50 fun things to do with the kids in lockdown

We're all spending a lot more time at home at the moment which means we're having to come up with new ways to keep the kids entertained.

While most schools are sending out work and we're inundated with lists of home education apps, there have never been more resources on hand to keep our children learning.

Carol Vorderman is offering free maths lessons, David Walliams has released 30 free audio stories and Joe Wicks has become the nation's PE teacher with his daily YouTube fitness class - for those that have stuck at it anyway.

But there's so much more that kids can benefit from too. From arts and crafts to nature trails and a whole load of Easter fun, we've got all sorts of ideas to keep kids of all ages entertained.

Some of the ideas have been shared on the popular Family Lockdown Tips & Ideas Facebook page, which has proved massively popular since launching just a few weeks ago.

Set up by mum Claire Balkind, it has already amassed more than a million members and is growing by the day.

Here's our mammoth list of activities to keep the kids engaged

1 Rainbows

You can't walk anywhere at the moment without seeing a rainbow in someone's window.

That's because families have been busy painting and drawing them as a display of togetherness and to give children something to spot while out on their walks.

But you don't have to stop at paint or crayons. Cara Ghiglieri's children Scarlett and Leo made an amazing rainbow using cardboard and scrunched up crepe paper.

Scarlett and Leo making their rainbow (Image: Manchester Evening News) 2 Den

Most parents can remember building a den as a child, usually with nothing more than a table, some cushions and a sheet. Let your child's imagination run wild as they pretend to go camping or try to keep warm inside their very own igloo.

You could always be the scary animal on the outside of the tent. And if you've got a torch don't forget to make some animal shadows too.

Hobbycraft canvas tent (Image: Manchester Evening News)

Kids of all ages would love the chance to decorate their own den. Again you could use an old sheet, or Hobbycraft is selling a Decorate Your Own Canvas Tent for £38.

It can be used inside or out, depending on the weather, and can be decorated with paints, pens, glitter, felt shapes, fabrics and more.

Or there are cardboard dens they can colour in too, including the Disney Frozen 2 Colour In Arendelle Castle, £18.

Hobbycraft canvas tent (Image: Manchester Evening News) 3 Crepe paper obstacle course

Here's where that crepe paper comes in again. Basically criss cross it from one wall to another, leaving just small gaps for the kids to climb through. See if they can make it through the course without tearing the paper.

4 Hama Beads

Children can make all sorts of designs with Hama Beads. Whether it's a Minion, an animal, or Harry Potter, there are all kinds of patterns they can copy off the internet.

Once they've created it on a plastic peg board, it's your job to iron it and make it stick together. You can easily make them into keyrings or magnets too.

A tub of 10,000 beads costs around £15 and includes two pegboards in the shape of a heart and a star. You can get lots of other sets too, from mermaid designs to glow in the dark beads.

Hama beads (Image: Manchester Evening News) 5 Illustrators

If your children like drawing there's lots of inspiration around at the moment, with illustrators offering free online tutorials to help them improve.

A popular one is #DrawWithRob, a website from author and illustrator Rob Biddulph, who's written books including Grrrrr! about a bear called Fred who loses his growl.

His videos, showing children how to create everything from a sausage dog to their very own Fred Bear, are easily accessible on his website here. Children have been sharing their finished drawings with him online using the hashtag #DrawWithRob.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 6 Pebbles

Pebble art has been quite a thing over recent years, with people decorating rocks and leaving them in parks and other places for people to find.

Given the current climate, people aren't sharing them at the moment, but that isn't stopping families having lots of fun decorating them.

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

Something as simple as felt tips does the trick on lighter rocks, with children decorating them however they want - some making funny faces out of them.

If you want them to last longer outside then you'd be better using acrylic paint coated with varnish to give an extra layer of protection.

