Indoor activities to keep kids busy

You can’t beat putting pen (or washable crayon) to paper, as a tried and tested method of keeping kids entertained. Now, I know some of you (particularly those who, like me, having energetic, Ironman obsessed boys) are thinking, "but my kid would never sit and just draw".
Don’t be discouraged!
Grab a large sheet of paper (the rolls of plain paper from Ikea are ideal) or an old cardboard box. Then get put your child’s favourite toys, be it superheros, cars or whatever and let them get to work.
My five year old will sit for ages drawing volcanos, baddie traps, roads and so on for his figures to play on. In fact, with just a few examples, I’ll often get him labelling his pictures, giving him some purposeful writing practise too.
Trust me, drawing is so much more fun when it’s meaningful....and what’s more meaningful then drawing a deadly swamp of poop for Iron Monger to crash land in?

Whether the craze has hit, passed you by, or been there and done that, I love this idea of decorating pebbles and hiding them in public places for others to find! Grab a handful of stones, let your kids decorate them (paint, markers even glitter of you’re that way inclined) and then next time you’re out and about scatter them for other kids to find. It’s such a sweet concept and I love how it builds a community feel, whilst keeping kids entertained for nothing!

This one genuinely keeps kids busy for ages. Spread a few old towels out on the floor, add some assorted sponges and brushes etc and most importantly your kids ‘go to’ toys. Whether it’s Barbies having a hair wash or cars having a car wash, kids love washing stuff! This also has the added bonus that it will get the playdoh (another great indoor activity) out from under their fingernails. Sadly, the only thing kids don’t seem to like cleaning is the dishes....

If you’re not adverse to a bit of mess, and you have hard flooring as opposed to carpet, then you can’t go far wrong with dough. Whether you cough up the bucks for playdoh, make your own (see Click Here to Buy) or even stick to just simple salt dough, malleable means hands are kept busy. The key to this is preparation. Agree where they’ll be using it (sat up the dining table or on a tablecloth spread over the kitchen floor works well) and prepare the area with everything they need. Safety scissors, plastic knives etc are great for supporting fine motor skills if you don’t have the fancy playdoh sets.

Four, couldn’t be simpler activities that won’t fail to keep kids busy indoors. What would you add as your favourite indoor activity?