottle up too far and inhale a mouthful of soapy water.

Harry Potter at Home hub

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has collaborated with Audible, Bloomsbury, OverDrive, Pottermore Publishing and Scholastic to create an online Harry Potter hub with puzzles, quizzes, crafts, and the first book in the Potter series on audiobook for free. 

Videos from popular Children's Authors

Children's authors Mo Willems, author of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and Dan Gutman, author of My Weird School: Class Pet Mess! have shared free online videos for kids stuck at home. These authors are reading their books aloud, giving hands-on creative advice and more.

YMCA Early Years Community live Story Time

The YMCA Early Years Community Facebook group posts daily live videos of children's books read aloud by one of their staff members. Kids can tune in live or watch the videos later.

Indoor bikes

Put some shoes under those training wheels, throw something fun on TV, and voila!

Diamond Art

This is a unique type of art, and can be purchased in kits designed for all ages and different skill levels. It's similar to paint-by-number, but instead of applying paint, you glue on small, diamond shaped coloured beads with a special applicator pen. The finished project has a 3D, mosaic quality that makes the colours pop.

What are you doing to keep the kids active and entertained? Share some links in the comments below or email us at news@infonews.ca and we'll share the word. 

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