Fun Indoor Activities for Kids

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At IZZAROO™, we believe in the importance of play. When parents play with their children, it creates a strong bond and memories that will last a lifetime.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics' "play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength". It is so important for a child’s development and for learning life skills.

Throughout history, children have spent hours playing with their parents, siblings and friends. It is a cherished part of childhood. Sadly, the amount of time that children spend playing each day has gone down considerably.

We're hoping to change that! Here are some ideas on how to play with kids indoors that will make for some fun, lasting memories.  If playing outdoors is more your thing, check out our blog post on fun ways to play outside with kids, in any kind of weather.

HAVE A DANCE PARTY

There's nothing like a silly dance party to bring a family together. Our song choices range from new school to old school and our outfits range from silly to even more silly, depending on our mood. Here are some clips of us dancing like no one (but you) is watching.

PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD

Let's face it, it's not easy getting the kids to eat healthy. My theory is, if you make it fun enough, they just might eat it. Here is a fun activity to keep the kids entertained and eating healthy all summer. Read all about it in the blog post.

 

OLD SCHOOL GAMES

Chris and I wanted to share the love of some of our favorite childhood games with the kids this summer. They are loving classic games like Connect 4, UNO, Twister, Hungry Hungry Hippos, and Operation!

 

NEW SCHOOL GAMES
There are some hilarious new games on the market now. Pie Face is one of them and has been a huge hit for our family. We have the single and double version! As you can see, Chris showed no mercy on me.

For Father's Day, we got Chris a game of Bean Boozled. Spin the wheel to pick a colored jelly bean that is either delicious (strawberry, orange, lime, etc.) or disgusting (dead fish, spoiled milk, barf, etc.) Whenever we have family/friends over, we like to treat them to a game of Bean Boozled!

BUILD  A FORT

We love the simple pleasures a fort can bring to our kids, giving them a place they can call their own. We had fun getting creative with this Discovery Kids Fort Kit. It can be made into a house, rocket ship, igloo, etc. So much fun!

HAVE A TEA PARTY

The kids love real tea parties for the apple juice and cookies. There are some cute kids ceramic tea sets that would work well for this, or you can use what you have, like us.

 

Zoey also loves playing tea party with her rice/pop corn sensory bin. The tin or plastic tea sets are great for this.

SENSORY BINS

Along with the rice/corn bin, we also love playing with water beads. They come super tiny and when submerged in water...

  

they G------R------O------W. 

 

We discovered a few things, 1. They bounce! 2. The longer you keep them in water, the more they grow. We managed to get ours to marble sized. They grew a little more after this photo was taken. 

A small pack of water beads comes with about 20,000 beads so be ready for LOTS of play time with these.

READ SOME BOOKS

We love visiting our local library and stocking up on new books. Recently, some of our favorites have been this National Geographic Jokes book and this Atlas of Adventures book.

 

GO ICE SKATING

Being born and raised in Virginia, I have some of the best memories ice skating with my friends and family. It's hard to come by outdoor skating rinks in Southern California but we do have some fun indoor rinks. This one even has a fun seal to sit and push - perfect for these two.

 

PLAY DRESS UP

Let their imagination run wild as they put on any random thing around the house.

And...don't forget to play along.

TRAMPOLINE PARK

We love our local trampoline park for the jumping, but mostly... 

for the sliding!

There you have it, fun ways to play with kids indoors. I hope this inspires you to #PLAYmore! If playing outdoors is more your thing, check out our blog post on fun ways to play outside with kids, in any kind of weather.

Have any ideas we haven't mentioned?  Leave a us a comment below and we'll be sure to try it out and share.

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