Family Isolation Activities
‘Family Fun In A Tin’
I have been busy putting together some fabulous, easy activities for families to try at home to promote learning and support all areas of development.
Below is a list of activities to promote family engagement and well being.. so much learning will emerge as you play these games and shared physical experiences (pro-social behaviour) release dopamine and serotonin. Enjoy!
Instructions
- Print off the sheet and cut out each activity, fold them in half and place them in a special tin.
- Every day choose 3 or 4 fun activities as a family.
- Watch the videos here or on YouTube to find out more!
- Further resources on each of the activities is available below.
Welcome – an introduction to the concept
Activities covered in this video:
Sorting socks – Great for mathematical concepts.
Make a shaker – Find a bottle or tub and fill with rice or dried beans to make a musical instrument.
Hide and Seek – Great for social bonding and fun to play in the garden.
Part 2 – Family isolation activities
Activities covered:
Disco Day
Torch Dancing
Paper Ball
Part 3 – Family isolation activities
Activities covered:
Simon Says
Egg and Spoon
Skipping
Part 4 – Family isolation activities
Activities covered:
Gym Time Sock
Puppets
Catch the Bubbles
Part 5 – Family isolation activities
Activities covered:
Singing
Hopscotch
Wind Chimes
Part 6 – Family isolation activities
Activities covered:
Birdwatching
Hot and Cold
Family Yoga
Part 7 – Family isolation activities
Activities covered:
Cleaning Time
Fortune Telling
Junk Modelling
Part 8 – Family isolation activities
Activities covered:
Cat’s Cradle
Family Reflections
Tape Shape
Part 9 – Family isolation activities
Activities covered:
Family Band
What’s Outside
Ball Skills
Choreographer
Part 10 – Family isolation activities
Activities covered:
Dressing Up
Blow the Ball
Indoor Den Building
Part 11 – Family isolation activities
Activities covered:
Board Games
Floor is Lava
Can you find?
Part 12 – Family isolation activities
Activities covered:
Balloon Lava
Whisking
Baking Fun
Part 13 – Family isolation activities
Activities covered:
Dinner Party
Den Building
Planting/Gardening
Part 14 – Family isolation activities
Activities covered:
Obstacle Course
Target Practice
What’s Inside
Part 15 – Family isolation activities
Activities covered:
Pots and Pans
Chair Dance
Further Resources on Activities
Further resources that may help to assist you with the activitives mentioned in the videos are listed below:
Choose a leader and play the game, watch the video to find out how to play. Introduce some tricky age-appropriate skills; balance on one leg….jump up and down 10 times etc. Skills: Listening, attention, body mapping, leadership, interaction, co-ordination, prosocial behaviour, communication, language.
A useful video resource for Simon says
Make a fortune teller, use the video below to show you how. On the descriptions add some physical skills; balance a book on your head and walk, do 2 press ups etc. Skills: Dexterity, counting, creativity, physical skills, language skills.
Skills: Well being and mindfulness, listening, observation, identification, communication, language.
Ask everyone to leave the room and hide an item, the other person/people must try and locate it… far away=cold, near=hot.
Skills: Language, listening skills, vestibular sense.
Try and do this activity every day as a family, perhaps before mealtimes. Use the choreography on my video to inspire you to create your own.
Skills: Physical Skills, co-ordination, control, musicality, balance, rhythm, shared experiences.
Empty your cupboards and place all the pots and pans (no breakables) on the floor with wooden spoons, spatulas, whisks etc and create your own ‘drum and base’…
Skills: manipulative skills, rhythm, musicality, stamina, control, co-ordination, self-efficacy, pro-social behaviour.
Skills: dexterity, measuring, mathematical, upper body strength, knowledge of the world, curiosity, stamina, creativity.
Skills: Balance, control, coordination, mathematical concepts.
Introduce a skipping rope and encourage your child to skip; start with it on the floor and ask them to jump over, then to partner skipping and eventually lead to solo skipping.
Skills: coordination, balance, dexterity, language, self-efficacy, determination, perseverance, stamina.
Skills: expressive arts, creativity, stamina, physical skills, self-efficacy, language, rhythm, musicality.
Skills: Stamina, physical skills, coordination, language, competition, control.
Skills: Body mapping, body Management, control, coordination, balance, listening, attention., flexibility, wellness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKmRB2Z3g2s
Skills: Coordination, mathematical concepts, control, precision, hand/eye coordination, competition, self-control.
