For your own sanity this season, here are 50 indoor activities for kids that burn lots of energy. Guaranteed to end in lots of giggles!
Perfect for stay at home days (especially if you’re homeschooling) or if you have a kid that will only sleep after being worn out!
These activities also involve single play activities so you don’t need to always be with them for them to have fun!
We’ve made sure to include low prep, easy to put together indoor activities for kids too so you don’t have to spend hours finding materials.
FUN, HIGH ENERGY INDOOR ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS
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1) LEAP FROG
Leap frog is a great energy burner and a fast way to get your kid’s heart rates going.
If you want to make it even more entertaining, call out animal names and make them imitate their movements!
2) VIRTUAL PE LESSONS
Youtube offers a great selection of virtual PE lessons for kids.
The Body Coach has now started offering quick, get fit, fun lessons for younger children.
And trust us, if you decide to join in, you’ll be working up a serious sweat too!
3) HOT LAVA GAME
A classic game! The objective is to make sure kids don’t touch the floor (because it’s ‘lava’).
Simply throw a few pillows and blankets down and let their imagination do the work.
4) ALPHABET HUNT
Toddlers and preschoolers will love this one. It’s great for those learning the alphabet.
Simply hide flashcards around the house, and when your child finds it, they must read out the letter.
5) DANCE PARTY
We love dance parties! And kids do too.
We use the Wii’s Just Dance For Kids, but you can create your own playlist and let your kids let loose!
6) BUILD A FORT
7) HIDE N SEEK
8) SIMON SAYS
Simon Says is a perfect game for kids.
It can be fun and easy for parents to yell out commands and for children to follow them.
You can get them to walk, crawl, run on the spot etc.
9) CRAZY OBSTACLE COURSE
Wiggle under the dining room table. Crawl over the sofa. Tip toe through the living room. Easy, simple and fun.
10) MOVEMENT SONGS
Kids love those popular movement songs such as ‘Baby shark’ (eventually you will love? them too!)
Other catchy songs to wiggle to include ‘I know a chicken’, ‘Pop See Co’ and ‘The Banana Dance’. Total earworms!
11) BALLOON TENNIS
Kids can use their hands as the tennis rackets and bat the balloon back and forth.
Children on their own can play this game too.
12) HOPSKOTCH
13) BALANCING ACTIVITIES
Improve your kids’ balancing skills whilst getting them to become more active.
Some ideas include seeing how long they can stand on one foot, playing musical statues, dance freezing when the music stops.
14) NERF ‘SHOOTER’ WARS
This one can be a lot of fun. Just make sure to lay down some ground rules when using the Nerf ‘guns’ e.g. no aiming for the face, objects, windows etc.
15) CHARADES
Always a firm favourite with the whole family. Simply act out books, films etc that kids would know and get them to act it out too.
Kids love playing Disney Charades in particular, why not act out a famous Disney character?!
16) PILLOW DIVING
17) NOODLE HOCKEY
Grab a few pool noodles and a balloon and voila you now have a safe, indoor version of hockey.
18) PUT ON A TALENT SHOW
Kids love to put on a show.
If they play an instrument, put on a music show. If they love to dance, put on a dance show.
Or throw a trick/talent show.
Have them practice in a different room to give you a few moments of peace!
19) RELAY RACES
Pass the balloon. Skipping sideways. Crawling across the floor. Hopping.
Kids love these quick and easy relay races and they’re great for their fitness too.
20) MOP WARS
So this might work for younger kids (maybe!).
Give them a wet mop, put on some music and maybe, just maybe they will mop the floors for you!
21) ENERGETIC WII GAMES
There a LOTS of wii games which are perfect for high energy kids!
Just Dance For Kids, Just Dance Disney Party, and Mario Party are ideal for those busy days when you need some quiet time.
22) BALLOON TAPPING
Simply tape a balloon to a high reach place, and see how many times your kid can tap the balloon.
23) MARBLE TOE RACE
Kids have to pick up some marbles (you can also use cotton wool balls if you prefer a safer, softer option) with their feet and place them into a container over the other side of the room.
24) THE CLEANING GAME
In 30 seconds bursts, get the kids to pick up and put away as many clothes/objects as possible.