7 Playdoh

Play-Doh is another old favourite and can keep them entertained for hours. Whether they want to make their own dinosaur, elephant, car or castle, the possibilities are endless. If you can manage not to stress about the colours being mixed together it can be a whole lot of fun. And if you haven't got any Play-Doh it's pretty simple to make your own. All you need is:

2 cups of plain flour

1 cup of salt

1 tablespoon of oil

half to 1 cup of cold water

2 drops of liquid food colouring

Mix the flour and salt then add the water, oil and food colouring. Knead the mixture well, adding a little more flour if the consistency is too wet.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 8 Wallpaper people

If you've got an old roll of wallpaper, or any other paper for that matter, lie your little one down on it and draw around them. Amazing how long they will spend colouring themselves in afterwards. They might also want to make a wallpaper mum, dad or sibling too. And why not?

We used an old wallpaper scrap and traced around my son's body. He then chose a different organ of the body each day to research, draw and stick onto the body with a key fact underneath. What's nice is this lasted over a few days so he could work more independently as he repeated the activity.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 9 Penpals and postcards

The art of letter writing seems to be making a comeback as people are forming penpal groups to write to other children.

If you want to keep it local - and make sure they're coming from a trusted group - then lots of Facebook groups have been sharing ones in their areas. Failing that you could suggest it to the parents at school to get the children writing to one another while they're off.

LOL Surprise is doing its bit to get kids writing and has launched its own BFF Pen Pal campaign. To help combat feelings of separation during social distancing, the toy brand has released a number of free postcard templates to download from its website.

The brand is also sharing regular free activity content on its social media channels including quizzes, games, colouring-in sheets, dance challenges and more. Parents can follow #BBsBoredomBusters to find new activities each day.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 10 Grow your own veg

Not only will growing your own vegetables keep the kids busy for a while, but it might save you some trips to the shop too.

Lots of retailers sell kits to get you started, such as Original Organics, Amazon, Dobies and more.

11 Potato printing

If it's good enough for Daddy Pig then it's good enough for us. Most of us have got an old potato lying at the bottom of the cupboard.

Hopefully it will still be in a fit enough state to carve a shape from to use as a paint stamp. Make some patterns and you could end up with a piece of art to treasure.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 12 Sun catchers

Another thing to help brighten our homes at this time is a sun catcher and they're relatively cheap to pick-up.

Hobbycraft has a wide range available from £1.30 each, including children's initials, unicorns, rockets, fish and more. These come with the mini paint pots too.

13 Egg decorating

You might be missing the annual Easter egg decorating competition at school - not necessarily a bad thing - but that doesn't mean you can't get doing your own designs at home.

If you don't mind using up some of your precious groceries then hard boil a couple and get creative. If not then there are plenty of craft sets you can buy with eggs to colour in and decorate. Mum and dad might have to be the judges this time.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 14 Minions

These ones were made with the insides of Kinder Eggs, but you could easily make them by colouring in or painting some toilet roll tubes yellow.

Stick-on googly eyes work a treat, or you could draw them on. Either way you'll end up with a pretty impressive Kevin or Bob.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 15 Bird box

Who doesn't like watching the birds feed in the garden, especially when there's little else happening at the moment.

Families have been busy making their own bird feeders too, using just a large four-pint milk bottle. Felt tips is all you need to colour the plastic, but people have been sticking paper, feathers and other things on to make them bright and colourful.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 16 Drive-in movie

You don't need a drive-in movie when you can make your own.

It's quite easy to turn a big cardboard box into their very own car and they can help paint it too. Stick a cushion inside, give them some movie snacks, stick a film on and there you have it.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 17 Make a clock

We've all got a bit more time on our hands so why not use it to get the kids learning how to tell the time properly - by making their own clock.

You could do it with just paper and a pin to attach the hands, or cardboard or a paper plate would do the trick.

You can make it as detailed or as simple as you like, but writing quarter past, half past, quarter to and midnight/o'clock in the relevant places will help them get the gist.

18 Treasure / nature hunt

There's all sorts of fun to be had indoors or outdoors with a treasure hunt.