Choose an evening to create a dinner party with your family, candles, napkins, cutlery, best crockery. You may even wish to dress up in your finery! Play some background classical music to add to the ambience.
Skills: Personal and health care, school readiness, dexterity, self-efficacy.
Make one or two evenings in the week a Disco evening…create a playlist of everyone’s favourite songs (use radio edits where necessary)…no rules just dance…add equipment. Learn a routine together as a family. Skills: physical skills, musicality, rhythm, co-ordiantion, creativity, balance, control, release of endorphins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Jf7YaT4ywk&t=141s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmySGc6fm68
If you have access to an outdoor space, create a den using twigs, branches, cloths etc.. you may wish to have a picnic there too.
Skills: Problem Solving, outdoor play, creativity, language, adaptability, coordination, physical skills.
Try singing some songs together, you may wish to introduce a round, one person sings Londons Burning, on the ‘fetch the engine’ the next person starts… it often ends with a giggle!
Skills: shared experience/pro-social behaviour, language, vocabulary, communication, rhythm, musicality.
Skills: Spatial awareness, vestibular and proprioceptive sense, shared experiences, being still, taking turns, anticipation.
If you have some instruments around the home, use them otherwise make/create your own, see the video for inspiration. Start with copying each other, repeat your child’s sounds, then introduce a rhythm or singing.
Skills: Musicality, rhythm, language, dexterity, listening skills, problem-solving, mathematical concepts.
My friend Olly… try Body percussion:
Skills: Manipulation skills, dexterity, coordination, language, control, stamina, endurance.
This game has been played for decades and is a family favourite. Chalk or masking tape out the number grid, choose your potatoes and follow the instructions in the video.
Skills: Control, precision, coordination, balance, stamina, counting, language, endurance, vestibular sense.
Skills: listening, language, vocabulary, competition, coordination, observation, engagement.
Skills: Coordination, balance, control, language, competition, determination.
Skills: Deep breathing, upper body control, competition, physical skills, endurance, stamina, language.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBwIU9G-mxU
Skills: Listening, attention, problem-solving, physical skills, balance, coordination.
Skills: Sensory skills, spatial reasoning, memory, language, vocabulary, dexterity.
http://www.mykidsadventures.com/shoebox-projects/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyJrsGrkRjc
Skills: emotional development, wellness, listening, sharing, attention, concentration.
Skills: conservation, wellness, attention, concentration, focus, eye tracking.
Skills: mathematical concepts, observations, dexterity, ordering, patterns.

Create a challenging obstacle course in the home, including rolling, crawling, jumping, balancing, etc.
Skills: Physical skills, adaptability, problem-solving, competition, mathematical concepts, proprioceptive sense and vestibular sense (balance and control), language skills, positional vocabulary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyZPr-NV2kc
If you have indoor plants, ask your children to help you water them. Keep the seeds from any fruit and plant them in a tub, with some soil, once they start to sprout remove the lid and watch them grow; apples, oranges, tomatoes, avocado, pineapple. etc. If potatoes are starting to sprout, plant them in some soil 15 cm deep and wait…
Skills: Dexterity, language, vocabulary, knowledge of the world, curiosity. problem solving.
Using resources from around the home, create a den; sheets, pegs, blankets, etc… take a torch inside and make it a reading den.
Skills: dexterity, problem-solving, creativity, physical skills, communication, language, reading, listening, spatial awareness.
Skills: physical skills, body mapping, language, vocabulary.
Watch the video with James Corden – play your child’s favourite music and try and copy their dance moves. Ensure the space is a safe space.
Skills: School readiness, self-aware, mathematical concepts, physical skills, health and wellbeing.
Using elastic, wool or string cut a length of 50-60cm, tie it together, then follow the instructions on the video.
Skills: Manipulation skills, dexterity, control, language, creativity, expression
Skills: Balance, Physical Skills, control, coordination, language, listening, attention.
Using odd socks, tape, buttons, pens and glue make a sock puppet, give them a name and perform a play with your puppets
Skills: creativity, expression, dexterity, mathematical concepts, determination, engagement, language, vocabulary.
Introduce Camille Saen Saintes – aquarium to the activity
Skills: Creativity, dexterity, hand/eye coordination, counting, balance, control.
Skills: Creativity, dexterity, engagement, language, vocabulary, manipulative skills.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owJB-UWvzwg
Skills: writing skills, dexterity, manipulative skills, language, fine motor movement.
Skills: Creativity, dexterity, wellness, co-ordination, working together
Skills: Dexterity, rhythm, musicality, pro-social behaviour, determination, language, wellness.