Madeline Gearheart | August 28, 2018
Escape the Heat with These 7 Indoor Activities
This summer’s temperatures are setting records across the world. According to CNN, four continents in the Northern Hemisphere experienced record-breaking heat waves in July. Escaping the heat and staying indoors is necessary in the summer—and especially during extreme conditions—but how do you enjoy being inside all day? And how can you keep the kids entertained for hours at a time?
Check out these seven indoor activities! They’ll help keep you and your kids occupied and happy indoors while you escape the scorch.
- Make Music
Younger children love making music. If you have old instruments you used to play, pull them out of storage and teach your kids how to create sounds. If you don’t have instruments, make your own. Rubber bands, bowls, wooden spoons, and paper towel rolls can be used to produce beautiful music.
- Shoot Movies
If you’ve got teens, they likely have cell phones or mobile devices with cameras. Rather than Snapchatting with friends all day, they can set up an in-home movie studio. Either work together to create a work of art or send them off to make their own three-minute flick. Watch the movies as a family, and give out awards for Best Acting or Top Comedy.
- Hold a Book Club
Gather the family together and hand out copies of popular books, like the Harry Potter series or Pippi Longstocking. Pair up with a child and read aloud together. Meet every other evening to discuss a chapter—talking about the story is part of the fun!
- Watch an Old Movie
Yesterday’s top shows can soon become family favorites when you all gather around the TV to watch an old movie together. The Princess Bride, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, and The Goonies (among other great films) can be found on your DISH Hopper DVR. Find some favorite movies and record them for later.
- Get Crafty
Get out the glue, colored cardstock, ribbon, and other fun supplies, and create crafts together. Pinterest houses hundreds of family project ideas, or you can let everyone create whatever their heart’s desire. Display everyone’s masterpieces on the mantle, art gallery style, so you can all appreciate them during the whole summer.
- Take a Field Trip
Local museums and aquariums are wonderful places to explore and learn. Make visits even more interesting by giving each of your kids a notebook and a pencil as you arrive. Ask them to write or draw about their adventures: they can include their favorite animal they saw or something new they learned during the trip. Keeping their minds busy will help the visit last longer, and they’ll view the displays in a new way.
- Bake Together
An intense match of Cupcake Wars (home edition, of course) is a great way to teach your kids how to bake and enjoy some fun. Split the family into two teams, and challenge everyone to whip up a few yummy creations. Parents can help with the riskier steps (like pulling treats out of the oven) and judge the competition. In the end, everyone wins, because there are lots of cupcakes to eat!
Being inside doesn’t mean you have to stay cooped up. Escape the heat, and keep cool inside as you create everlasting memories together.
