Fun and Creative Projects for the Whole Family While at Home

Whether it’s rainy and grey outside or something unexpected occurs, there are days when we simply have to spend time at home. And even though alone time is crucial for expressing your creativity and inspiration, spending some quality time with your family is just as important. As a matter of fact, nothing can really replace the time we spend with our families, as it’s one of the best ways to create memories which last forever. And this is especially true if you have children.

If your children are young, you probably already spend a lot of time with them. But what happens if your children are older, or teenagers who would rather spend their time with their friends? Carving out family time might seem like quite a challenge, but in fact it is easier than you think! Let’s learn how to make the best out of our stay at home days and do things together that will be inspiring for everyone in the family!

Family bonding – A chance no parent should miss!

Think of staying at home as a chance to bond with your kids. Family bonding will provide great benefits for everyone, not just parents. Here are some of the positive outcomes each of you can gain from spending time together indoors:

The importance of teamwork

 Whether it’s doing some household chore together, or building a fort, or working on some art project together, children see that teamwork makes the work more fun and effective. This way they learn how collaboration works, and that when you have a shared goal, it’s easier to reach it.

A feeling of security

Families whose members don’t have strong connections tend to weaken a child’s sense of security in the world. When you think about it, the family should represent a comfort zone children can return to after their ‘wild adventures’ and explorations in the world outside. So, when the internal links that connect the family are weak and the parent-guardian shield fails to protect, this may cause a feeling of insecurity and lack of confidence. This is why family time and working on building strong family links is very important when raising children.

Improve social, logical and creative skills

It’s no news that as children grow up, they learn how to interact with the outside world by observing and imitating the way their parents communicate. So when you organize bonding time, you kind of model the behaviour that is expected from children when they grow up. When you invest time in creating and scheduling bonding activities and then stick with them, it shows your children the worth you are putting onto the family. When they see that you are committed to the family time, they unconsciously start regarding the family as very important.

 At the same time, depending on the activities during family time, they develop their skills, so make sure the activities you plan are useful and fun at the same time.

Eliminate disagreements and work on mutual respect

We’ve all been there, complaining that kids nowadays don’t listen to our instructions, they don’t talk about things and throw tantrums whenever they can. Bonding time will give you the chance to establish a good quality connection with your children and develop mutual respect. Teamwork activities will provide your family an opportunity to listen to each other, and communicate in an open and free manner. 

Develop trust and support among children

Everyone knows that children who grow up in healthy, interconnected families are more likely to trust others, and look at the world in a positive manner. On the other hand, children who are raised in families who are based on mistrust and exhibit inattention to each other may lead to a negative look on the outside world. This may lead to developing anxiety and constant worrying. So, let’s all agree that family bonding time is a crucial aspect of a child’s upbringing.

 Create art whenever possible!

Explore yours and your children’s artistic side and give them the chance to embrace it. Any artistic activity will do the trick, whether it’s painting, drawing or just about any type of crafts. Collaborative creation might surprise you and lead to some brilliant art pieces! Kids love exploring the many ways to express themselves, so here are a few suggestions to keep them busy.

Painted rock art

You can find rocks anywhere, and the best thing about them is that they come in many shapes, colours and sizes and you can find them anywhere.

All you need is some acrylic paints or white paint pens, and let the creativity out! You and your kids can create a family portrait or write inspirational quotes, the possibilities are endless!

 Make your own terrarium

There are many benefits of keeping a terrarium at home. Find a glass jar and gather the family around. Your kids will love to spend time creating their own mini tropical jungle. Besides, this would be an excellent chance to teach them the basic principles of planting and how the water cycle works. And the best part? Your terrarium will last for months if done properly, and it doesn’t require too much care, which might be ideal for those who don’t have a green thumb. To make your life easier, order one of those terrarium kits so you have all the necessary items in one place. You can opt for a larger or a smaller one and you can choose to keep it close or open.

Wall and door decorations

There are many ways you can add life to the walls and doors in the house. Whether that is a collage made out of coloured paper in different shapes, or you decide to use real leaves or other nature’s findings to make unique compositions on the walls or rich, colourful door wreaths, the array of options is never-ending. The kids will love spending time putting out different shapes and putting it all together.

Create a family tree

Children are always interested in getting to know more about their roots, so what would be more fun than this hands-on-project? There are many ways you can create a family tree, but this one where each family member leaves their finger print will bring a touch of uniqueness, originality and turn it into a one of a kind decoration. It’s not only fun and engaging, it’s a super important history lesson!

Origami

Children love origami, since you can make basically anything with just one piece of paper or a few in different colours. Start with the easiest, and work your way up with more and more complicated origami shapes. It’s brilliant and fun for any age! Afterwards, you can even make a collection at home, or kids can play with them. This origami kit comes with plenty of paper and an instructional book which will provide countless hours of DIY and fun!

Photography

Teach your kids the art of photography and then exhibit their best photos some place anyone can see them. You can even give them the opportunity to ‘host’ an exhibition and pretend they are famous photographers.

 Bubble painting

A creative twist to the ‘ordinary’ painting, bubble painting is super easy and a fun activity for the whole family. Get straws, blow bubble-paint mixture through them onto a paper and there it is – art!

3 more fun ideas for the whole family!

Have you heard of the saying: families who play together, stay together? Since quality time with our family is vital when building strong relationships, let’s find out which activities will help us create memories that last a lifetime.

1.Cook together

After you pick a recipe and do the grocery shopping, gather the family around, give each one something to do and enjoy seeing them carrying out the task joyfully. Kids love ‘playing’ with food, so asking them to help you out in the kitchen is an excellent opportunity to spend some time with them. Just make sure you don’t ask for things which may be too difficult for them, because then they might feel discouraged, and you don’t want to turn a pleasant experience into a mess you can’t clean afterwards

2. Play games

It’s no surprise that board and guessing games gather the whole family. Games which involve a lot of motion or mutual help promote a feeling of closeness. Or you can invest in a big many-piece puzzle, and enjoy each moment spent with your partner and children

3. Watch films and read stories together

Books and films are two different worlds which allow people to transport to imaginary places and learn new things. These two are excellent activities that can include the whole family. They say that reading a book to a family shows children that you consider this activity as important, and that they will too as they grow up.

When the family gets together, magic happens!

There is an array of creative ways to gather the family for some bonding time. The list of engaging activities to do while staying at home is endless. Encourage your family to spend time together by choosing fun things that would include and be appealing for everyone. It may be a challenge at first, but it will become easy in no time. While money can’t buy you happiness, spending time with the ones you love is always a great investment!