Whether you are choosing a travel-free Spring Break due to health reasons, budgeting or the fact that you and your family are homebodies, find ways to make your own fun with these at-home Spring Break activities. We often hit all the parks, zoos and trampoline parks, or sometimes we take a day trip, but we often like to have fun at home too. I will also admit I am not always a planner or even very organized for that matter, so a lot of the activities listed can be done on the fly.
Spring Break Staycation Ideas:
Free Range Play/Unstructured Play Time
This is the best because you literally don’t have to do anything. Let your kids use their imagination (crazy, I know!). Send them outdoors if the weather is nice. Or schedule a playdate with other like-minded moms of wild things (only if the social isolation restrictions have been lifted, though!).
Build A Fort And Camp Out
My two boys love building forts with blankets, chairs, tables or whatever we around the house. They have even slept in their forts overnight when I toss a few sleeping bags in there. If you are not a DIY person, there are companies that will bring a slumber party set-up to your house. Grill hot dogs and make s’mores for a real camp out experience!
Homemade Cards/May Day baskets
While it feels like we are in the middle of a winter that will never end, spring is not far away.
Give your kids a bucket of art supplies and let them create May Day baskets for friends and neighbors. Homemade cards for nursing home residents, elderly neighbors or out-of-state family are always good for brightening someone’s day. If you are visiting a hospital or nursing home, be sure to call first to see if they have any restrictions on visits.
Rainbow Toast And Rainbow Spaghetti For St. Patrick’s Day
I stole this idea from a teacher friend (with her permission) who always has fun ideas! To make the Rainbow Toast, pour several small cups of milk and use drops of food coloring to make milk paint. Using paintbrushes, they can paint their bread a rainbow of colors. Pop them in the toaster and they will love eating their artwork. To make the Rainbow Spaghetti, boil your spaghetti and separate into sandwich bags. Add a few drops of food coloring and vegetable oil to each one. Mix it together for a fun spin on spaghetti for St. Patrick’s Day or anytime. Contributor Jenna has more ideas for rainbow noodles in her post about indoor activities!
Educational Media
With all of the social isolation happening right now (add cold and rainy weather to the mix), I’ve been looking for educational resources to keep my kids busy with learning tools. Time on their tablets means they are looking at apps like PBS Kids, Prodigy, Teach Monster and Art For Kids Hub. We also like Go Noodle videos on YouTube when we need to get moving on cold days and Cosmic Yoga to unwind. Are many activities closed in your area? Check out this website that offers virtual tours of 12 famous museums from around the world. The Monterey Bay Aquarium offers live cams of the ocean animals and marine life- our favorite is the sea otter cam!
Kindness Rocks
You’ve probably heard of kindness rocks, a popular activity promoting random acts of kindness by painting inspirational rocks and leaving them for others to find. If you have large, flat river rocks near your home, grab some to get started. Otherwise, check out home improvement stores in your area that carry rocks. Paint the rocks and write inspirational messages or draw designs on them. We love hiding them around local parks, schools and playgrounds.
What are your best ideas for an at-home Spring Break?
