Indoor Activities For Families
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- Enjoy these fun and easy crafts:
- 8 Fun Pencil and Paper Games.
- 10 Kid-Friendly Card Games.
- 15 Indoor Games & Activities For Teens.
- Ultimate Boredom Buster: 101 Things to Do When Kids Are Bored
- Make paper snowflakes and decorate your home. Remember each snowflake is unique!
- Crafts for tweens and teens.
- Chemistry experiments for teens.
- 11 STEM activities for kids
- Create fluffy unicorn slime or water-bead slime.
- Make your own scented playdough
- Story time with Chirp magazine.
- Cool science videos by Chirp magazine.
- Build structures with marshmallows and pretzels.
- Make a stop motion video.
- Build a cotton ball launcher and see who's shoots cotton balls the farthest.
- Try this awesome hot ice experiment.
- Make an indoor fireworks display in a jar.
- Create your own paper building blocks.
- 200+ Minute-To-Win-It games for the whole family
- Make compostable bird feeder and build a bird house.
- Research animals that hibernate in the winter and draw your favourite.
- Here's a fun way to get the kids interested in brushing their teeth
- Use some pillows and blankets and make a fort in the living room.
- Build an indoor obstacle course out of couch cushions or cardboard boxes.
- Build a giant floor maze.
- Enjoy a good old fashioned game of "Simon Says"
- Learn some new dance moves.
- Play charades.
- Attach a retractable net to your dining room table, and presto: table tennis!
- Design an indoor mini putt course. Use different objects throughout your home to make this as challenging as possible. For the holes use plastic cups on their side to hit the ball into. If you don't have a golf putter think of different ways to play with either a hockey stick, your hand, foot etc. Keep score and see who can complete the course in the least amount of shots!
- Create a fitness a game using a deck of standard playing cards. Hearts are for push ups, clubs for crunches, diamonds for jumping jacks, and spades for squats. (or whatever else you'd like) Let your child pick the card, then do as many of the assigned activity as the card states. For example, an ace of spades would be one squat and a six of hearts would be six pushups.
- Challenge each other to these fun brain teasers.
- Make a music video to your favorite song.
- Get creative in the kitchen! Try a new recipe, bake and decorate cupcakes or make a video cooking/baking your favourite recipe and send it to family and friends.
- Make a family video or time capsule. Place some special photos, stories or answers to questions, in a shoe box. Save it somewhere safe (where you won't forget) to open it up at a later time. You can also create a video "time capsule". Kids love to see themselves on video, so how about acting out a play, writing a silly song together or just "interviewing" each other. Questions like "How old are you?", "What do you want to be when you grow up?", "Who's your best friend?", "What's your favourite toy?", etc. are great to preserve and look back on when kids get older.
- Change up movie night and make it an indoor "drive-in movie" experience! Make a cute car out of cardboard boxes (Hello, Amazon deliveries!) and attach a basket of snacks, then 'drive' over to your TV screen and settle in for a fun movie night!
- Missing summer? Have a beach day! Turn up the thermostat, put on your beachwear and lay out the beach towels. Enjoy some homemade popsicles or make ice cream sundaes. Create a beach day playlist to listen to while you have fun pretending it's summer time.
- Have an International Dinner Night. As a family, pick out a country you would like to learn more about and are interested in. Find cuisine that is unique to that country. Prepare a dinner that would be served in that country. Maybe you can even find clothing that is worn in the country and wear it to dinner. Each family member would be responsible to bring one fact about the country to share at dinner time. Plan for an evening of creative learning time!
- The Region of Waterloo Library has virtual programs, online access to favourite newspapers and magazines, and links to online resources for entertainment or research.
- KidsAbility has complied a great list of activities to support families during COVID-19
- The rare Charitable Research Reserve has shared a list of activities, experiments, games and workshops.
- Nature At Home activities from Grand River Conservation Authority.
- Follow Early Years Info Waterloo Region on Facebook and Twitter for activities for young children.
