Kids At Home? 10 entertaining ideas for kids aged 3-5 years!

Kids At Home? 10 entertaining ideas for kids aged 3-5 years!

With the ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic going on, and kids being at home 24*7 these days, they need to be kept engaged every now and then. Sharing some ideas for the kids aged 3-5 years, and some of these might be useful for kids of other ages too. Read on!

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The Coronavirus pandemic has swallowed us all bad. There are some people who can’t stay at home, like, medical professionals, grocery store owners, truck drivers, fire fighters, police officials and all other essential workers whose work involve getting out of their homes. Everyday they are fighting for us, to keep us safe, to provide us with food, to provide us with safety, and no problem matches the one they and their families are facing right now. Any amount of appreciation seems less for them these days.

While on one side, we have these heroes, on the other side, we have the little heroes in our homes, who have the energies to literally move mountains, LOL. But they are at home right now, completely overwhelmed and confused about what just happened in life.

Yes, I am talking about the kids. The little dudes and divas, who were always looking forward to bunk the school, but right now are missing their schools, their teachers and their friends. It is really sad to see them fighting their wishes, like, to go to school, to go to park, to go for a stroll outside, it’s all very heart breaking.

But what also amazes me is that these little souls understand the meaning of “Shelter-In-Place” better than us. Their tiny brains have a straight forward thinking, that “There is a bad virus outside. It is so bad that it can make you very sick and can kill people.” This is more than enough information for them, and trust me, they prefer to follow the rules better than many adults.

They would show their anger, their sadness, for sometime, but they get back to their own world as quickly as possible. It’s good to learn this important thing from them.

“Don’t carry any baggage for too long, spit out the emotions, get back to work, and your life.”

I am a mother of 5-year old daughter, and right now I can share some things that I do to keep her busy. A lot of times she is able to figure things out herself, and a lot of times, me, my husband and my daughter, all three of us become clueless.

If you have increased your kid’s screen time, please don’t feel bad. This is just a phase, and we are all doing our best for survival. So, extra screen time, extra snacks, extra play time, is all acceptable, especially for working mothers, don’t let the guilt take over. We are all together in this.

Alright, so coming to the activities that we do, here are some things that my little one has engaged herself in.

Ideas to engage 3-5 year old kids

Some of these can work for kids of other ages as well!

1. LEGO TOYS

God bless the person who invented this heck of a toy. It can keep them engaged for hours. All of us have some or the other set(s) of Legos in our house, but I figured out that if it’s too challenging, the kids get bored too soon. I tried to find the perfect set for her, and the Lego Friends Hair Salon one is what I liked the best. She plays with it for hours, and never feels bored. It is challenging and easy at the same time.

2. KIDS YOGA/ DANCE WORKOUTS

YouTube is populated with tons of videos and video tutorials for Kids workouts. And this is the best way they can utilize their never ending energies in a positive way. I have recently discovered the channel called Cosmic Kids Yoga, which we all loved. It is really entertaining, especially for the kids, as they teach yoga while narrating some famous stories. “Frozen” is a popular one on their channel. Apart from Cosmic Yoga, you can just search for kids dance workout videos, and start playing them back to back. The kids are definitely going to find something they like.

3. PRETEND PLAY

The kids love Pretend Play. They can play this for hours altogether, and never get bored. They love to mimic different characters, and play different roles, like, doctor, teacher, baker, mommies and daddies, grocery store workers, and what not. They need siblings/parents/grandparents to play with, since playing with their friends is not an option right now. But it is fun to delve into their fantasy lands with them sometimes, and see their magic kingdom.

4. LEARN A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT

If the kids can learn one of any musical instruments at home, it is going to be a gift of lifetime. Music is something which keeps us sane, positive and brings out the best in us. So, this is one thing that can keep them occupied for hours, and add to their creative minds as well. Again, as I said earlier, there are tons of resources and tutorials available, to start learning a musical instrument at home, so this is the best time to learn one, we are practicing piano these days.

5. AUDIBLE STORIES

Amazon had recently made streaming of kids stories on their website Audible, free (without subscription) as long as the schools are closed for the current ongoing pandemic time. This is a very good move by Amazon, as the stories are really engaging for the kids, and there is quite a great collection to choose from. Not even the kids, me and husband both love to listen to those stories. If you haven’t already tried it, definitely give it a try. It’s worth your kid’s time.

6. LEARNING RESOURCES ON YOUTUBE

While my daughter’s teachers a doing an excellent job by sending video recordings of their everyday classes, they are also sharing some useful resources on YouTube that are helping us give the little minds positive screen time. Check out Illuminated Films on YouTube for some stories. There are many science channels for kids too, and options to teach phonics, like the channel Zoo-Phonics, as well. If you are alright with giving your kids extra screen time these days, these resources can definitely help.

7. DIY PLAY IDEAS

These include using all the available craft resources available at home, keeping them together, and giving it to your kids, even if it’s a messy play here. The storage boxes can get a new makeover with crayons, sketch pens and stickers (this idea was shared by a fellow blogger), to teaching them counting by giving them some resources from the kitchen (like pasta, nuts etc). I had even given my daughter few kids playing cards (that we were going to discard), for paper cutting practice. She spent quite a good amount of time doing that. Also, she is also enjoying doing some Gymnastics at home by jumping between and holding two high chairs. I am bowled over by their creativity level. Speaking of bowled over, she even made a DIY bowling alley with her Dot Markers as bowling pins and was hitting them with a small bouncy ball. I think the kids are pretty creative. Give them anything, and they can use their mischievous, but creative crafty brains.

8. CHORES

The kids generally are assigned small tasks in school, like being a weather helper, or lunch helper etc. So, make a list of small tasks that you can assign to them. They can be as small as setting the lunch/dinner table, or putting/removing dishes to/from dishwasher. They feel inspired and this keeps their spirits high.

9. COOKING/BAKING

While I believe that cooking is the most basic skill that each n every person on this earth needs to learn, and this should become a compulsory subject in schools, but I guess we are still decades away from this secret wish of mine. But, this summer, we can definitely involve our kids to help us with some basic things in kitchen, also teach them about food, especially about healthy food. Making healthy food choices in life, and the power of home cooked meal is what we can imbibe in them during this time. They are watching us cook, understanding the efforts behind a simple home cooked meal, so why not give them little hands on practice of simple things that they can do and help us in kitchen.

Baking is another activity that the kids will definitely enjoy to the core, as they get their favorite desserts, with healthy ingredients, straight out of the oven. Check the link below for some healthy dessert options that you can bake at home with kids.

Healthy Cookies options for baking with your kids

10. PRAY

The power of praying and meditating is known to every human being on this earth. My daughter was in tears when she saw her teacher’s video where she was saying a prayer just as they do in class. She saw other videos too, but this was the one that melted her. That, my dear friends, is the power of prayer. The way my daughter prays these days to God to finish this pandemic looks no less than a miracle.

This is definitely not an exhaustive list. There are hundreds of activities that you can do at home with your kids, and keep them engaged. I also believe that every kid is different, and even two kids in a same house can have extremely different choices, but in the end, it’s all about keeping them engaged, and helping them or guiding them use their energies in a positive way.

Also, if you mommies are struggling with removing facial hair at home, I have this recommendation for you ladies. I have been using the Panasonic Facial Hair Trimmer for Women for almost more than a year now, and haven’t visited any beauty salon since then. This device is a definitely a blessing.

Do share some ideas in comments about how you keep your little ones entertained. And remember, no guilt pangs you all moms for the increased screen time. We are all working on keeping our sanity and we are all together in this. Till then.

Adios Amigos