8 Activities to Keep Kids Entertained- Independent Activities Kids Love!

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

🏡 Click HERE to Join us for 40 Days of Decluttering🏡

🏡 Click HERE to Join Us for 40 Days of Decluttering🏡

I can remember those days when all of our kids were under ten years old.  Sometimes, we just need a “filler” for your day: fun activities to fill the day (that don’t include electronics).   

This post was written years ago, but I wanted to share it again today because you’re never too old for some of these ideas. 🙂 

Activities To Keep The Kids Busy 🙂

You need something that is going to give you thirty minutes of quiet time (well- no kids under your feet time) while you cook, or fifteen minutes of quiet time while you are getting a quick shower.

So, I wanted to share some ideas with you for a few activities to keep kids entertained.

1) Painting with watercolors.
It’s simple and cleans up easily.  I can let them play while I do whatever I need to do.   (I always use a tablecloth).

2). Play-Doh.
I LOVE to use play-doh with our kids and they love it, too.  I pull it out probably one to four times a day (no exaggeration there) and I always use it when we have friends over to play.
It is quick, easy to use, creative, and a quick clean-up with our play-doh box/center.

[RELATED:  Try these recipes–>> Pumpkin Pie scented playdough & Peppermint scented play dough.]

3).  Books
I will just tell them to “Go sit on your bed and look at your books”  Our older sons will read a few chapters of one of his books for about twenty minutes.   Our younger kids will usually just look at books or do a look-and-find book.

4).  Arts & Crafts
Normally, their creativity box will keep them entertained for close to an hour because I just randomly put new things in there and they think of some sort of machine, etc… that they can make with it.   Here are a few more arts & crafts ideas. 

5).  Make a race track out of a shower curtain for $1
This is a fun activity!  Our kids LOVE it!  It takes about 10 minutes, but everyone joins in to help.

6).  Print out a picture of your child and let them color themselves (see the picture idea here):  (laminate it to use again & again) 

7. DRAW on a GIANT roll of paper!
This next art/craft activity is one of my favorites.  I pull this GIANT roll of paper out when our kids have friends over, every time.

I bought several rolls of drawing easel paper (the paper that goes with the easels) at Ikea.  It is really cheap.  I just take one roll and lay it out over the table, securing it with tape underneath the table.I then do the same thing on the other side of the table- overlapping them just a bit.I just grab their pencil box filled with crayons, markers, and stickers and let them go crazy

Here are a few pictures.   The blue box is filled with crayons, pencils & markers.

The larger box is filled with stickers.

I was a teacher, so stickers were always on hand…

This is our end result- very “used” after an hour of play time.   This i just a portion of the table…

8. Let them play with water (supervised).
I fill up this DIY sand or water table & let the kids play & play for at least an hour.  Grab some measuring cups, spoons, and toys.  I just stay close by and let them have a great time while I get other things done in that room.

This post contains affiliate links.  If you have a quicker ‘filler’ activity, I’d love to hear about it!  Leave it in the comments. 🙂

Ps- if you’d like to download this calendar of one-on-one time ideas, I’ll e-mail it to you.  Just click here.

More Ideas Your Kids Will Like

Kitchen Life Hack: Helping your little one to be independentTHREE Words every parent needs to know to survive social distancing: JUST GO PLAYEncourage Unstructured PlaySummer Watermelon Saladactivity to keep kids busy