As a Melbournian, I have become quite familiar with the walls of my house and the sound of Daniel Andrews’ voice echoing the words “lockdown”. I don’t disagree that lockdowns protect the community and you will never catch me at an anti-mask protest. I am, however, completely fed up with lockdowns. My six year old daughter is, too. I could get into a huge rant about the pros and cons of lockdown but I’ve already had my emotional breakdown for today so instead, I’m going to hit you with my ABC of Lockdown Activities to keep your little rascals entertained… as much as they can be without social interaction.
A is for Art Show
Get the kids drawing, painting, making pictures outside with flowers and sticks…. And then let them give you a presentation of all their work once they finish. They’ll love it!
B is for Bowling
Homemade bowling- using anything you can! Think bottles, toilet rolls, wickets… get creative or let the kids decide!
C is for Cooking
D is for Dino Dig (backyard)
Grab some little toys, bury them around the backyard and draw a map for the kids to find them! This one is a big hit in my house…
E is for Egg and Spoon Race
Simple but effective! If you want to change it up, why not try a sack race using a sleeping bag or a three legged race.
F is for Find The Flower
Make a list of colours and go for a stroll, see if you can find flowers of every colour on the list.
G is for Gardening
H is for Homemade Cards + Handwritten Letters
I is for Icey Treasure Hunt
I love doing this for my 6 year old, it’s probably one of her favourite rainy day activities! Gather some little toys together, place them into a large container (that will fit in your freezer) and fill it with water. Put it in the freezer overnight and in the morning, you’ll have a frozen treasure hunt for the kids!
J is for Jumping Jacks + aerobics!
K is for Kareoke
You don’t need a karaoke machine or a microphone, a hairbrush and the radio will do. Remember, all of this can be one big playful adventure for the kids.
L is for Lunch on the Lawn
M is for Mousetrap
If you have empty toilet rolls or kitchen rolls or old wrapping paper rolls, why not make your own DIY mousetrap! You can use anything you can find… just make sure you don’t have a cat!
N is for Neighbours
Do you know your neighbours? How about the nice lady up the street? Whether you do or you are yet to introduce yourself, a great lockdown activity is sending letters to and from your neighbours. Kids love to send letters, and people love to receive letters from kids! Why not send drawings back and forth?
O is for “Old Shoe” Garden
Gather your old shoes, some soil, some seeds and you have a little old shoe garden! I have done this with my daughter and we both enjoyed it. We especially enjoyed seeing our beautiful flowers sprout!
P is for Play Outside
Q is for Queens and Kings
Queens and kings, cops and robbers, Kath & Kim…. Get creative! Dress the kids up in your clothes and makeup, let them have fun!
R is for Rainbow Road (Footpath but road sounded better!)
This is an oldie but chalk and footpaths is always a winner!
S is for Secret Spy
Tell your minis they have to watch you very closely throughout the day because you are going to do three very strange things. Whatever those things may be is all up to you but this one will keep them quiet and on the ball all day!
T is for TikTok Dances
U is for Ultra Mini Golf Championships
How many awesome mini golf shots can you set up in your house? All you need is some mugs, something to hit and something to hit with. After all, nobody is expecting you to go out and purchase a set of clubs for lockdown.
V is for Video Games and Movies
Everyone needs a day off…
W is for Walks
X is for… nothing. Spend a day finding an activity that begins with X that’s appropriate for kids
Y is for Yarn
I used to use yarn, string and wool for so many different things as a kid. Setting up obstacles, attempting to knit…. Kids are imaginative, they’ll figure it out.
Z is for Zzzzzz
And today, we rest.
Bec The Rebel 