After a forced quarantine that affected, or is still affecting, almost every country in the entire world, society had to face new problems and struggle with new issues that, before the global pandemic, seemed like part of a fiction novel.
The entire world is trying to resolve dilemmas and design new paradigms for situations that were part of a system that is not even relevant in the “new normal” we have to live in. Remote learning, remote working, and interacting with our loved ones wearing either a mask, or only from a computer are only a few of the things we’ve been dealing with, all around the world, for a long time already.
But since we’d like to support parents here and not give them even more headaches, at this point we wanted to share with our readers some of the best tips, tricks and activities to keep their kids entertained while not being able to leave their houses.
Just as we spoke about homeschooling, and the best tips, stories, and tricks to rock at it; now we want to show you how you can keep your children entertained and save hours of discussions in which “Mom, I’m bored” is the repetitive headline.
We know the feeling; your kids have everything they need to have fun during the entire day, but somehow and for no reason they find themselves bored and demanding from you new and exciting ideas that will make them laugh and have fun. But, how do you do so when the resources are limited and when your patience is about to reach its limit?
Well, the good news is… there is a way! Yes, it might take some time from your end to apply the tips we are going to give you, and to do these activities to keep your kids entertained, but at the same time, your satisfaction will be so huge, that everything will be worth it… all the time you spent (and it is not that much), and the energy you put into the new paths we are going to introduce you to right away.
So, how do you keep your children entertained during a global pandemic like coronavirus, without them being able to even leave the front door? You are about to figure it out! So take some notes and be ready to discover the wheel of Corona times!
How to entertain kids: Fun activities for your children
In the past we gave you this advice, and we repeat it once again because we truly believe in it: Listen to your children. Once you understand what they love and what their deepest passions are, it will become much easier to design and think about activities they’ll find fun, entertaining and enjoyable. Have meaningful, deep conversations with your little ones and don’t be afraid to ask personal questions about their hobbies, their friends, and the activities they like the most.
If you don’t do that, you’ll never be able to really comprehend what your kids enjoy doing, and therefore, which career path suits them best. Talking to your children will enable you to create a long-lasting bond with them, and also will give you a more certain appreciation of what they like to do.
In short, get to know your kids even better and keep them entertained with the things they find fun and interesting. We assure you that you’ll love the discovery process.
That being said, we’d like to offer you a few nice options for you to take into consideration. Not all kids find entertainment in the same kind of activities. Now, you will receive a few possibilities within 3 different worlds: The world of unplugged (or offline) activities that can nurture them with numerous skills for the future, the world of STEM activities, and some very cool programming projects some kids will definitely enjoy.
Ready? Here we go!
Offline activities for kids
Your children’s screen time might be an issue, and we truly understand that. Although screen time can be used in your kids’ favor, sometimes we just want them to go outside and play as we used to do when we were their age. Or maybe, just leave the screens for a while to do something indoors, that doesn’t require an internet connection.
Yes, many parents dream about the moment in which their kids leave the PlayStation controller aside and stop playing Fortnite for at least a few hours. But in a world that is highly digitalized and hyper-connected, how do we offer our children interesting activities they can actually do offline, that are attractive enough for them to pick over a Minecraft modding session with their school pals?
Well, a few weeks ago we published an interesting article in which we swam deep into unplugged and offline activities for kids. In that article, we mentioned various examples of unique entertaining activities for children of all ages that do not require a smartphone, nor a computer, nor a tablet.
Also, in the same blog post, we mentioned the social value of offline entertaining activities for kids, and we made sure to show you activities that are easy to do at home, because as we said before, we do not want to become another reason for a headache.
STEM activities for children
We all know how important it is for our kids to gain STEM skills either at school, in an online course to create their very own app, or with other entertaining activities they can do in their free time. STEM and STEAM activities can give our children numerous 21st-century skills, and nurture them with extraordinary abilities they will be able to use regardless of what they want to do in their professional lives.
But the value of STEM can definitely go beyond the classroom, and as parents we have the responsibility to show our children that STEM activities are not only useful, but also very entertaining, enjoyable and fun.
Can you imagine your children creating their very own volcano at home by using simple ingredients we all have in our pantry? Or, can you imagine your kids building their very own circuits for a robot they designed? Well, all of that is possible and very easy to do.
There are several STEAM activities you can do at home to keep your kids entertained, and a few weeks ago we created a nice ranking of them. Check out these amazing STEM activities you can do at home, for your kids to have lots of fun!
Programming projects for kids
Coding is a way of thinking, and when your children learn how to program, they are also learning how to look at the world from a different and broader perspective. Your kids can be highly entertained and enthusiastic about an app of their own they can build in one of Tekkie Uni’s coding courses, and they can be motivated by a video they thought about, planned, executed, and then published on YouTube.
Through programming, your kids can do anything, and that is the biggest value of coding: Turning any dream they might have into a breathtaking reality they created with their own hands.
As you know, hands-on learning is extremely important for kids to actually comprehend what they are learning, and for learning processes to be entertaining, enjoyable, and fun. So, if you were wondering how to keep your children entertained during Coronavirus, a nice way to do so is to keep their hands busy learning something new.
Just like the other topics we mentioned, there are a bunch of fun programming projects that can keep your kids entertained and busy for a few hours. We published an article about these great and fun programming projects not so long ago, and we truly recommend you go over it and decide which one of them you’d like to begin with.
Your kids’ attention span: Entertaining activities for children
Here’s a fact: When your kids are enjoying what they are doing, their attention, concentration, and focus increases.
It is very important for our kids to work on their concentration skills and to become people who can remain focused for long periods of time. It is so important, that even pediatricians recommend not interrupting babies when they are concentrating and focused on a specific object.
But, how can you boost your child’s concentration and focus? Well, there are numerous paths you can take to make this happen. First of all, you need to give them reasons to encourage their genuine attention. Also, adapting and adjusting the tasks in which they need to focus is extremely important; we are all different and therefore, we need different environments to be productive.
On the other hand, elements of gamified learning can truly help – and here’s the connection to the entertaining activities for children – and also eliminating as many distractions as possible. But again, when kids are entertained, distractions don’t even exist.
If you’d like to know more about how to increase your kids’ attention span, take a look at this interesting article we published earlier this year.
How can coding help?
This question has a very simple answer: Because coding is fun, entertaining, enjoyable, it can deliver important skills for the future of your children, and because anyone can do it. No prior knowledge required.
The thing is to find a space that makes sure your children learn coding with enough support, encouragement and motivation. The online coding lessons offered by Tekkie Uni, give your children the unique possibility to create stunning technological things while having lots of fun, and while being encouraged to become the best version of themselves.
The instructors of the courses see mistakes as learning experiences, allowing all students to freely express themselves, to try different ways to solve problems, and to realize that all of their ideas are both valuable and doable.
Give your kids the chance to create. Keep your kids entertained while they create their own app, design their own game, or learn how to produce and edit their own YouTube content. They deserve it, and the time is now!
