This mega list of activities for kids will keep them busy long enough for you to get some work done.

Working from home is the introvert’s dream, am I right?

We wake up to a hot pot of coffee and slowly ease into our work while the children play quietly. Some days, we walk to our local coffee shop to drink a cappuccino and take advantage of their WI-FI. Our projects wrap up in time to make an organic, home-cooked meal. Then we help our little ones with their homework and send their sleepy heads to bed.

Just kidding.

My days consist of waking up to a 2-year-old climbing on my face.

I spend 4 hours between breakfast and nap attempting to do all the things, while also keeping the kids alive.

We’re talking do the dishes, fold the laundry, pay the bills, schedule the appointments, write the grocery list, do the grocery shopping, vacuum the living room, feed the dogs, make note of every play date and snack helper day and birthday party.

All while entertaining my children.

At noon, I drop my older daughter off at preschool and put the little one down to nap.

I then have two solid hours to work on my business and kick some butt before preschool pickup.

When the insanity starts all over again.

But most days I collapse in a heap on my couch for those two hours and binge-watch Supernatural instead of doing anything work-related.

Sound familiar?

Being a #momboss looks awesome on social media, but the reality of it is hard.

We talk all about self-care and time-blocking hacks for productivity. But when you have two littles at home clamoring for your attention, all that goes out the window.

You know what doesn’t go out that window?

Deadlines, y’all.

Freaking deadlines don’t wait for anyone, especially not a parent trying to keep their sanity.

I can’t give you more time, or a baby sitter, or a vacation.

But I can give you this amazing list of activities for kids.

Guaranteed to keep them busy for at least…. 15 minutes?

I know that these work, because I have two girls of my own who have tested every one of them. If that’s not enough to convince you, I have a degree in education and I have been a preschool teacher and behavior management technician.

I know what works.

Try them out and see for yourself. Then come back and tell me which ones were the best for you!

50 Activities For Kids To Do While You Work

Art

Coloring

This old standby is still a crowd pleaser, especially if you introduce new or “special” art supplies.

Reflection Drawing

A personal favorite of mine, I give my 3-year-old a hand mirror and dry erase marker (both from the dollar store) and allow her to decorate her reflection.

Window Clings

This may require a purchase if you don’t already own some, but those gel window clings keep my kid occupied for ages.

Write Letters

My preschooler loves to write letters to her pen pal. I give her a box of crayons, a sheet of stickers, and a blank notecard, and she goes to WORK.

Stamping

My toddler prefers to mix up her ink, while the preschooler is super into self-inking stamps. Choose holiday themes and send them as (messy) cards to family.

Dot Markers

A simple two-for-one activity, dot markers (sometimes called daubers) increase hand-eye coordination and hand grip. We use them for all kinds of art work, from do-a-dot worksheets to open-ended art.

Stickers

My two-year-old LOVES stickers, but she mostly piles them on top of each other. So here’s a trick: I found a massive pack of office supply dot stickers on clearance, and she can’t tell the difference.

Shadow Tracing

This is a cool one if you need to be outside. Have your kiddos collect random objects and try to trace their shadows on the paper.

Paper Dolls

If you don’t have a paper doll set, don’t fret. Get out your catalogs and fashion magazines, and let your budding stylist put together some new outfits. We used a doll shape that I hastily cut out of tagboard, but you can get a bit fancier.

Necklace Making

Combine giant packs of the cheapest yarn and plastic or paper straws you can find. Add pony beads for extra effect. Parenting-win bonus: this activity improves cutting and fine motor skills.

Spangle Shapes

Okay, this one is M E S S Y, so sorry ahead of time. Cut out a fish, kite, or whatever shape your heart desires. Cover the whole thing with double sided contact paper. Let your kid go nuts with the spangles.

(Spangles, for the uninitiated, are essentially giant sequins of all shapes.)

Watercolor Painting

I have a 2 year old who has been watercolor painting since she was only a year old. This kid will paint for up to an hour, if I let her. If you’re concerned about toxicity, use food coloring!

