12 Fun Activity Ideas For Kids While Mom Works (No Screens!)

Are you at home with your kids? Do you need to work? Do you want your kids engaged in meaningful and fun activities, rather than sitting in front of screens?

Yes! Yes! Yes! That’s me 100% right now.

Today I’m going to share with you some fun activity ideas for kids, which are currently working well in my own life as a busy mum.

I have three kids – ages 7, 8 and 10 – and I work from home as an online English teacher and writer. My kids go to state school in the country we live in, but they’re home for months in the holiday periods, and so I’ve compiled a list of activities that work well for both them and me when they’re home.

None of these activities requires a lot of preparation, and the other great thing is that some of them are outside the home!

Curious? Let’s get into it!

Activity Ideas – Home

1.Lego Challenge

If you have more than one child, get your kids to do a lego building challenge with a timer! You could do a 30-minute challenge, or even a 45 minute/1 hour challenge if you have older kids.

This works great when you have to focus on your work solidly for a set amount of time and you don’t want to just stick your kids in front of a screen.

2. Freestyle Crafts

Instead of stressing about your kids making a specific complicated craft, give your kids some paper or card, scissors, glue stick, colouring pencils, and then let them make whatever they like. Much less hassle, much more creative!

This could be done at the table next to you, if your kids are little, or in another room altogether, if you have older kids.

3. Books, books, books

Instead of spending hundreds of dollars in books, get a library card for your kids and let them explore the world of books.

Contrary to the toy rotating idea (below), have all the library books out at once, scattered in different parts of the house. That way, your children will pick up books as they go about their day and read them spontaneously. If your kids really enjoy reading, they’ll devour all of them, and before you know it, you’ll have to make another trip to the library!

4. Rotate toys

A great way to get your kids playing with their toys while you’re working is to only have a selection of toys out at a time. To do this, choose some toys that you know your kids haven’t played with a for a while but that are still age appropriate, and hide the rest away. Then, after a week or two, rotate the toys.

When kids only have some toys to play with, they get less distracted and engage more with the toys in front of them. Also, when toys are put away for a while, they feel new when they’re taken out again. Win win!

5. Quiet games

When you need to do shallow work (admin, emails) that requires some concentration but can also be interrupted if necessary, set up your kids with a quiet game or educational activity book at the desk/table next to you.

In fact, if you like planning, schedule your children’s activities around your need for deep or shallow work. I generally do my focused work (writing and lessons) when my kids are either sleeping, reading, or playing in another part of the house, and my shallow work (admin) when my kids are close by playing.

6. Forts gallore

Get your kids busy by suggesting they make a fort while you work. Suggest certain items to put inside their fort after they’ve finished the building state: blankets, cushions, fairy lights, boxes filled with toys, games, you name it.

You could even tell them to play camping and set out food and cooking utensils. Join them later on your work break!

7. Map fun

Keep your kids busy while you work by setting them up with paper atlases and give them countries/cities to look up.

Then give them a related challenge according to what they enjoy doing: drawing the outline of the country or continent, searching the encyclopaedia or National Geographic books for further information on the country, making lists of cities/states and memorising them, etc.

8. Garden play

Ever thought of working in your garden?

Find a comfortable spot and set your work station there. While you work, let your kids create their own play, or set them up with garden toys, soap bubbles, a paddling pool, or whatever you have handy.

Don’t have a garden? Take your work outside the house!

Activity Ideas – Outside the Home

9. Library

Take your kids to your local library and let them roam in the kids’ section, while you work at a table nearby. You can also give them some paper and colouring pencils and get them to do drawings of the stories they’re reading.

Finally, check to see if your library does storytime and get your kids to participate.

The only danger of going to the children’s section of the library (if you’re anything like me) is getting distracted from your work and start reading books, instead.

10. Café

Take your kids to a kid-friendly cafe with a play area and enjoy a cup of coffee while you work and your kids play.

If it’s good weather, make the most of outdoor cafes with outdoor play areas. If you don’t know of any, check online or ask friends.

11.Park /playground

Take your kids to parks/playgrounds that are fenced in or far away from the road. Then, choose a bench or table near their play area and set up your work.

While you might not be able to do deep work, being outside will do wonders for your mental and physical health.

12. Indoor playground

A rainy day? Take your kids to an indoor soft play area and get ahead with work tasks while they play.

Again, this type of “work trip” doesn’t usually lend itself to deep focused work. On the other hand, though, getting outside the house might just get your creative juices flowing, and you might find you actually gain new work inspiration!

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