Give each child a bag with a list on showing what they have to find - a leaf, a flower, a stick, a stone - you get the picture.

You could use the collected items to make a nature picture afterwards, or a leaf print.

And if you want to stay indoors then why not hide some letters or words around the house. They can find them and then use them to make words and sentences. They won't even realise they're learning.

There are loads of ideas for nature scavenger hunts from the Woodland Trust here.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 19 Fimo

Not all children are happy for their precious playdoh creations to be squashed - step forward our trusty Fimo.

They can use this modelling clay in the much the same way - to make all manner of creations - but it gets baked in the oven, so they get to keep their masterpiece forever (or until they decide to chuck it).

You can buy big packs of the stuff, containing various colours, or single packs from around £2.75.

Like with Hama Beads, these can also easily be turned into magnets and keyrings so maybe they could make some to give to friends and family when they get to see them again.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 20 Gingerbread house

You might be lucky enough to have a kit left over from Christmas - the one you never got round to making. If not you can order one for less than a fiver from eBay.

These are pretty simple so children can do most of it themselves. Simply make the icing and they can use it to stick the sweets around their creation. If they don't eat them first that is.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 21 Bug hunt

If you've got a bug lover then they'll love getting out in the garden to find some snails, slugs and any other creatures hanging around.

Collect them, maybe get a microscope to have a good look at them and set them free until your next hunt.

If you're thinking on a bigger scale, then the RSPB has a guide to making your own bug hotel here.

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

Yours could shelter anything from hedgehogs, toads and solitary bees, to ladybirds and woodlice.

If you want to find out a bit more about the creatures in your garden former BBC1 presenter Andy Johnson has been making free interactive films for primary school kids on gardens and nature.

Andy runs a one-man gardening company called Dig Your Scene in Chorlton and is encouraging youngsters to send in their work and pictures via social media.

Andy Johnson, of Dig Your Scene (Image: Manchester Evening News) 22 Sock puppets

You may already have a puppet show or some puppets you could use inside a cardboard box. If not, then get an old sock and make your own. Whether you have some stick-on googly eyes or just some scraps of paper, you can make your own character that your child will love.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 23 Hand prints

It's always lovely to get hand prints and foot prints from your little ones to capture that moment in time.

Why not get the whole family involved like Natalie Jones did here - creating a picture from the hand prints of everyone in the house. She just needs a frame big enough to fit it in now.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 24 McDonald's

There's not much you can't create with a cardboard box, but mum Anna Taggart made it extra special for her kids Noah and Mason by making their very own McDonald's drive-thru.

Using just felt tips and crayons - and even putting a speaker on the side of it - they used their Little Tikes car to pull up and make their orders.

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

Take it one step further and do the kids a homemade McDonald's Happy Meal like Coronation Street actor Alan Halsall did for his daughter Sienna.

The six-year-old was missing her McDonald's while living in lockdown, so he made his own version for her with fries, dippers and a fruit drink with a toy - and it came complete with a mini bottle of ketchup in a box labelled 'McDaddy'.

(Image: Alan Halsall Twitter) 25 Easter tree

People are decorating their Christmas trees as Easter trees - and why not.

Rabbits, eggs, chicks and more are popping up on trees, which are being pulled out of the loft and given a new lease of life this spring.

Mum Laura Bell decorated hers with three-year-old daughter Hettie, and even managed to stop her eight-month-old Sebastian from pulling the decorations off again.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 26 Easter cards

You can't beat a handmade card from the kiddies, especially if you're able to send them to relatives you might not be seeing for a while.

They can be as detailed or as basic as you like, but it's another excuse to get those hand prints and foot prints out again.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 27 Easter bonnets

It's somewhat of a tradition at nursery schools but plenty of people will be carrying it on at home this year. If you can't get to the shop to pick up a bonnet then any old hat will do.

