This page is dedicated to Fun, Family, Creativity and Mindfulness Ideas for use at home and during the summer months!
Have fun, and shine on! ~ Ms. Zorn
100's of activities and resources for families
50 Fun and Easy Indoor Activities for Kids
Daily Tips for At-Home Activities: Family, Fun, Mindfulness & Creativity!
Start your week with a Loving Kindness guided meditation
Make your own homemade paint from salt, flour, and water in equal parts. Add a little food coloring or liquid watercolors to create the color you desire. Store in recycled jars or squeezable ketchup bottles!
Check out the May happiness calendar - with embedded links that focus on social rituals, protecting relationships and building optimism.
Learn how to shuffle a deck of cards by making a "bridge". Parents who can shuffle can demonstrate finger positioning, or check out this quick tutorial. Getting good at shuffling is fun and takes practice, so don't give up!
Do some yoga poses today - some easy and beneficial poses are "cat' and 'cow' and 'downward facing dog'....Add a seated spinal twist (right and left) at the end - it's like wringing out your back like a washcloth and feels both relaxing and invigorating! You can also check out this Frozen-themed kids yoga video and a short kids video for beginner poses.
Start a garden area, or make ready a garden already intact. Pulling weeds and turning the soil is an activity for all ages. Start seeds inside in small cups of dirt from outside. Don't have seeds? How about some dried beans!
Mindful Moment - conscious breathing (check it out....literally only about a minute to reset and breathe!)
Handwrite and mail a letter to your friend, cousin, aunt, uncle, grandparent, or another pen pal. Address the envelope yourself. Learning to write a letter and address an envelope is important even in the age of email. The thrill of getting a letter in the mail cannot be overestimated!
Who doesn’t love the Would You Rather game? It's easy to make up questions but here are a few to get you started: Would you rather be 10 years older or 4 years younger? Would you rather be able to control the weather or have the ability to talk to animals? Would you rather always have to enter rooms by announcing your name or do cartwheels out when you leave a room? Would you rather speak every language or play every instrument? Click here for even more question ideas!
Here is a fun drawing game that helps kids draw more freely, creatively and increases silliness: "Roll a Dice - Draw a Face" game!
Make a collage - use old magazines or printed pictures. Kids can glue their cutouts on posterboard or the round cardboard that frozen pizzas come with. Collages can be themed (ie. goals, all-about-family, wish list) or just colorful fun!
I Spy Printables - Fun for all ages!
Do a random act of kindness today for someone in your family...ie. make their bed, bring them a snack while they are doing work, leave a smiley face on the mirror, or a note in the frig on the last piece of pie :)
Make calm down jars. These calm down jars are fun to make, teach kids science, and have a true calming effect as you watch them settle after shaking up the jar.
Find ten rocks smaller than a dime. Kids have the best eyes for this kind of thing. Give everyone a dime to hold so they can carry it to compare sizes, and use an old yogurt container to hold the rocks.
Make doing chores fun! Everyone has a room that could probably use a little straightening up. Put on your favorite music or try listening to this fun song by The Sugarhill Gang (the longer the better :) and sing or dance around the room while you "work"!
Quote for the day: "You can't control the wave, but you can learn to surf." (~Jon Kabat-Zinn) Focus on what you CAN do today, in this present moment. Ask yourself, what about today will be good for me?
You know how important washing hands is...try adding mindfulness. Add thoughts of gratitude (reflect on one thing you are grateful for), feelings of kindness (send a virtual hug to someone), and intentional body awareness (look at suds on all parts of your hands and fingers). Mindfulness during your hand washing ritual can give you more positive soothing emotions every day.
Play a home version of "Chopped" - if you've never seen it on TV, the idea is that each participant creates their own dish. Everyone must use at minimum the same base ingredients. For example, try creating a dessert out of apples, cereal or potato chips, and chocolate!
Go on a neighborhood safari! Enjoy a walk or slow family car ride in your area, and find as many different types of animals that you can...wild or domesticated. Take a notepad along to write down all the kinds of animals you see, and how many of each.
Singing a catchy tune in your head can be a mood uplifter! How about this happy one that adults may well remember, or also this additional kids' version...."Sing a Song!"
Michelle Obama is hosting a weekly story time for kids. You can tune in to her livestream readings at noon on Mondays -- 4/20, 4/27, 5/4, 5/11. Click here for more details. Enjoy!
Create a Bingo game from scratch - save your cereal or tissue boxes and use the inner side of the cardboard to make BINGO boards. Cut up pieces of paper lettered and numbered "1-to-75". (B:1-15, I:16-30, N:31-45, G:46-60, O:61-75)......Calling B-7 a hockey stick...I-16 sweet sixteen...N-32 buckle my shoe...G-52 weeks in a year...I-74 the candy store!
