15 At Home Spring Break Ideas For The Whole Family

This spring break is unlike any other. Usually, our family either heads south to a warm beach or plans to stay close to home, doing adventures like amusement parks or local water parks. This year, none of these are an option. Just like you are likely to be, we are under a “shelter in place” order from our Michigan governor and even if we wanted to disobey, anywhere we may hope to go is closed amid the pandemic of 2020.

So what is a mom to do when her three kids are hoping for a ‘real’ spring break?

I went scouring the internet to find inspiration of fun things to do with the kids this week that will break up the monotony of at home isolation and I wanted to share them with all my fellow quarantined mamas (and dads). So let’s get to it:

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15 stay-at-home Spring Break Ideas for your Family:

1. Scavenger Hunt

Create an indoor or outdoor scavenger hunt tailored to your kiddo’s age and ability. For the little ones include clip art or pictures of the items you want them to find. For the older kiddos give them more difficult items or use clues to find what they are looking for. If the weather is bad, have them search for items in the house, like a certain color construction paper or marker or an empty toilet paper roll (we all have those now). Extra tip: have all the items they find lead to creating a craft!

Check out these free printables from the blog Must Have Mom.

2. Paper Bag Photo Journal

The tweens in your home often are get overlooked in these types of articles. I know, because I have one and keeping her engaged is HARD WORK. Lately, she’s been in to playing around with my older DSLR camera and I thought this could be a great way to give her a day (or week) long project.

Give them a camera or their phone, tablet, etc and have them create a photo journal based on a theme. It could be the pets they love, the family, or nature then use brown paper bags to create a one of a kind journal to keep it all in. Simplify this with little ones by having them color pictures on white card stock of their favorite theme and adding them to the journal. Check out the blog This Mamas Love for a full DIY breakdown.

3. DIY Spa Day

Let’s face it, we could all use a little extra pampering these days. Why not create a fun spa day at home? Facials using DIY sugar scrubs and manis and pedis create a fun experience to relax and just enjoy. Of course you MUST use cucumbers for your eyes and listen to relaxing spa music too!

Check out these edible (thus safe for kids) DIY facial masks on the website Fancy Nancy World. (adding a Fancy Nancy story to the mix makes this even more fun!)

4. Field Day

Ok, field day is typically a summer thing but hey, a girl can dream right? I remember how much I loved field day as a kid and with no return in sight for school this may be the only one they get this year.

Check out this blog post from PTO Today with age-based ideas for fun field day games. Then go grab this cute bean bag/ring set from Amazon for lots of ways to play:

6. Craft Day

Is there anything more fun than getting creative and messy? Planning a craft day using what you have on hand in your house can create a lot of fun (and time-consuming) things to do! And, you can tailor crafts to meet each age group’s needs. Check out these kid-friendly ideas from Easy Peasy and Fun and these tween craft ideas from Happiness is Homemade.

7. Have a bonfire and S’mores

Here’s a little secret you might not know about me. I LOVE S’mores. I love them so much that in the winter I’ve been known to make them over a gas burner or in the fireplace or microwave. So with temps starting to get mildly warmer, I am all about a great big bonfire. If it’s still chilly, grab a sleeping bag or blankets to bundle under and get to making some yummy treats. Adding some campfire songs makes this plan even better.

No place to bonfire? Check out this adorable indoor S’mores maker… on second thought, I think I need this!

8. Outdoor Roller Rink

Grab your rollerblades and create an indoor roller rink in your unfinished basement or head outside to the driveway or find an empty school parking lot and crank up the music. Bonus points if you add leg warmers and neon clothing just for fun! These are the rollerblades we purchased for our kiddos this past Christmas. The wheels light up so that is extra fun!

9. Get out and about for a nature hike

With more state and metro parks still open to the public and walking trails abounding, grab your sneakers and hit the trail for a family hike. Make it a project by creating walking sticks before heading out. Check out this tutorial the DIY Dreamer to make fabulous painted and beaded sticks.

10. Make a DIY mini-golf course

Whats says spring break fun more than a mini-golf? But if your required to avoid crowds and public places, getting to golf might be tough. UNLESS, you create your very own putt-putt golf course like this one from My Kids Adventures or this simple option from Princess Pinky Girl (see image below)

11. Geocaching

Confession time. I have never, ever, ever done this but have always wanted to try it. Why haven’t I? Honestly, I had no idea what it was!!! I had a vague idea that we were supposed to find stuff, but after watching this video at www.Geocaching.com I finally understand! Just take baby wipes and hand sanitizer with you before you launch in the fun.

12. Have a picnic

Sometimes just changing the scenery makes and ordinary lunch extraordinary. Grab yourself a picnic basket (or bag) and pack it full of goodies, spread a blanket out on the lawn or a driveway or even the living room floor and eat lunch together. Have all the kiddos pick their favorite items to add to the basket or make it a surprise situation. The Decoist has some fun ideas for mom projects to glam up this adventure. Create a DIY dropcloth blanket first for an added layer of fun.

Grab some dropcloths from amazon and get painting

13. Go Camping

I know. This is on everyone’s staycation list, but why not take it up a notch with the ultimate “glamping” experience. String white Christmas lights or Edison bulbs overhead and fill the tent or DIY fort with lots of pillows and blankets. Check out that S’mores maker from #7 and get flashlights and books and games. You can camp in your backyard, living room or basement. Get creative and make a memory the kids won’t soon forget. If you have hammocks, hang those too! It might still be chilly but hey, no mosquitos!

14. Bird Feeders and Field Journals

With birds making their spring comeback it’s a great time to build new bird feeders and nest boxes. Then create a field journal using card stock covers and plain paper to record the birds that visit. Work together as a family to research them to add information to your journal, like what they like to eat, where they live and what sound they make.

Check out this post from How We Learn where they’ve already curated some great ideas for feeders then watch this video for ideas to make recycled handmade journals.

15. Stargazing and constellations

With fewer businesses open during this time, there’s less light to interrupt your nighttime sky viewing. Grab the family for a late night of stargazing and constellation tracking. We love to use Google’s Sky Map app to find constellations. Or check out this book on Amazon from the Smithsonian. A Step-By-Step Guide to the Night Sky Teach the kids even more by visiting Wanderlust.com for their tutorial on “how to start stargazing with your kids”.

I would love to hear your ideas for staycation fun and drop a note to tell me if you tried any of the ideas shared here.

Stay safe, stay well, stay connected.

Love, Kelly

I love new friends!