Entertaining kids when they’re out of school can be a joy for some parents, but having to come up with fun activities on the fly because of an unexpected closure can be a daunting challenge. The better parents can keep their kids engaged and occupied during breaks from school, the easier their behavior––and your sanity––will be to manage.
When it comes to giving your kids fun, memorable activities designed to occupy and entertain for hours, there’s no better option than music. Music is a blast and is easily accessible, and it’s also proven to deliver a myriad of hugely beneficial impacts for kids. If you’re a parent at home with kids during an unexpected school closure or long, fully expected break, these fun musical activities will thrill your kids and make your life easier:
Lip syncing contests
Nothing gets kids more engaged than contests. By playing your kids’ favorite songs and having them face off in a lip sync contest, you’ll give them an activity they’ll be sure to love. The more elaborate you can make this contest the better, so consider incorporating prizes, costumes, and special awards.
Create impromptu instruments out of household items
Pots, pans, jars, glasses, and cardboard boxes are just a few of the many items lying around most of our houses that can be transformed into musical instruments. The more creative you and your kids can get the better, and the possibilities will be endless if you can encourage your children to use their imaginations. Impromptu homemade instruments can be used to play along to songs your kids already know, or to create new music.
Rapping and beatboxing battles
Rap and beatboxing battles are exciting activities that will keep your kids engaged and creatively challenged for hours. Kids can either write their own raps based on predetermined themes, or can freestyle it and make up their rhymes as they go along. To help give your kids musical direction for this activity, you can choose from one of the countless free background tracks the internet has to offer, or vocalize the beats yourself through beatboxing. It should be noted here that parents don’t need to be particularly experienced or rap-savvy when it comes to this activity. The fun here is learning, exploring, and embracing silliness.
Singalongs
Whether it’s singing along to the radio or leading your kids in song with a piano or acoustic guitar, singalongs are a great at-home musical activity for kids and families. Parents can create a playlist of songs to sing along to through streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, or can take requests of songs to perform from their kids if they have an instrument to play. This activity will motivate your children to deepen their musical expressions, and will help develop their musical skills.
Learning musical instruments
Most parents already know that learning an instrument at a young age provides important social, cognitive, and spatiotemporal benefits to kids. But when it comes to fun activities to keep kids occupied at home, the perks of introducing your kids to musical instruments extend even further. With the right experience and guidance, your kids can lead their own singalongs, write music, and learn their favorite songs. Families can musically engage together through group music lessons and performances, or kids can pursue music on their own through practicing or creating alone.
If you’re a stressed out parent managing a house full of kids, you’re not alone. Whether it’s summer break or an unforeseen school closure, every parent experiences this feeling at some point. But by having an arsenal full of musical activities to rely on, you and your family will be able to sing, jam, rap, and play through the downtime.