Lockdown can be a challenging time for families stuck at home. You’ve explored every corner of the house, watched too many episodes of Paw Patrol and the kids are bored. But don’t panic, we’re all in this together, so we’ve prepared a list of eco-friendly activities to keep the kids entertained! Added bonus, they are free, fun and the kids can even do some of them by themselves!

Leaf collage:

Make your daily (fitness) walk even more entertaining by collecting leaves with your kids. Use them as stencils or glue them to paper and make some amazing collages. Give your kids a subject: “Make a Lion’s mane out of leaves”, “draw a fire with 3 different colours”.

Sensory play:

Grab some rice, lentils, and/or pebbles and store them in a Swag Produce Bag Set. Let your kids feel the texture with their hands and listen to the magic sounds of the grains. Then have them guess what’s in the bag!

Repurpose tin cans:

Paint the cans and use them as pencils holders, herbs pots, lanterns, Christmas tree decorations; the list is endless. Make sure the cans aren’t sharp-edged beforehand!

Make a kart out of cardboard:

The one that might need a bit of time, imagination, and dexterity. If you have cardboard laying around meant to be recycled, use them to make a car, spaceship or let the kiddos imagination run wild! Get the paint and brushes ready for the final touch.

Develop their green-thumb:

Gardening is educational and develops new skills: pride, love of nature, responsibility, patience, to name just a few. First ask your kids what they’d like to see grow in your garden or balcony,  and discuss all the different types that can heighten and develop the  senses, such as lavender, basil, lemon balm, pansies, sunflowers. Head to your local garden shop and grab some seeds and seedlings. Let your kids water daily/as much as needed, observe the sprouting process and eat the fruits of your labour (if these tiny hands didn’t eat them all first)!

Candle making:

Mandarins are in season, but you can’t give the peels to your worm farm?  Why not make a candle out of it? Use the filaments as a wick and perfume the room with a light perfume of orange peel. Plus, it usually helps with the daily fruit intake!

Paper roll craft:

Get your scissors, paint, markers, paper ready. We’re convinced kids will know what to do with the rolls, but how about swans, rearview mirrors for the cardboard kart or a train?

Homemade paint:

If you’ve got some leftover fruits and veggies, leave some for the worm farm and set aside a handful of them to make a plant-based paint! Get your aprons on, put some water to boil and turn your kids into talented artists!

Prepare pickled vegetables:

You’ve got some fresh veggies or leftovers that nobody’s willing to eat? Pickle them! It is a super easy recipe that can be made out of almost any vegetable—cucumber, carrot, ginger, beets, cauliflower and so on.

Make a seed bomb:

If they found a passion for gardening after activity number 4, they might also love making a seed bomb! It’s a great way to teach the kids about the importance of green spaces and how insects and birds will be feeding on their soon-to-be flowers.