Rock Painting

Super messy and best for older children, but ooh, boy does this work. If your kids are super into finding and hiding painted rocks, like mine are, then this activity will keep them crazy busy.

Sensory and Fine Motor

Bubbles

Who doesn’t love bubbles?

Play Dough

Two options here: make your own or play with the store bought. We usually go with Play-Doh (because I’m a busy woman!) and my girls enjoy making all kinds of creations. Get some ABC flash cards and have your little ones practice making play dough shapes for extra learning.

Snow Dough

My favorite kind of dough is made with baking soda and water, and comes out a perfect, pure white. Keep it in the refrigerator for a chilly surprise, or roll it out and have them use cookie cutters to make ornaments.

Floam

I don’t normally pitch name-brand products, but this stuff is legit. I keep it put away for a special surprise when I really need to occupy my children.

Air Dry Clay

An activity geared for older children. They will have a fun time trying to construct their favorite characters, and it only takes a few hours to dry out!

Slime

Messy, slimy, gross. Kids love it. Whether you make your own or buy it in a 3lb bucket, slime is always a perfect distraction. Add googly eyes for extra giggles.

Shaving Cream

This is one of my all-time favorite activities for kids, because your table will never look as clean as it does when you’re finished washing off the shaving cream.

Buy a giant can of aerosol shaving cream. Provide very generous dollops to the little one you need to distract. They will smoosh and spread and doodle in this stuff until you pull them away.

Cool-mom bonus ideas: add food coloring to change the color, and encourage them to practice writing their name on the table.

Beans/Lentils/Rice

Yes, you’ll need to sweep after this. But your children will stay very busy!

In our house, we use rinsed apple sauce cups, old measuring spoons, ice cream scoopers, and anything else we can think of to scoop, pour, and play with our dried legumes and rice. My girls scoop it in and between thrift store pie tins and roasting pans to keep the mess relatively contained.

PomPom Sorting

Color-code some egg cartons and ask your littles to sort the pompoms by color and size. Encourage them to use fingers, spoons, chopsticks and tweezers to see how quickly they can sort.

Clothespin Puppets

Hand some clothespins and markers to your littles, then encourage them to draw scenes on a piece of paper after they decorate their clothespins. You’d be surprised how funny a miniature puppet show is.

Lacing Frames

While I try not to force my product opinions on others, I have to say that the Melissa and Doug brand lacing frames/board are the best ones I have found outside of a teacher supply store.

Water Pouring Station

Depending on the time of year, you can encourage your little explorers to practice their pouring indoors or out. If you’re stuck inside, I recommend a very shallow bath and a LOT of cups and spoons for them to practice.

Water beads

Another perfect bathtub choice. Allow your kiddos to hop in the bath and fill it with some water beads.

Dramatic Play and Life Skills

Basic Skills Boards

You can make your own with latches and locks from the hardware store, or you can purchase them at any toy retailer.

Sweeping/Mopping/Dusting

Believe it or not, children actually love to help, especially when parents aren’t micromanaging them. Give your littles a duster or broom and encourage them to tidy. Activities for kids that keep them happy while they clean (!?!?) is good in my book.

Fold Laundry

Another activity that falls under the “happy kids, happy parents” category is saving your washrags and hand towels for your children to practice with. My own toddlers LOVE folding. And, honestly, even if they don’t do a great job, at least they will be kept busy.

Cardboard Box Surprise

If you’re lucky enough to have a large cardboard box lying around, take advantage of it! If you’re brave, give ’em a pack of washable crayons and allow them to decorate their own house/racecar/castle as they see fit.

If you don’t have a large cardboard box, try large plastic storage bins from the dollar store instead. The bins have served as cribs, cars, or turtle shells in my house.

Match the Lids to the Tupperware

Messy, yes. Attention holding, absolutely. Throw in some wooden spoons to really get their imaginations going.

