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In the first summer of the pandemic, I came up with a list of 75 things to do outside to help with times when it wasn’t possible to go many places. I realized that I never made an accompanying post of 75 things to do inside! Those of us in the Southeast struggle to be outside much in the summer anyway due to the heat, and sometimes we’re stuck inside due to weather or sickness. This is a huge list of options for adults and kids, both activities that can be done together or independently.
75 Things to Do Inside
Free play with LEGO or blocks
Build a fort
Play “The Floor is Lava”
Do a blindfolded drawing challenge
Play a board game
Make your own board game (either print things from the computer or use household items)
Change the rules of a common game like Uno or Candy Land
Make salt dough sculptures
Make oobleck
Build a house out of playing cards
Make your own comic book
Try blackout poetry
Make a joke book or riddle collection
Cook something together
Build fairy/gnome houses from recyclables
Color or paint (free coloring printables)
Practice origami
Create a family newspaper with comics and interviews
Make edible play dough
Make puppets from socks or paper bags
Draw a treasure map
Create your own mandala and color it in
Write a silly play and act it out
Have a family lip-sync battle
Create edible necklaces with cereal or candy
Do a blindfolded snack taste test
Learn a popular online dance together
Make a huge structure combining different building materials (LEGO, Duplo blocks, Magna tiles, wooden blocks, etc.)
Make fruit kebabs
Paint rocks with funny faces or messages
Have a family talent show
Create a silly handshake competition
Create nature art with pasta, beans, or rice
Use vinegar and baking soda to inflate a balloon
Do experiments with static electricity and balloons
Play the Freeze Dance game (lots of options on Youtube or other music apps!)
Dissect old tech (with supervision)
Create a marble run from cardboard/tubes
Build a bridge with straws and tape
Do a Danny Go video together
Silent disco (headphones only)
Make a time capsule
Invent your own holiday and come up with how to celebrate it
Fashion show with dress-up clothes
Host a themed indoor picnic or campout
Write a “choose your own adventure” story
Make a scavenger hunt
Create a spaghetti & marshmallow tower
Make a zip line for stuffed animals
Make a Rube Goldberg machine
Make a pulley system with a basket and rope
Listen to an audiobook or podcast together
Quietly journal together
Play Mad Libs
Sensory play (kinetic sand, water, rice)
Write and mail letters to family and friends
Do a kid’s yoga video (try Cosmic Kids Yoga)
Create a stop-motion animation with toys
Watch a family movie
Have an indoor campout
Make a reading fort with flashlight
Go on a virtual museum tour
Design and play “backwards day”
Make a gratitude jar
Wash all your plastic toys in the bathtub
Teach your kids how to do a chore
Read a book or graphic novel (or have parents/older siblings read to younger kids!)
Practice a musical instrument
Learn a new skill like knitting, coding, or a magic trick
Play a video game together
Try a fashion design challenge
Declutter kids’ rooms (with their help!)
