While it can be a lot of fun to spend time with your child (or children) when they’re home, it can also be tiring. This is particularly true when you have a hyperactive child and limitations of what you can do outdoors – especially in light of the COVID-19 social distancing requirements. If you’re concerned your child will become restless and bored over their break, try some of these activities to help them have fun and burn off excess energy.
1. Indoor Playground
Contact your local community center or parks department to see if they offer some type of indoor playground which provides a lot of gross motor play fun for children, while keeping them out of the weather.
2. Family Cooking
Cooking as a family is a perfect way of working on teamwork and reading skills. Depending on how old your child is, they can:
- Read the recipe
- Collect the ingredients
- Measure out the ingredients
- Wash vegetables
- And more
3. Sensory Activities
All children need sensory input to stay regulated, focused and organized during the day, particularly those with sensory processing challenges. If you’re worried about the weather being too harsh for your little one, these activities make perfect messy/tactile play indoor activities for children with challenges with tactile processing:
- Finger painting
- Play-doh
- Shaving cream
- Baking/cooking (they can explore different textures while mixing ingredients)
- Sensory bins of beans, rice, noodles or sand
These types of activities are usually presented to children during pediatric occupational therapy, so you can feel confident that you’re not only helping your child avoid boredom and have some fun, but you’re also helping them build up their sensory processing skills.
4. Build a Jigsaw Puzzle
Puzzles are a great activity for those extra-chilly days. Set up a mat and help your child build the puzzle on the mat so it’s simple to move around if needed.
5. Make a Gingerbread House
You can purchase a gingerbread house kit at the store or create your own from scratch. Let your child do the decorating with sweets and icing.
6. Crafts
Using paper and scissors, have your child cut out and decorate paper mittens. Then have them cut paper circles so they can create a snowman picture. Or they can roll up white playdough for the snowman’s body.
There are many activities you can try to help keep your child entertained and focused and keep hyperactivity levels to a minimum. Not only do these activities keep your child busy indoors during winter break, but they also give you precious time to spend together peacefully.