If you’re a parent working from home,
you may be struggling to keep your work and home life in balance,
especially with kids in the house.
In this video, we’ll share fun projects and activities that are educational
and keep kids busy,
so you can have a good chunk of time to get some work done.
Let’s get started.
Preschool Projects
These projects are suitable for preschool kids 3 years or older.
Chalk Games
If you have multiple kids at home,
chalk games are a fun way to keep them occupied in your backyard
where your laptop is still within reach of your home Wi-Fi.
Try something a bit involved like this bullseye game.
Using various colors of chalk, draw concentric circles with a bullseye in the middle.
Kids take turns throwing bean bags and see who can get it the closest to the bullseye.
Older kids can write down point values inside the circles for younger siblings
who are starting to learn math.
We recommend using Rikagaku Chalk as it comes in vibrant hues.
Plus it’s made from a special kind of calcium carbonate that won’t break as easily
and produces a lot less dust than normal chalk.
Finger Painting with Watercolors
If your kids are bored of markers and pens, try getting them into finger painting.
They’ll love using a pipette to wet each pan first,
and the feeling of mixing water with paints.
Plus, they'll think it's fun to smear paint and water all over paper,
and probably themselves too.
Look for watercolor paints that won’t stain fingers,
like those in the Yasutomo Niji Pearlescent Watercolor Sets.
As a bonus, these watercolors wash out of clothes and non-porous surfaces with ease.
Window Art
Turn any window into a drawing surface with wet-erase crayons!
Start kids off with an outline that you made,
and the kids can color it in or add their own details like rainbows, animals, and more.
Marks made with wet-erase crayons wipe away easily from non-porous surfaces,
so your child can draw over and over again.
Plus, cleaning up can be a fun chore for siblings to do together afterward.
We love the Rikagaku Kitpas Wet-Erase Crayon set,
which includes twelve crayons that can be blended together with water.
The crayons are made of paraffin (the same wax found in lipstick) so they’re safe for kids.
Elementary School Projects
Kids age 6 and older can try these hands-on projects to learn more about science or history.
Fountain Pen Ink Chromatography
If you’re a fountain pen enthusiast with a generous ink collection,
it's time to bust out those bottles and share your appreciation of inks with the kids.
Have your kids cut up absorbent paper,
like this etegami paper into small strips about half an inch wide
to make a simple chromatography test.
Prepare a small container with about half an inch of tap water inside.
Next, use a cotton swab to add a line of ink about half an inch up from the bottom of the
etegami paper.
Carefully lower the strip into the water,
making sure that only the bottom of the strip touches the water.
As the water travels up the paper strip, it will draw out the dyes of the fountain pen ink.
Some inks might reveal fascinating colors, like a green made up of brown dyes!
Ask your kids to write down what they learned about each ink
or have them fill out a data sheet you can make in advance.
They can even make their own data sheets to present to you later.
Mixing Calligraphy Ink
Kids who are a little older can learn about ratios and create their own ink with this project--
Check out our guide on How to Mix Calligraphy Inks for other mixtures to try.
They’ll need fountain pen ink,
gum arabic,
powdered pigment,
multiple small containers,
a pipette,
measuring spoons,
and stirring sticks.
They can also have a dip pen or brush on hand to test the ink.
The kids can mix together the Pearl Ex, gum arabic, and fountain pen ink however they like.
You can give small tips before they start
—for example, a little bit of gum arabic will go a long way—
but let them experiment on their own.
They can write down the ratios on a test results sheet you and your child designed together.
Kids grade 3 and up can describe or rate each mixture and make a table of results.
When you go check on them, you can judge the mixtures for yourself
and share which one you like best with your kids.
Washi Tape Timeline
Help your child visualize historical figures by making a washi tape timeline!
To create this project, stick a length of washi tape to a wall.
You can use any tape you already have--just make sure to pair it with the right marker.
We prefer paint markers like this water-based Sharpie for writing on washi tape.
Next, evenly space out a period of time on the washi tape.
Washi tape stickers like the Bande Washi Tape Sticker Rolls are great for marking time periods.
Have your child pick out a topic that they are interested in.
For example, they might want to learn more about extraordinary women in modern history.
Give them a book of biographies to read
and design a profile template for them to use to summarize each person
they want to feature on the timeline.
Once each profile is done, your child can tape it in the proper spot on the timeline.
Perforated tapes like the Mark’s Maste Title Washi Tapes keep your timeline neat and colorful.
After they finish, even you might be surprised by how close or far figures are from each other.
Parents, let us know if you have any other fun, attention-holding activities for kids to do!
Read our blog post for more tips on how to keep kids busy
and shop all of these items at JetPens.com.
Thanks for watching!