Spice Up the Activities with Your Children During Quarantine

Keep Your Kids Entertained from Home! (by Age Group)

As a parent, you may have a good list of great activities to do with your children during this coronavirus outbreak. Are you out of games and things to do? But your kids’ boredom is not one of them! I wrote to you here not only things I’m doing with my kids to preserve your sanity,  but incorporate baby sign language into activities by age, so you can spice it up. We scoped the internet for the best at-home activities for kids and grouped them by age. Start bonding with artistic, physical, and most importantly FUN games to keep your child’s development on track. Visual communication is one of the most important elements to reduce frustration and ease the worry during this time.

Peekaboo! (Babies)

This is one of my favorite games to play with infants. Babies absolutely enjoy this game because they have yet to develop a sense of object permanence. Object permanence is what lets us know that if an object (for example: a ball) rolls out of sight, it still exists. 

Let’s keep your child’s mind stimulated and developing with this tried and true learning activity. The best part is, you don’t need any materials! Simply cover your face with your hands and your child at this age will think you’ve disappeared. When you’re ready to reveal your face, say, “Peekaboo!” and be sure to get a smile and laugh out of your little one.

Baby Sign Language to use: MOMMY, DADDY, HAPPY

Bubble Pop Runway (Toddlers)

Although we are quarantined, it is important for your toddler to practice gross motor skills. Children at this age are just learning to walk and balance, and you do not want to hold them back from practicing these important skills. This is where

Bubble Pop Runway (Toddlers)

Although we are quarantined, it is important for your toddler to practice gross motor skills. Children at this age are just learning to walk and balance, and you do not want to hold them back from practicing these important skills. This is where a Bubble Pop Runway comes in handy!

How to Play:

1. Obtain sheets of bubble wrap – you can buy them or save them from your packages
2. Tape the sheets onto the floor to make a runway
3. Have your child walk through and pop the bubbles as they go
4. Watch them have fun! (I mean, who doesn’t love bubble wrap!)

Baby Sign Language to use: FUN, CAR, FAST, SLOW, WAIT

Hide and Seek 1,2,3’s (Preschool)

What’s better than Hide and Seek? HIDE AND SEEK + THE NUMBERS. During these times, it is important to keep your child’s mind active and encourage quick-thinking. This game does just the trick!

1. Write each letter of the alphabet on post-its
2. Hide each post-it around the house
3. Have your child search for them in the correct order

Baby Sign Language to use: WHERE?, WAIT, HIDE, FIND

Write A Story Together (Elementary School)

This activity for elementary school-aged children is the perfect blend of entertaining and educational! They can tell the story in first-person about themselves during social distancing, or tell a story about an imaginary boy or girl who is in quarantine at home with his family. Share their feelings, describe their story.All You Need:

• Pencil
• Paper
• Imagination!

If you want to make it more interesting, you can write prompts and fill up a mason jar with them so your child can choose one at random!

Sign Language to use: FAMILY, SCARED, FEELINGS, STORY, BOY, GIRL

For more hand-picked by SignShine activities, follow this link. And if you decide to try one of them, we would love to hear about you and your child’s experience with it via a shiny message!