- Help the Waterloo Region Museum literally write history! Share your experiences of life in Waterloo Region during the COVID-19 pandemic with written accounts, artwork, or video recordings by emailing them to helpusmakehistory@regionofwaterloo.ca with the subject line “Writing COVID-19 History”. For more information, visit: https://www.waterlooregionmuseum.ca/en/whats-on/help-us-make-history.aspx#
- Waterloo Region Museum has a list of activities that will bring the museum to you at home
- Kids Corner - police themed activities for kids from our friends at Waterloo Regional Police Service.
- Fire safety for kids with Sparky School House.
- Jumpstart - check out their fun ideas to keep kids active at home and for fun tips from their partner programs, including ways to stay connected and engaged with Jumpstart Athlete Ambassadors.
- Virtual activities and interactive learning from Royal Botanical Gardens.
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Outdoor Activities For Families
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- Go on a Winter Scavenger Hunt!
- Discover, track, and protect biodiversity and natural heritage features throughout the Grand River Watershed with the iNaturalist app. (download the app to your smartphone) iNaturalist set-up instructions can be found at https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/getting+started
- Go for a walk in your neighbourhood or take a hike on one of the many scenic trails in North Dumfries. Remember to dress warm! Be a wildlife detective while on your hike. Remember to keep 2 metres/6 feet apart from others while out for a walk. Warm up after your adventure with one of these hot chocolate recipes.
- Catch snowflakes on black construction paper and use a magnifying glass to get a good look at them. Are they all the exact same? How are they different?
- Bubble Freeze - Blow bubbles and catch one on the bubble wand. If it is cold enough, it will freeze like a crystal ball and then shatter.
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Jump Snow Hurdles - Lightly pack a lot of basketball-sized snowballs and then use them to build a course of hurdles to jump over in a round of ‘Follow the Leader’.
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Hula Hoop Challenge - Have you ever tried using ‘Hula Hoops’ all bundled up in winter clothing? Have a contest to see who can last the longest!
- Take out the sandbox toys, buckets, containers, and molds. Create a snow castle (instead of sandcastle) and more...create and have fun!
- Pair up for a contest in which the object is to finish with the biggest snowball. The contest ends when the teams can no longer roll their entries or when you run out of snow.
- Snow baseball -
- Set up a baseball diamond with a mound of snow representing home plate and first, second and third bases.
- Place an empty water bottle on the top of each mound.
- The pitcher stands in the middle of the diamond and hurls snowballs first at home plate, then around the bases.
- Whoever knocks down the bottles with the fewest pitches wins.
- Download the Earth Rangers App to give your kids free access to missions that help the animals they love! It's loaded with environmental challenges designed to get them outdoors and protect nature all year long.
- Play tag in the backyard with one of these 21 super fun tag games.
- Listen to the birds in your neighbourhood and learn a new bird call.
- Bundle up and head out for a night of stargazing. Learn about and find constellations.
- Listen for owls. Most owls are nocturnal, so you’ll need to find a time and a place to safely get out in the evening for your adventure. Owls use their voices to establish territories and attract mates in the dark.
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Learning at Home (for all ages)
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- The Beckett School at Wilfrid Laurier University is offering free virtual programming for the entire month of January surrounding mental health and the role that music plays in physical and mental wellness
- Indigenous Canada is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from the University of Alberta's Faculty of Native Studies that explores Indigenous histories and contemporary issues in Canada.
- Activities, games and stories for youth and educators about Indigenous peoples' culture, history, languages and more.
- Gateway To Aboriginal Heritage (activities for Grade 4-12).
- Learn At Home resources from the Province of Ontario.
- Owl magazine online, a great place for kids to keep up-to-date on science, tech, sports, history, entertainment, social issues and more!
- Jumpstart offers educational resources for parents, teachers and students to make learning and teaching a lot easier and more fun for everyone.
- Farm School is a series of 1 minute videos discussing farm life. Each video maps directly to the Ontario Curriculum Connections for grades 1-3.
- Dramatic interpretations of pivotal events in Canada’s history available through Heritage Minutes. These videos are intended to entertain, educate and encourage further research into our nation’s past. Classroom resources, including background information for each Minute and select lesson plans, can be found at www.historicacanada.ca
- Play and explore at the government of Canada's Climate Kids website.