The timed aspect makes cleaning seem like a game.
25) DRESS UP PARADE
26) GAMIFY CHORES
Have stickers? Do your children love shiny gold stars?
This is a great game for you and them! Get them to do their chores by timing them.
Challenge them to do it as fast as possible, then give them the stickers.
You could even create a chore chart to place the stickers.
27) TOSS THE BALL
28) ACTION TIC-TAC-TOE
Fill a normal tic-tac-toe grid with actions (e.g. act like a monkey, crawl like a crab etc).
Your child must complete the action before placing a X or O in the grid.
29) FOLLOW THE LEADER
30) PARACHUTE GAME
Fun for the whole family! Get a parachute (or a non-fitted bed sheet), fill the center with ping pong balls and move the sheet up and down.
The idea is to get the ping pong balls off the sheet as quick as possible.
31) SUMO WRESTLING
Stuff some towels down the kid’s clothes and allow them to ‘wrestle’ with eachother. A safer way to play.
32) SORT THE LAUNDRY
Anyone who sorts the laundry knows how high energy this task is! Get the kids to help you sort the whites from the darks etc.
33) ANIMAL IMPERSONATIONS
Fun and easy to do! Kids love making impersonations of animals.
If you have an Amazon Echo/Dot ask Alexa to play animal sounds. Your children can them try to mimic them!
34) PILLOW FIGHT
35) MAKE A PLAYLIST & HAVE A DISCO
36) A-Z ACTIVITIES
Using the alphabet, make your own A-Z activity list e.g. C for crawl, P for Put on a show, W for Walk etc.
37) TWISTER THE GAME
You can either play the floor game, or if you don’t have the official Twister game, then you can either paint some spots on a bed sheet, or place some paper papers on the floor and label them with the colours!
38) MUSICAL STATUES
Play some music. When the music stops kids have to freeze and strike a pose. Younger children love this game!
39) YOGA FOR KIDS
Believe it or not, kids love yoga (when you don’t tell them it’s yoga!).
Cosmic Kids Yoga teaches children mindfulness whilst playing like a fantasy cartoon with lots of colour!
40) EXERCISE BALL ROLLING
I’m pretty sure kids invented this game! Grab an exercise ball and let them roll over it, on it.
Kids have loads of fun with this simple activity. For younger kids, hold their ankles whilst they try to grab the ball.
41) RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT
A classic game to play with kids! Simply use stop and go commands when shouting out activities e.g. walking, running on the spot, crawling, jumping etc.
42) GOOD OL’ SCAVENGER HUNTS
Psst, we’ve done the hard work for you! No need to create your own scavenger hunts.
Check out this Golden Treasure Indoor Scavenger Hunt For Kids with free checklists, featuring only common household items.
Or, if you want to go outdoors in the garden, try this Natural Treasures Scavenger Hunt For Kids, with free printable hunting checklists!
43) MONTESSORI ACTIVITY STATIONS
Not all kids will need to burn lots of energy all the time.
Activity stations are perfect for those times when they want to have fun and you need some down time.
Set up some drawing, painting, crafting stations, and let them get creative!
Related: 15 IKEA Hacks Your Kids Will Thank You For (Featuring a Montessori Inspired Play Table!)
44) OPEN UP YOUR OTHER ROOMS
Have a basement or spare room? Some outdoor activities e.g. rollerskating, basketball, hopskotch etc can take place in these rooms depending on their size.
45) COLOR SCAVENGER HUNT
Give kids a colour. They then must find 5 items or as many items as possible of that colour in the home.
46) MATTRESS SLIDE
Lay a mattress against the sofa and watch your kids have fun sliding down it for hours!
47) PAPER AIRPLANE RACES
48) COOKING/BAKING
49) MIRROR, MIRROR
One person does an action, then the other person must mimic it. Preschoolers love this simple game.
50) SHARK ATTACK
Similar to the hot lava game, the shark attack game is played on the floor.
The floor is the water where it isn’t safe to step.
Kids must stay on the pillows and blankets to be safe from the sharks. Mom and dad can even get involved by pretending to be the shark.
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