During the lockdown, you might be going a little crazy. If you are working remotely while trying to home school your kids, this is even more true. Are you running out of ways to keep kids busy? Here are some ideas to add to your rainy day/global pandemic activities at home:

1. Turn the living room into a campground.

Dust off sleeping bags and tents or use blankets for sleeping arrangements. You can make a quick tent by draping bedsheets over chairs. Throw convention to the wind by arranging string lights over your finish tent. LED lights and logs made on paper towel tubs create a safe firepit to sing camp songs around. Serve trail mix and hotdog and take the party outside to look at the stars and pick out constellations from an astronomy phone app.

2. Hold an art show or contest.

Get everyone into smocks or old T-shirts. You can add paint splatter or smudges for authenticity. Then, pass around watercolors, markers and other art supplies to spark kids' imaginations. Whether there's a theme or you go freestyle, have a prize for each child. This could be a hug or one day free of chores; it doesn't have to be elaborate, as long as everybody gets one.

At the art show, you can serve your artists champaign (apple juice) or wine (grape juice) with fancy hor d’oeuvres (Vienna sausages, chips and favorite snacks).

3. Make a Play-Doh zoo.

Have your kids research how to make animals out of Play-Doh. We suggest turtles, crocodiles and other zoo animals as well as fanciful beasts such as dragons and unicorns. Then, have them draw habitats where the animals live. For example, draw a circular blue pond to place the turtles on top of a sheet of green construction paper for animals that graze. This can be spread out over a couple of days, and you can have the kids create a video for social media to share their work with grandparents and friends. 

4. Take a family cooking lesson.

Using YouTube videos or your favorite kid-friendly recipes, let your kids become chefs by preparing simple meals. A pizza bar or sundae station that lets them add their favorite ingredients is also a sure hit. Older children can create Emoji-inspired rice cakes and no-bake cookies.

5. Conduct science experiments.

You probably don't have the equipment that kids have access to in school, but that doesn't mean science can't become part of your home school or family time experience. Sciencebob.com has a whole menu devoted to science experiments. Learn to make ice cream with a few ingredients and a plastic bag or boats powered by laundry detergent.

6. Create your own solar system

Using balls or flat circles cut from construction paper, you can make models of the sun, planets and stars to hang in your child's bedroom. Consider adding a moon lamps that accurately replicates the surface of the moon to spark their curiosity and add authenticity.

As a temporary or permanent at-home or homeschooling parent, you can also ask your kids what projects they would like to pursue. There is a galaxy full of ideas out there waiting for you.