What do you do with busy kids during the South African Coronavirus lockdown? This is not something I ever would have thought would have happened, at least not in my lifetime. I thought I would compile a list of activity and arts and crafts blogs that you can do at home with your kids during this period. Keep the kids busy and active and yourself a little sane.

Here are 21 blogs for 21 days of isolation:

1. Spray painting fun with food colouring – https://clamberclub.com/spray-painting-fun-with-food-colouring/

If you need a great activity to keep your children entertained, then this is the one! My children just loved spraying the food colouring and water mixture onto large pieces of paper (and all over the garden!) and watching it drip down the page into interesting patterns.

2. Cork and cotton bud painting – https://clamberclub.com/cork-and-cotton-bud-painting/

Cotton bud and cork painting is wonderful and a great way to help develop your child’s fine motor skills. The fine ‘pinch’ grip required to hold the bundle of ear buds in place and to move it around the paper to paint, is ideal for building the smaller muscles of the hand.

3. Decorate your own party cups! – https://clamberclub.com/decorate-your-own-party-cups/

I had some standard white plastic cups in the cupboard, and I decided to try and ‘insectify’ them. I found some stickers and a permanent marker, and off I went. It only took me about 15 minutes…and I was pleasantly pleased by the results of such a simple craft, not to mention the kids loved using them.

4. Learning about shapes – make a star picture – https://clamberclub.com/learning-about-shapes-make-a-star-picture/

Teach shapes at home. Take your child on a fun journey of learning and understanding the different shapes all around us. Here we show you how you can make your own star picture.

5. Textured sock snakes  – https://clamberclub.com/textured-sock-snakes/

Do you have odd pairs of socks lying around in the house? I always have odd socks in the ironing basket. Why not make a textured toy for your little one with all the socks? You don’t need to be a pro with sewing, it is really easy and quick to make this snake. Here we take you through the easy steps to make your own sock snake.

6. Creative play: Tower building made simple! – https://clamberclub.com/creative-play-tower-building-made-simple/

Not only does it encourage a child’s imagination to take shape, it also meets developmental needs and norms which toddlers are busy learning about from the world surrounding them. It encourages the use of their perceptual skills as they figure out how to create a stack/tower construction boxes. Here is what you need.

7. Holiday messy play ideas – https://clamberclub.com/7-holiday-messy-play-ideas/

break out the messy play ideas for the children! Sensory messy play, along with art and crafts messy play, is so engaging and fun!

8. Funky noodles – https://clamberclub.com/funky-noodles/

Do it yourself handy crafts, an easy way to entertain your little one’s at home. Today we decided that painting pasta tubes, threading and making necklaces, was the perfect fun activity.

9.  Farm time fun for toddlers and pre-schoolers – https://clamberclub.com/farm-time-fun-toddlers-preschoolers/

Here are some fun quick and easy activities to do at home with your toddler or preschooler that are all inspired by the farmyard.

10. Texture hoop for tummy time  – https://clamberclub.com/texture-hoop-tummy-time/

There are two words that a new mom is introduced to, two little words that form the base for your baby’s strength and milestones to be reached, such as head control and crawling. These words are…tummy time. Disguise tummy time with a fun homemade activity, of a textured hula hoop.

11. 4 Homemade tactile toys for baby – https://clamberclub.com/4-homemade-tactile-toys-for-baby/

You don’t need to go and buy a lot of expensive toys to stimulate your baby. I am going to give you a few homemade ideas which are easy to make from goodies you might have at home.

12. How to make water colour paint – https://clamberclub.com/how-to-make-water-colour-paint/

We absolutely love painting in our home! We paint just about every day. Water paints are great especially with smaller children, they are relatively easy to clean up and there is far less mess than acrylic paints. We decided to combine our two activities – making and painting and we made homemade water colour paints.

13. Balloon Painting – https://clamberclub.com/balloon-painting/

Painting with balloons is a great activity for kids to explore their creativity and imagination and a perfect way to get creative outdoors. It also makes for a rewarding sensory activity as children use their hands to manipulate the paint and balloons to create patterns and prints onto paper.

14. Make your own Baby Shakers – https://clamberclub.com/make-baby-shakers/

So rather than buying yet another rattle from the shops, I decided to release my inner creative child and make some homemade shakers for my baby to play with. This was such a fun activity and I could have honestly gone on making these for hours! Rattles and shakes are brilliant for stimulating your baby’s senses, visual tracking and auditory stimulation and can be made so simply using items from around the house.

15. Finger Puppet Fun – https://clamberclub.com/finger-puppet-fun/

Puppets enhance storytelling (they help bring the story to life); they encourage social skills (children have to learn to take turns and listen to each other); they help with language development and, if you allow your children to make their own puppets, they encourage your child’s creativity too. I thought that an easy and fun option would be to make finger puppets.

16. How to improve your child’s core strength – https://clamberclub.com/how-to-improve-your-childs-core-strength/

The good news is that we can develop the core muscles from the start (tummy time as an infant) and the best way for a toddler and pre-schooler is through play! Here are a few exercises that you can do with your kids at home.

17. Obstacle course adventures – https://clamberclub.com/obstacle-course-adventures/

Obstacle courses are great fun for kids and can keep them occupied for hours, especially if you make them part of the planning and preparations. They absolutely love being involved in this process. Obstacle courses encourage problem solving and lots of physical movement which is often lacking in today’s sedentary lifestyle. Here are some of the things that were lying around the house that my husband used for our obstacle course.

18. Baby exercises for happy healthy babies!  – https://clamberclub.com/baby-exercises-for-happy-healthy-babies/

At birth, your baby moves spontaneously. He does not actively control his movements. As your baby develops, he will gain the ability to control his movements and to interact with you and the environment. Your baby will be experimenting with movement as he grows. He will work on different skills at different ages. You as a parent can do many different activities while playing with your baby to encourage movement experiences. Here are a few exercises that you can do at home.

19. Vegetable gardens: fun, messy and productive!! – https://clamberclub.com/vegetable-gardens-fun-messy-and-productive/

Making a veggie garden is a wonderful sensory, messy play activity for children. They get to see how vegetables grow by looking after them and watering them, and they can enjoy picking the vegetables and eating them when they are ready. Children of all ages can get involved and you can make it a family affair…quality family time in the mud!!

20. 6 Fun tin games for the holidays – https://clamberclub.com/6-fun-tin-games-for-the-holidays/

Tins are items we always have in our house and can be used in many different ways. Here are a few games that you can try with your littles ones:

21. 35 Activities to do With Your Baby – https://clamberclub.com/35-activities-to-do-with-your-baby/