Dress Up (Their Clothes)

We have a dress up trunk full of clothes we raided from after-Halloween sales and thrift-store finds. Be prepared for a room strewn with clothing. If you need a little more time after the kids are done with dress up, offer a penny or nickel for every piece they fold neatly and put away correctly.

Dress Up (Grown Up Clothes)

What’s better than wearing their own clothes? Wearing yours! We all have a pile or bin or bag full of clothes that we keep intending to drop off at the Goodwill.

Let your littles raid the bag and play dress up.

Doll Dress Up

If you still have a pile of baby clothes you’re holding onto, hand them over to your baby doll fanatics and let them play dress up.

The Floor Is Lava!

Oldie but a goodie. We give our girls the opportunity to haul every pillow they can find in the living room, where they play lava tag.

Teddy Bear Hospital

We used felt to make band-aids, casts, and bandages for our most injured patients. Old sweatpants and shirts serve as “scrubs” for our doctors and nurses.

“Car Wash”

Take the big plastic tub you bought at the dollar store and fill it with warm soapy water, then put it in the bathtub. Allow your littles to strip down and climb in, where they can wash their matchbox cars with bits of sponge and old towels.

Instruments

I have a love/hate relationship with this activity. I love that it keeps them busy, I hate how loud it is. Best if you’re doing a task that doesn’t require quiet.

If you don’t have any instruments, old oat meal canisters and pots make excellent drums, while rubber bands on an empty tissue box sound like banjos.

Make a PB&J or Ants on a Log

Not one of the cleaner activities for kids, but wonderful if you have relatively calm or careful children. A container of peanut butter and a safe butter knife are all you need for these easy treats. It will buy you about 15 quiet minutes, so use it wisely.

Peel Hardboiled Eggs

This activity is perfect for keeping kiddos busy while you cram in a phone call or Skype session. You can make egg salad when they are done!

Quiet Games

Plastic Cup Stacking

If you have plastic, paper, or Styrofoam cups left over from a party then this is perfect. Challenge your children to see how high they can stack a pyramid, or to build a wall, or even just to practice their cup stacking skills like those videos they watch on YouTube.

Plus, they are super lightweight and quiet for when they are inevitably knocked over.

Puzzles

Messy but effective. We try to keep our sets under 48 pieces, but if you’re brave or you have older children, setting a timer for a bigger puzzle works very well.

Felt Boards

A big hit in our house, felt boards are both quiet and entertaining. Felt is cheap and easy to cut. If you’re lazy like me, or simply pressed for time, there are tons of felt shapes available on Amazon.

Magnet Boards

If you don’t have a magnet board or a book, buy a cheap set of kid-safe magnets for your fridge. Don’t want them in the kitchen? No problem, but a cheap sheet pan and let them play on there!

Gross Motor

Dance Party

Combine this with dress up, and you’ve got a money maker. We put on the Disney station on Pandora for all the classics they love.

Balloons

Kids. Love. Balloons. We don’t even use helium, I just blow up about 6-10 and let the girls kick, throw, and punch them around the room.

Block City

I’m about to tell you our dirty little secret: I don’t meticulously organize the toys in our house. Every wood toy goes in the same bin. When I’m desperate, I let the girls dump the whole bin on their car carpet and tell them not to come get me until they have used every single one to build a city.

Special Toy

Honestly, this toy doesn’t even have to be special.

We got a massive hand-me-down train set from my sister recently, and it has captivated my children. Because of the number of pieces, they don’t get to use their train table unless they have been exceptionally well-behaved.

It’s an extra-special toy because they must ask to use it.

Straw Car Races

Masking tape lanes on the kitchen floor, matchbox cars, and straws. Blowing through the straws keeps their voices blissfully silent.

Indoor Hopscotch

More masking tape, this time for hopscotch! If you’re brave, you can also use paper plates in the hallway, but that can lead to some slipping.

After I made this list, I decided that it just wasn’t enough. So, if you hop on over to the Free Printables Page you’ll find some free downloads for you to nab and print to your heart’s content.