- Embark on 30 adventures or quests, that will help you understand and celebrate our natural world, while learning about how dependent we are on our planet.
- Learn a new skill like coding and coding for children.
- National Geographic: Kids Videos.
- Free online learning for adults living in Ontario, through Employment Ontario.
- Learn a new language.
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Virtual Tours
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- Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre - During the tour you will have the opportunity to travel throughout the building and grounds while listening to survival stories, viewing historical images and documents, exploring artifacts and learning more about the history of the Shingwauk Residential School.
- The Royal Tyrrell Museum - a museum in Alberta all about dinosaurs.
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Wellness & Fitness
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- 25 Quarantine Mental Health & Wellness Tips.
- Self-care and setting healthy boundaries
- Check out these suggestions for tech-free activities to keep your brain focused.
- Learn about healthy eating to support your immune system and mental health.
- Buy some new plants for the house and plant them in this DIY tissue paper claypot.
- Take a hike on one of the many scenic trails in North Dumfries. Bring a camera and try nature photography while hiking. "Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures."
- Historical Walking Tours right here in North Dumfries. Remember to keep 2 metres/6 feet apart from others while your family is out for a walk.
- Deep breathing exercises helps keep our minds and lungs healthy.
- Enjoy a yoga class and guided meditation by the NDCC’s yoga instructor, Angela Bryson of ANGELS-LANDING Yoga & Wellness.
- Family zumba class.
- Family yoga class.
- The YMCAs of Cambridge & Kitchener-Waterloo continue to connect virtually with activities for your mind, body and spirit.
- 15 ways from ParticipACTION for you and your family to stay active at home.
- ParticipACTION workout videos.
- Try something new for your fitness routine! Always wanted to try barre exercise, line dancing, cardio funk, or HIIT (high-intensity interval training)? Find a free video online, subscribe to one of the many online classes available, or download an app to guide you from the safety of your own home. Many people find they are more comfortable trying something new when no one else is watching. You just might find your new passion!
- Join the kids at playtime. Play catch or tag, pass the soccer ball around, play hockey in the driveway, jump rope (indoors or outdoors, depending on the weather), or play active video games.
- Cultivate gratitude by verbalizing what you’re thankful for. Write down what you've been thankful for this past year and talk about it with your family. Call extended family or friends and find out what they're thankful for. Start a 30 Days of Gratitude Challenge with friends and family. Each day record one thing you are grateful for on a small piece of paper. Put that paper in a jar or small box. At the end of the 30 days, read all the things for which you are grateful.
- Be kind to yourself with this mindful exercise.
- Give yourself a spa day. Fill up your tub with one of these homemade bubble recipes, play some relaxing music and disconnect from technology.
- Spend time reading. Whether it's a novel, non-fiction read or collection of poetry, practice some affordable escapism with a good book. Ask your friends and family what their favourite books are.
- Listen to a new podcast.
- Start a journal or blog.
- Make a conscious attempt to live in the present moment. Let go of thoughts related to the past and future and consciously focus your attention in the present.
- Watch the sunrise or sunset (or both).
- Play an old favourite board game. Board games can be a lot of fun and can help alleviate stress. They may also bring back the carefree childhood memories.
- Helping others can help you reduce stress. Donate your old clothes and/or equipment to organizations who help people in need. This is also a great way to remove clutter and create more space in your home.
- Watch The Science of Happiness by Langs and learn the benefits of savoring life’s joys as a happiness increasing activity.
- Calming crafts - relax and de-stress while being creative.
- Learn how to knit with this step-by-step guide.
- Fill in the blank, "I've always wanted to learn how to ____________." Chances are, there's an online course or a YouTube video for that. So the sky's the limit. Whatever you've always wanted to learn, now is the time.
- The Region of Waterloo Library has virtual programs, online access to favourite newspapers and magazines, and links to online resources for entertainment or research.
- Wellbeing Waterloo Region - In response to COVID-19, Wellbeing Waterloo Region has added COVID related events to their calendar. These listings are events and programming related to general wellbeing that have been adapted to become virtual.
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