There are lots of places where you can order Easter craft supplies online, including Hobbycraft, Amazon and The Works.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 28 Alphabet game

Now this one couldn't be simpler and it'll get them writing and practising their spellings without them even knowing.

Basically pick any subject like girls' names, boys' names or even chocolate bars and they have to write one down for each letter of the alphabet. You could even get the kids to see who can do it the fastest, if you can handle the fallout that is.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 29 Paper cups

It might not sound that interesting but there's all kinds of games you can play with paper cups.

See who can stack them the highest without them falling, see who can knock them all down with a ball.

You could have points for getting the ball inside different cups and see who can get the most, or play the child's version of beer pong where they have to drink whatever's inside the cup it lands in. Make sure you're supervising this one!

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 30 Monopoly

Yes most of us have played a game of Monopoly before, but have you ever made your own version.

Dad-of-three Steven Erskine decided to make his own local version - Poynton Monopoly - to encourage their two oldest children, Anna, 18, and nine-year-old Thomas to play it together during lockdown.

All it took was the back of a cereal box and some felt tips and it can be replicated for any area - putting in all the landmarks your children will recognise.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 31 Tea party

If you've got a few children they can enjoy a tea party together, but even only children can enjoy it with a bit of imagination.

Sarah Bicknell's daughter Millie has never wanted a party before - until this year when she wanted to celebrate her fifth birthday with friends.

Unable to do that she invited her toys along instead - giving each of them their own invitation and setting it up ready for the special day.

They enjoyed a treasure hunt in the garden and pass the parcel. We can probably guess who won the prize!

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 32 Kitchen towel decorating

You don't need a mindfulness colouring book when you've got some kitchen towel to hand.

Using fine felt tips you can colour in the dots in different colours. Who knew kitchen roll could look so good.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 33 Shadow drawing

All you need is the sun for this one, although you could always use a lamp if needs be.

Ask your child to get their favourite animals or characters out and they can easily draw around the shadows. You might get even more peace while they spend time colouring them in too.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 34 Forky

For those who don't know Forky is the star of Disney's Toy Story 4 and he's proved massively popular. So much so you can buy your own Forky craft set to play with.

But you don't have to go forking out the cash on one.

Beth Peart Hawes managed to make one with her three-year-old son Leighton, using just a normal plastic fork, pipe cleaners, googly eyes and a lolly stick for the feet  - and we have to say it looks brilliant.

Leighton with his Forky (Image: Manchester Evening News) 35 Cress heads

You probably remember making these yourself at nursery or school and kids love seeing them grow.

Simply draw silly faces on empty egg shells, fill them with soggy cotton wool balls and add the cress seeds. It won't be long before they start to sprout.

Three-year-old Otis Rison is more than happy with his creations.

Otis with his cress heads (Image: Manchester Evening News) 36 Chalk

Families have been using coloured chalks to brighten up all manner of things - including their own walls and driveways.

They're using chalk to brighten up the pavements too and to give people games like Hopscotch to play while they're walking past.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 37 Hopscotch

Talking of hopscotch, it's easy to make your own game inside too.

A bit of tape on the floor is all you need to create it indoors. Or if you'd rather protect your floors with foam numbered mats, you can buy them from Amazon here.

They have pop-out numbers, which you could use for learning with too.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 38 Colouring sheets

There are loads of colouring sheets you can print out from the internet, but why not keep it local.

Free Manchester-themed pages are available to download, print and colour in from Visit Manchester and it's urging families to share the finished products on social media using #MCRmissesyou.

There's a full Manchester colour-in map - featuring Manchester Art Gallery, the town hall and more - a Manchester Bee pattern and Manchester Bee Well Mandala.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 39 Robots

Boxes, bottles, tubes, or whatever else you have hanging around at home can be put to good use to make your very own robot.

Ronnie with his robot Silver EFox (Image: Manchester Evening News)

Betty Ankers and little brother Ronnie had fun making theirs - ending up with a rather impressive duo of Silver EFox and Gold R4B7.

