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never help your kids. give them the tools to find their own solution.
Need to entertain your kids while you get some work done at home? Here are some ideas that won't leave your house looking like a glitter tornado passed through it.
If your kids are home from school, you're probably scrambling to find ways to keep them occupied. I've seen quite a few posts around the internet from well-meaning parents suggesting activities that are indeed fun for kids, but are also almost guaranteed to leave your house a wreck.
If you're fortunate enough to have a job that lets you shelter in place while you continue to work, and look after the kiddos, the last thing you need is an extra mess to clean up at the end of the day. I can't save you from the endless, "mommy, daddy, look at this! look at this!" but here are some ways to keep your children engaged, occupied, and having fun without turning the house into a mad science laboratory.
Some of these suggestions may require a few minutes of adult guidance, but once pointed in the right direction, kids of the appropriate age should have no trouble.
Water Color Pencils
These look like ordinary colored pencils—and they can be used that way if you want—but add water and they'll behave just like watercolor paint. The first time you use these it's a little bit magical. If you want something a little fancier [this 72 color set from Castle ($35)](https://www.amazon.com/Castle-Art-Supplies-Watercolor-Professionals/dp/B07FSW66SK/tag=w050b-20){: rel=nofollow} is also nice. Got several kids who will fight over single colors? Crayola has [a classroom set ($49)](https://www.amazon.com/Crayola-Watercolor-Classpack-Assorted-68-4240/dp/B000F8T08A/tag=w050b-20){: rel=nofollow} with fewer colors, but plenty of each color to eliminate sibling conflicts. My kids have been using these to follow along with Mo Willems' daily [lunch doodles](https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/mo-willems/).
Quick stix
Tempura paint sticks work a bit like crayons, but instead of wax, you're smearing tempura paint around. It's fast drying (about a minute and a half), easy to clean off most surfaces, and there's no brushes or other mess to clean when your kids are done. As with the watercolor pencils, there are sets of all sizes. We started with this one, but have since expanded to a [32-color set ($43)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082HX5B97/tag=w050b-20){: rel=nofollow}.
Tape Art
What's sticky, but not so sticky it ruins everything it touches? The right kind of tape. Washi tape is a special rice paper tape that's popular with crafters, and has long been a go-to for out kids when they want to create some tape-based art. There are all kinds of washi tape sets, everything from the solid colors here to [glittery patterned options](https://www.amazon.com/Decorative-Planners-Scrapbooking-Adhesive-Supplies/dp/B07CVV9VY2/?tag=w050b-20){: rel=nofollow}. If you don't want to buy anything this fancy, you can use [blue painters' tape ($4)](https://www.amazon.com/ScotchBlue-Painters-Multi-Use-94-Inch-60-Yard/dp/B00004Z4CP/?tag=w050b-20){: rel=nofollow} as well. It's low-tack means it's not the end of the world if you kids string it all our your wood furniture.
Pipe cleaners
*Age 4+*
Pipe cleaners are great sculpture and jewelry making tools. They're cheap, reusable, and pretty easy to clean up (we keep ours in plastic box, which works better than a bag since there are some sharp ends). Imagination is pretty much the only limit here, though if your kids want to make something specific, [YouTube is your friend](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pipe+cleaner+art+ideas). Added bonus: you'll get to attend your next work Zoom meeting with a pipe cleaner crown on your head. Need more? Try this [1000 piece set for $22](https://www.amazon.com/Magicfly-Pipe-Cleaners-Chenille-Assorted/dp/B07QGQSQL1/?tag=w050b-20){: rel=nofollow}
Buttons
If you ever needed proof that kids can turn anything into a toy, turn them loose on a bag of buttons. If you want to do something more organized, thread them on pipe cleaners for jewelry, glue them to paper for 3D painting, practice counting, or stitch them to some felt to make bookmarks. I should add the caveat that these might make a little bit of a mess, they tend to bounce around and get underfoot when kids drop them on the floor. It's nothing like dropping Mentos in a 2-liter of Diet Coke, but you may need to organize some button clean up time. Added bonus: you'll have plenty of buttons to repair your clothes.
Origami
You don't really need special paper to make origami, but it does make the results more colorful. If you want to use the paper you already have, just cut it to be square since most instructions will assume square paper. This one may require a little more parental guidance, depending on age, but there are instructions out there for just about anything your kids' want to make, these [sailboats](https://www.origami-fun.com/origami-sail-boats.html) make a good intro project.
Sensory Bin
When my twins were little – 2 or 3 years old – I had a sensory bin made up of beans, spoons, and cups. My twins never ate the beans – they actually never put little objects in their mouths – and they just had fun exploring textures.
I would sit next to them with my laptop and get a good 30 minutes of work.
Play Dough
You can buy the commercially made stuff, like the set linked here (or this delightfully titled [Lil' Poop Troop set ($15)](https://www.amazon.com/Play-Doh-Poop-Troop-cans-Combinations/dp/B0813XHQGR/)), but it's more fun to make your own, especially if you get your kids involved in the process (although this might again make a little bit of a mess). Play dough is mainly flour, salt, water, oil, and other ingredients you most likely have on hand. Some [play dough recipes]() call for cream of tartar, but there are [others that do not](https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Playdough-Without-Cream-of-Tartar/).
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup salt
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 cups lukewarm water
2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil (coconut oil works too)
Food coloring, optional
Quart sized bags
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