We don’t go anywhere for March Break and my kids aren’t old enough to go away to camp on their own yet so for us, March Break is just a laid back week where we don’t have to be anywhere at any specific time.  However the kids can get bored just sitting around the house so you have to come up with things to do to make it fun. Here are some ideas to try, no matter the age of your kids:

1. Redo the kid’s rooms

(c) Flickr User Amy Gizienski

Stick with me here. Enlist the kids help to go through all their stuff, find a box worth per kid to donate, get rid of all the junk (McDonalds toys they no longer play with, toys with broken or missing pieces, garbage that is hiding under the bed.) Go through the clothes and make sure only clothes that fit, that they will wear and that are for the right season are in their dressers/closets. So where does the fun come in? If the kids help you with all that without too much complaining, let them pick a colour to repaint their room, or rearrange the furniture the way they want, or buy something new for their room, or build a large fort that can stay up for a while.

2. Play a giant board game

(c) Kathleen Garber

Take at least 50 index cards and put them aside. Write miss a turn on 2 of them, go ahead three spaces on 8, go back two spaces on 5 and if you want to be creative, put something fun on a few more (like eat a cookie or spin around 5 times or sing a song.) Lay them out in a line around the whole house so that there is a start and an end. Use stuffed animals as playing pieces or yourselves and use oversized dice. If you are using yourselves as players, you may just want to each have your own dice so you can roll right where you are. Or you can use a deck of cards with only the cards from A to 6. Mix them up and draw a card to determine how many spots you move.

3. Play With Your Food

(c) Flickr User Vernon Swanepoel

If your kids are 8 or under, then take them to the grocery store and let them pick out any 5 healthy foods they want that they have NEVER had before. The whole family has to try them and rate them on a scale of 1-5 on taste. Maybe they’ll find a new food they like. Remember healthy foods are on the outside perimeter of a grocery store, not on the inner shelves. If your kids are older, play Chopped. Have you ever seen it on the Food Network? Pick 4 or so ingredients and put them together in a basket. You need one basket for each kid participating. If you only have one kid old enough, do it with one of his or her friends. On start, they open their basket and have to come up with a meal with all the ingredients and make it. If they aren’t old enough to use stove or do certain things, they may ask for help but must do as much themselves as possible and helper must do only what kid instructs. Have blind taste testers to determine the winner.

4. Try Something New

(c) Flickr User Chris Short

Take you kids somewhere they’ve never been before to do something they’ve never done before. Perhaps there is a free music lesson available? Or take them to a zoo, or the science center, art museum, take a trip to city hall and look around, perhaps somewhere is giving tours. Ask around, check out local websites and bulletin boards in your library and grocery store for where to go. Many of us have never checked out all the local attractions that are in our own city.

5. Have a Scavenger Hunt

(c) Flickr User US Department of Agriculture

This requires pre-planning. Depending on the age of your children, they can follow written clues or picture clues. It can be only around your house or around your whole neighbourhood. One clue should lead them to the hiding spot of the next clued. For example you hand them this clue: “Where the Canine Slumbers” and they run to the dog’s bed to find the next clue. Make it as hard or easy as you need to depending on the skills and age of your children. If you have more than one child, have them work together. Don’t make it a competition. Most importantly of all, include a surprise at the end. Something chocolatey is always great, something like perhaps a Kinder Egg?

*Disclosure: This post was created as part of the Kinder® Mom campaign. I received special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.