You could use gold paper or foil like they did, or paint or felt tips would work on cardboard too - perhaps covering the box in plain white paper first if needed.

Betty with Gold R4B7 (Image: Manchester Evening News) 40  Table football

If you can face even more competitiveness then why not create your own table football.

It's going to be on a small scale of course, but you can easily make one with a cardboard box and either a ping pong ball or a pom pom as the football.

CBBC has its own Blue Peter guide for making one here and children have also shared photos of their own creations.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 41 Box animal / game

If you're getting an Amazon delivery then this one's super easy to replicate and your child too can become a box animal in lockdown. You could always just paint the same mouth shape on another box too.

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

But there are lots more things you can create with boxes - like this ball game where the colours around the edges of the holes match the colours of the balls that need to go inside them. Should keep those little ones busy for a while.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 42 Milk bottle elephants

It's so easy to make these elephants out of plastic milk bottles and they look so good.

Just cut the bottom off the bottle and cut arches into the back and sides to make the legs, then chop the handle so it looks like a trunk.

Cover them with glue and then stick on the crepe paper and googly eyes. You'll soon have a full family of Elmer the Patchwork Elephants to enjoy.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 43 Grass heads

If you want to make life super easy then you can buy a grass head kit from Amazon for just under £6.

But it's pretty easy to pull everything you need together yourself. You basically need an old nylon stocking, grass seeds, potting mix, a yoghurt pot to balance it on and some decorations and glue.

There are loads of online guides to making them too, like this one from Homemade Gifts Made Easy.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 44 Family tree

This one might make you a bit sad when we can't see our loved ones at the moment, but it's a nice idea to get the kids making a family tree.

This one, made by sisters Abigail and Erin, has been done as an apple tree, with the name of each relative on one of the apples. Older children could go even further back and see what they can find out about their ancestors.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 45 Pottery

Whether it's a money box or a simple ornament there are lots of pottery ideas to keep the kids busy for a while.

There are paint your own kits available for just a few pounds online from places like Hobbycraft, Amazon and The Works and if you haven't got any paint at home these come with little pots of different colours to use.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 46 Slime

If you're brave enough you might want to let the children have a go at making their own slime.

It's become hugely popular over recent years and you can find guides to making your own online, or pick up a slime making kit, which comes with everything you need inside.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 47 Sand table

You can do all sorts with a sand table - and families have been getting even more creative bringing the sand indoors during lockdown.

Rebecca Elsmore used a tuff tray and some kinetic sand - the tidier stuff - to create an ice cream parlour for son Harry.

The two-year-old was kept busy scooping up the ice cream and adding different toppings.

Others have been adding animals to their sand tables, or adding dinosaurs to create their own Jurassic adventure.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 48 Cars / garage

That sticky tape we mentioned for creating hopscotch. Well here's another great idea.

If you've got a young car lover in the family you can use it to create roads, roundabouts, you name it.

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

And if you've got a spare box hanging around, why not help them make a garage for putting the cars in too.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 49 Bath bombs

Kids don't want bubble bath these days, it's all about the bath bombs.

If you've got the ingredients they can make their own, using this handy BBC goodfood guide. They can add an essential oil of their choice - like lavender or chamomile - but it probably depends what you have in the cupboard.

Or to make things simpler you can buy a DIY kit online. The new So Bomb DIY Crystal Geode Factory kit, £19.99, lets kids create their own colour changing bath bombs and comes with bags of quartz, jade, amethyst and amber crystals to put inside their creations.

(Image: Manchester Evening News) 50 Button pictures

All you need is a felt tip and some buttons and glue for this one. Brightly coloured buttons will work best. Mum Khadija Jamous has been using them to create pictures with her own children - with the buttons used to colour dresses, musical notes, balloons and more.

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

If you've got an idea to share with us then don't forget to send it to our social media pages and send us photos of what you have been up to with the kids.