How to Entertain Kids While You Work from Home
How to Entertain Kids While You Work from Home – Angie Cruise Blog
How to Entertain Kids While You Work from Home
Work from home and need some new ideas on how to entertain the kids? This list of 25+ easy ideas will keep everyone happy for hours!
I started working from home when my oldest was less than a year old. In the beginning, it was a constant struggle to get it all done. How do you balance your business and your kid?
I’ve now added another (more rambunctious) kid plus homeschooling to the mix. Over the years, I had to learn how to manage my time better. I learned the phrase “working in the margins,” and figured out how to focus on the most important tasks in that moment.
But the most revolutionary thing I did for my business was to put together a list of how to entertain kids while I get my work done.
There are a lot of stay at home moms out there that dream of starting their own business from home, but worry about finding the time. It’s a legitimate concern, because it can be absolute chaos if you’re not careful.
Working from home with kids takes a good routine, a little patience, and an arsenal of activities to keep them busy.
That’s why I put together this list of how to entertain kids. Hopefully, some of these ideas will help you find a few minutes to get some work done yourself!
: I don’t think technology is bad, and don’t necessarily keep it away from my kids.
: some of these activities are messy. If you’re not okay with a big mess at times, skip over them. In my house, messes are welcome when our kids are submerged in an activity!
How to Entertain Kids While You Work
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My kids are huge fans of creating art. We have an entire cabinet full of paints, pencils, pastels, and watercolors.
As a homeschool mom, art is a big part of our day already, but I also use it when I need to entertain the kids.
I was recently reading the book
by Julie Bogart, and in it, she discusses the concept of an art table. Basically, it’s where you have a table set up in part of your main living area that’s just totally ready for art all the time. Keep it set up with drop cloths, paints, glues, papers, etc. Obviously, this won’t work in every home, but we’ve taken some inspiration from that idea and set up an art
. The kids head over, grab whatever art mediums they want, head to the table, and entertain themselves for hours.
When I want to see them branch out, I’ll find a new idea on Pinterest and show them how to do it. That’s always a great way to keep them interested once they start getting bored! If you need some ideas on how to entertain kids with some new arts and crafts, check out my
2. Reading or Audio Books
I really strongly encourage my kids to read for 20 minutes every day, and I notice a huge improvement in their moods when they do!
My oldest absorbs books faster than I can keep up with, so we have a library card to keep her fully stocked. My youngest is only 5, so she’s not reading yet. Instead, I let her use her
Kid’s Kindle Fire,
which is loaded with audio books that she can enjoy!
If your kids are fans of audio books, you can even get two free ebooks when you sign up for
. It’s the perfect opportunity to stock up and let them enjoy!
3. Educational Games on a Tablet
This one is big with my youngest. We can sit and work on letters and numbers together for hours and she’ll just goof off and say “I don’t know.” But, if I pull out her
and let her have 20 minutes to play an educational game, all of a sudden I realize she actually
know her letters and numbers!
For her, it’s just the act of taking control of her learning, and choosing what to do on her own. I know not everyone is a fan of using technology with their kids, but I believe when it’s used right, it can be really helpful.
4. Documentary or Educational Show
We don’t actually allow a
of TV in our house. Actually, we don’t even keep a TV in the living room. But there are days that require some TV time, and on those days, I try to find a documentary or educational show for them.
For my 5 year old, we love the PBS Kids subscription through Amazon Prime, but my 10 year old is obsessed with things like Planet Earth and You vs. Wild on Netflix.
Obviously, this isn’t a solution to be used all day every day, but when you need
for a good 20-30 minutes, this is a great option!
During the summer, we basically turn our backyard into an outdoor kid oasis. We have a pool with a nice shaded area and comfortable seating, a big play structure, a sand box, sprinklers, a trampoline, and lots of room to run.
My kids love it out there and will happily spend hours playing and bouncing from one activity to another.
When the weather is nice (aka not 100º, because…
, I’ll bring my computer outside and sit under the shade watching my kids play while I work. It’s a good option for all of us, because we get fresh air, the kids get outside to expel some energy,
they’re entertained so I can work!
Do you ever just blast some fun music and let the whole family go to town dancing? We do this a lot, and my kids
it! My youngest has started getting dressed up for the “show” and does a whole recital for us after awhile. It’s the best, and it’s an awesome way to entertain the kids for awhile!
7. Sidewalk Chalk Art
There’s just something different about sidewalk chalk art as opposed to regular art.
The sidewalks and patios around our house are decked out in their art.
We also play games like hopscotch, practice our letters (cursive for my oldest), make obstacle courses, or even have fun with things like sidewalk chalk paint!
The possibilities are endless when it comes to playing with chalk outside.
on rainy days, we just bring the chalk inside and play with it on a huge roll of butcher paper.
8. STEM Building with Legos
Anyone else’s kids have a huge Lego collection? I know mine do. In fact, the girls have filled
two of these Lego containers
Sometimes, it takes some encouragement and ideas to get them really building with the blocks outside of what the original kit intended. So, I looked up a bunch of ideas on Pinterest that go along with their interests. We’ve built Lego volcanos, bridges, Minecraft characters, castles, and so much more.
Not only does this keep kids entertained, but it also encourages some extra brain power to get them figuring out the best way to build their project.
