50 games and activities to do with your kids

This article is part of our series providing help for families during COVID-19. Find more related articles and resources here.

Whether it’s a rainy day or an extended break from school, kids love to play! Playing is a great way for children to learn new skills, explore new ideas, and burn off a little energy. Inviting your kids with you is a great way to demonstrate steadfast love to them, show them that you are truly interested in who they are, and can help with bonding between you and your child. But where to start? When it comes to games and activities you can do with your kids, the sky is the limit! Even the most simple things – such as a cardboard box – can transport you on a wild adventure. Here are 50 ideas to get you started.

All the world’s a stage

Sometimes it’s fun to be in the spotlight! Kids can boost their confidence by sharing their talents in front of an audience. Making up stories and stepping into the roles of different characters can be a great way to mix things up. Here are a few ideas that can put your kids into the spotlight and fuel their creativity.

• Schedule a family talent show. Everyone in the family should take turns showing off one or two of their talents. Maybe it’s singing, juggling, or playing an instrument. Maybe someone will have a surprise talent in store!
   
• Put on a puppet show. Your kids can get crafty by making their own puppets out of items found around the house.
   
• Perform your own play. You can find scripts at the library or online, or you can create your own by acting out scenes from a favourite book or movie.

Get moving

Kids have a lot of energy to burn. Games and activities that get the blood flowing are great for both kids and adults. Here are some games that will get you and your kids moving. You’ll have so much fun, you won’t even realize you’re getting some exercise.

• Hide and Seek
• Freeze Tag or Freeze Dance
• Duck, Duck, Goose
• Musical Chairs
• Charades
• Simon Says
• Create an obstacle course for your kids to conquer
• The Floor is Lava
• Scavenger Hunt
• Using a roll of masking tape on your floor, you can mark out squares for hopscotch or a straight line to be used as a balance beam. If you really want to get creative, you can create a variety of mazes for your kids to traverse.
• Hot Potato
• Sports – if the weather is nice, sending the kids outside for a game of basketball, soccer, or hockey can be a great idea. If the weather isn’t cooperating, you can set up an indoor bowling game, or play basketball or hockey inside with some rolled up socks and a laundry basket.

Host your own game show

Hosting your own game show at home can be a fun way to break up the routine. Here are a few shows that can be fun to play at home.

• Chopped Junior – Host your own cooking or baking contest in the kitchen.
• Jeopardy – Come up with questions that test your kids’ knowledge and will also encourage them to learn new things.
• The Celebrity Game – Have your kids pretend to be a well-known celebrity. Ask them questions to figure out who they are portraying.

Board games

Board games can be so much fun to play together as a family. There are thousands of options out there for all ages and stages. Here are a few classics to get you started:

• Checkers
• Chess
• Sorry!
• Scrabble
• Monopoly
• Clue
• Settlers of Catan
• Ticket to Ride
• Risk

Card games

Card games are another fun way to spend time with the family. Here are some popular games that all ages can enjoy:

• Uno
• Go Fish
• Crazy Eights
• War

Paper and pen games

There are some great games that can be played with nothing more than a pencil, paper, and some imagination. Here are some examples:

• Hangman
• Tic-Tac-Toe
• Dots and Squares
• Pictionary
• Mad Libs

Put your thinking cap on

There are so many different games and activities to do with your kids that really challenge the mind. Here are some great ways to keep the kids busy and develop their learning skills as well:

• Logic puzzles
• Concentration or Memory
• Bible Verse Challenge – Create a list of Bible verses for your child (and you!) to memorize. Create a way to track of how many verses your child has memorized. When they reach the goal, they get a small prize.

I’m puzzled!

Puzzles come in all shapes, sizes, and dimensions and are another great way to engage your child’s thinking skills. Here are some fun puzzles that you can do individually or as a family:

• Jigsaw puzzles
• Tactile box – Place different items with different textures inside of the box. Have your child reach inside to feel the item and try to guess what’s inside.
• Rubik’s Cube
• Sudoku, word searches, or crossword puzzles
• Solving riddles

Build, create, annihilate!

Building things is a fun way to learn 3D shapes. It’s not only a great lesson in how to build something and to take it apart. Cleaning up together and putting things away once you’re finished can be a great way to teach your child teamwork and responsibility.

• Legos or Tinker Toys
• Build a miniature city out of boxes and paper towel rolls. Then go Godzilla on the miniature town when it’s time to put it away.
• Build a blanket fort. This can be a fun “top secret” base for your adventures or a cozy place to curl up and read or watch a movie together.

Get crafty

There are thousands of arts and crafts out there that you can do with your kids. Picking a hobby as a family can be an excellent way to grow closer together. Have fun creating new things and be sure to showcase them where the whole family can see them when you are done.

• Have your kids learn a new hobby such as knitting, crochet, painting, making models, making jewelry, or woodworking.
• Drawing, painting, or making crafts.
• Collecting – Have your child start a collection of something that interests them. It could be stamps, rocks, coins, or anything else that sparks their imagination.

Playing games and doing activities with our kids is a fantastic opportunity to connect with them. This list of games and activities is far from comprehensive, but it’s a great place to start. It may even inspire a few new ideas! Which games and activities are your favourite to share with your kids?