The Power of Awareness: When we are HALTA -- hungry, angry, lonely, tired, or anxious -- we are the most vulnerable to react. Simply acknowledging that you are experiencing one of these feelings helps us to calm our mind. By realizing there is an identified source for our discomfort, we can then take specific self-care actions to help ourselves.
During these coming days of gentle reflection, take an intentional walk outdoors in your yard or neighborhood. Notice the colors, flowers, birds, and buds on the trees that have all been quietly emerging over these Spring weeks. Find at least 5 new things in nature that you've not noticed before. This mindful practice allows you to become fully and calmly present in the moment.
Consider writing in a daily personal journal. This is a wonderful time to start one, if you've not already. Journal writing helps you self-reflect, relieves stress, keeps your thoughts organized, and offers an always present listening ear, A record of your first-hand feelings and experiences during this unprecedented time in history will also be a legacy to share with loved ones years down the road.
While an opportunity to reset, the departure from familiar routines may also pose some new challenges. As we continue to remain at home, check in with yourself daily with these 6 questions to help you structure your day and support your physical and emotional well-being. Think gratitude, connection, letting go, getting outside, moving your body, and creating beauty.
Self-advocating is an important skill in life. Self-advocacy means you are able to ask for what you need and want and tell people about your thoughts and feelings. Fill out this 'self-awareness for kids' activity together to build awareness of strengths, weaknesses and ways to ask for help. Self-Awareness Worksheet for Kids (View / Download)
Make this evening music night! At dinnertime or afterwards, each member of the family can cue up their favorite song to play. Everyone take turns listening to each other's songs and sharing why their song is meaningful or why they like it so much.
The April happiness calendar is here! It provides 30 simple but important actions that we can take for self-care and for helping others. See it here and print it out to hang up for family members to read each day, or get the daily happiness reminders via phone app. The messages are supportive for all ages!
Grandparents and other loved ones may enjoy if they are asked to read to the kids, or kids can read to them. If they can’t be there in person, call them. You can also ask grandparents to share a story from their own childhood experience. Extra time reading or talking with grandparents is a great opportunity for spending time together, near or far!
Try some deep breathing today. Draw a large star on a piece of paper. Trace the outer sides of the star with your finger, breathing into your belly slowly for a count of 5 going up one side, hold for 5 at the point, then exhale slowly down the other side. Going around the 5 points on the star gives you 5 breath cycles....ahhhhh!
News Bulletin: You are all Amazing! Your efforts during this adjustment to many changes are so appreciated and resilient. Check out this positive strengths and traits page for a reminder of all your individual gifts!
How about a game of family "shadow tag" to get moving. A new twist on a classic, instead of tagging others’ bodies, the person who is it must tag their shadows. How about "red-light, green-light" or "simon says". Here are the rules for how to play all kinds of old-school games for your driveway, backyard, or maybe even a big playroom. Play old-school recess games.
Laughter is the Best Medicine! Everyone loves a good laugh. And if kids can get that by reading, it’s another plus. Get out your joke books or see who in the family can make up the funniest joke! Here are few starters:
What do you call a dinosaur that is sleeping? A dino-snore!
What did the left eye say to the right eye? Between us, something smells!
What is a witch’s favorite subject in school? Spelling!
As much as possible, try to keep normal routines in place for eating, bathing, sleeping. In particular, keeping regular sleeping habits is important for your physical health. Did you know your digest-repair-restore cycle is optimal from 10pm-2am? Getting enough restful sleep helps your mental alertness and emotional well-being too.
I couldn't resist this one...perfect for our confused weather today! Watch this classic and fun short video on Time For Spring! :)
Enjoy this Spring day outside! Create a Scavenger Hunt and get active. Leave clues (descriptive words or draw pictures) in consecutive places around the yard or in the house, with a special treat waiting at the final clue! Older kids can be the clue makers too.
A deck of cards is endless fun! There's war, rummy, spoons, crazy 8's, go fish, concentration, poker, and even building a house of cards. Did you know there are over 150 ways to play solitaire? Here's a site that has a variety of card game instructions.
Start a family Gratitude Jar -- Decorate a jar and cut slips of paper to keep near the jar, along with pens or colored pencils. Each family member can write one thing they are grateful for each day, with name and date. At the end of our home-stay (or keep it going longer), you can enjoy a fun family evening of reading all the appreciation notes together!
Eat a piece of fruit today! Oranges in particular are high in Vitamin C and immunity-building.
5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Strategy -- Look around the room and identify 5 things that you can see, 4 things that you can touch, 3 things that you can hear, 2 things that you can smell, and 1 thing that you can taste
Take advantage of the beautiful weather and go outside, take the dog for a walk or do a family walk or bike.
If your child loves cooking and food, menus and recipes are a great way to practice reading. Help your child have fun with it. Come up with a simple cooking activity together and read through some recipes for ideas. Or have your child create their own menu for a future restaurant!