Last week felt like one of the longest in my life, and I know I’m not alone. I’m sure by now that every Little Rock parent has been affected in some way by school closures or event cancellations. With smart social distancing moves, life in the capital city has been put on pause. 

But I’ve never met a kid who understands the word pause very well. While we can’t help with that (good luck!), we can help by providing activity ideas for you to try out with your kids. The silver lining of social distancing can be the quality time you spend with your family. Here’s a list to get you started:

Local Fun

  1. Build a tunnel system, rocket ship, cave or [fill in whatever your kids imagine] with cardboard boxes. Enter your creation in the Museum of Discovery Cardboard Construction Project. Find details here. 

  2. Attend virtual keeper talks at the Little Rock zoo. They’ll be streaming everyday at 2 p.m. indefinitely. 

  3. Tune in to Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Bedtime with Bach sessions. 

  4. Text in a request to the The Pink Piano Show with Cliff & Susan

  5. Learn some blacksmith skills from The Historic Arkansas Museum. 

  6. Flow through a beginners yoga class on The Arkansas Yoga Collective’s channel. 

  7. Join the Arkansas Arts Center Amplified new Facebook group for art projects, watch parties and more. 

  8. Snuggle in for a story time with your favorite CALS librarians. 

  9. Take a dance class with Ballet Arkansas. 

  10. Go on a virtual tour at the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum every Friday-Sunday at noon. 

  11. Check out storytime with Ranger Rebecca at Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site every Saturday live at 11 a.m.

Edible Fun 

  1. Make homemade personal pan pizzas with everyone’s favorite toppings. Bonus if you’d like to try your hand at homemade dough.

  2. Make a snack inspired by your kid’s favorite book. 

  3. Make a meal from another part of the world and learn about that country’s language and culture. 

  4. Teach a homeschool home ec class. Our suggested project? These fudgy brownies. 

  5. Have a fondue night. Will it be cheese, chocolate or both? 

  6. Have an ice cream party. You can even make ice cream in a bag. 

  7. Host a formal dinner night. Get out of sweats and get dressed up before you dig in. 

  8. Make smoothies. Bonus: This is a great way to add some spinach to your kids life!  

  9. Have the kids help plan and cook dinner. Maybe these 10-minute tostadas? 

  10. Make popsicles. These are great. 

Outdoor Fun 

  1. Play in the rain. If there’s no thunder, let the kids go for it! 

  2. Draw with sidewalk chalk. 

  3. Blow bubbles. Or make your own bubble solution. 

  4. Ride bikes, scooters or your favorite riding toys. 

  5. Go on a hike. Here’s a map with every Arkansas campsite!

  6. Make an obstacle course in the backyard. 

  7. Go on a nature walk and make it a goal to spot spring animals and plants. 

  8. Stargaze. 

  9. Read books outside. 

  10. Go to a state park. 

  11. Wash the car. 

  12. Paint the driveway with a paintbrush and water. 

  13. Paint with colored ice cubes. 

  14. Build a treehouse. 

  15. Plant flowers or veggies in your yard. 

  16. Have a weed pulling competition. Who can pull the most? 

  17. Search for a four leaf clover. 

Indoor Fun 

  1. Hide pennies throughout your house and have the kids find them.

  2. Play dress up.

  3. Let the kids put on a show — this is especially a great idea for any kid who had an upcoming performance canceled or postponed. 

  4. Learn magic tricks. 

  5. Design a scavenger hunt. Bonus: make the prize an activity book featuring your kid’s favorite character for even more (unsupervised) fun after the hunt. 

  6. Go camping in the living room. 

  7. Play with shaving cream. Pro-tip: Spray some on the table to practice letter formation and sanitize the surface. 

  8. Play with glow sticks in the bathtub.  

  9. Have an indoor picnic. 

  10. Play indoor volleyball with a balloon. 

  11. Play “The Floor is Lava.” 

  12. Make a magnet activity board with a cookie sheet. 

Game Fun

  1. Play hide-and-seek. 

  2. Play sardines. Bonus: This is a fun way to get even closer to the little people it’s impossible to social distance from. 

  3. Play board games.

  4. Learn a new card game. Ever played Trash?  

  5. Play classic outdoor games: Tag, Mother May I? or Red Light Green Light. 

  6. Play (or build) with dominos. 

  7. Play 20 Questions. 

  8. Play marbles. Or take things up a notch and build a marble course with pool noodles. 

  9. Play a video game as a family. You can play a multiplayer game or help each other work through a strategy game. 

  10. Make your own mancala game. 

  11. Play an improv game. 

Active Fun

  1. Have a dance party. Pro tip: Pause the music at random intervals to make a freeze dance game out of it. From my experience, this is a can’t-miss idea with elementary school kids.

  2. Train for a 5K as a family. Find out how to get started here. 

  3. Learn a new yoga pose everyday. 

  4. Practice your favorite sport. 

Crafty Fun 

  1. Tape butcher paper to the floor and let the kids be creative. Think: stickers, crayons, markers and washable paint. 

  2. Make a paper doll chain. 

  3. Create robots or abstract art with recycling bin contents. 

  4. Play with stickers. Pro tip: make a dot-to-dot with small stickers to help preschoolers learn to write their name. 

  5. Make playdough. 

  6. Make slime. 

  7. Make silhouettes. 

  8. Make birdseed ornaments.

  9. Make an I-Spy bottle filled with colored rice and small objects. 

  10. Make sculptures out of toothpicks and mini marshmallows.

  11. Make a paper mache sculpture. 

  12. Make friendship bracelets. 

Creative Fun 

  1. Make a drum set with household items. 

  2. Build a card house. 

  3. Build a couch cushion fort or a tent compound with chairs and bed sheets. 

  4. Build with your kid’s favorite building toy. Think: LEGOS, good old-fashioned wooden blocks, magnetic tiles. 

  5. Freeze some toys in ice, then be an excavator to get them out. 

  6. Work on a stop-go animation short film. 

  7. Decorate your family car and have a parade around the neighborhood. 

Enrichment Fun

  1. Have a Drop Everything and Read Day complete with piles of books and comfy pallets. Connect with CALS.org to check out electronic content. 

  2. Make paper airplanes and test their air-worthiness. 

  3. Read a chapter book as a family then watch the movie. 

  4. Find a kid-friendly podcast to listen to during quiet time. We are loving Pinna around here, and they are currently offering a free two-month membership. 

  5. Teach your kid one new chore a week. Here’s a list of age-appropriate tasks. 

  6. Play hangman. 

  7. Make and play your own Mad Libs. 

  8. Write and illustrate a story. 

  9. Make sail boats and race them. 

  10. Do a cool science experiment. 

  11. Do a puzzle. 

  12. Learn one new word in a foriegn language every day.  

Volunteering Fun 

  1. Sort toys that your kids have grown out of into the donation pile. Check out more ideas for ways to help out in our community.  

  2. Sort clothes that your kids have grown out of into a donation pile. 

  3. Write a note to a friend. 

  4. Have kids write down the grocery list for the week. 

  5. Send a care package to a relative living in a nursing home or assisted living facility. 

  6. Let a friend borrow a book or board game and make a special trip to drop it on their porch. 

Quality Fun

  1. Have one-on-one time with each kid. 

  2. Video chat with long-distance relatives and friends.

  3. Send a video message to your child’s teacher with updates on what you’ve been learning.