Eco-Friendly Indoor Activities for Kids

Feel free to share

For your convenience, this post might contain affiliate links. If you shop using these links, I might make a small commission at no additional cost to you. The full disclosure isn't nearly as interesting as these eco-friendly tips, but you can read it here. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Eco-Friendly Indoor Activities for Kids

While it’s always great to get kids outside to play, sometimes bad weather and other events can prevent that from happening. Fortunately, you don’t have to plop them in front of a screen to keep them amused. Instead, you can entertain them with one of these great eco-friendly indoor activities for kids.

1. Make Homemade Natural Playdough

My son loves to make homemade natural playdough because, let’s face it, playdough is pretty fun to play with. Not only does he learn about measuring when we make it, but he also enjoys using our homemade natural dyes to experiment with different color combinations.

When he was young and sticking everything in his mouth, I didn’t have to worry about him eating this playdough because it’s made with natural ingredients.

Now that he’s older, I can use essential oils to give the homemade playdough a light scent. I also appreciate that the essential oils offer several aromatherapy benefits.

2. Get a Green Kid Crafts Project

Another one of my son’s favorite activities is a Green Kid Crafts project. Each award-winning discovery box comes with a magazine with hands-on activities, a book, STEAM projects, and all the materials he needs for his projects.

He can’t wait for his box to arrive so he can see what he’s learning next, which makes me one happy mama!

3. Plant an Herb Garden

Planting a garden outside is a great eco-friendly summer activity for kids. But if you’re stuck inside or it’s the middle of winter, gardening isn’t exactly an option — unless you let them plant an herb garden.

Herbs tend to grow quickly, which is great for kids who expect instant gratification. To let your kids grow their own herb garden, start with small pots that will fit on your windowsill and then get some seeds. This herb garden collection is a great choice because it comes with everything you need.

In just a few short weeks, you’ll have fresh herbs you can use on all of your family’s favorite meals and your kids will enjoy knowing they helped.

4. Paint Faces

Painting faces is always a great eco-friendly indoor activity for kids. Just don’t reach for that store-bought brand of face paint.

In one study done by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, 10 face paints purchased at a store all tested positive for lead. That’s certainly not something you want on your children’s skin!

Fortunately, it’s incredibly easy to make your own homemade natural face paint that’s safe for all skin types. Simply give your kids some natural face paint, makeup brushes, and mirrors to see what kind of unique designs they can come up with.

5. Put on a Fashion Show

If you have a budding fashionista in your family, let them put on their own fashion show. You can use old Halloween costumes and clothes that you’re no longer wearing so they can put together extravagant outfits.

If you have older kids, consider teaching them some basic sewing skills and giving them scissors, scraps of fabric, buttons, and beads so they can really go to town creating unique outfits.

6. Create an Art Center

If your kids lean more toward art than fashion, it’s easy to put together an art center with eco-friendly art supplies. Some excellent options include:

Simply set up an area where your kids can draw, paint, and color to let them create some of their own beautiful masterpieces.

7. Make a Puppet Show

A puppet show is one of the best eco-friendly indoor activities for kids because it offers hours of entertainment. Just give your kids an old box to make the stage and leftover craft materials to make the puppets.

Not only will your kids have plenty of fun creating and decorating their stage and puppets, but they’ll also have a great time writing and performing their play.

8. Create a Band

Now, I have to be honest, my son isn’t the theatrical type, and he’s not a very good artist. (He takes after me!) However, this boy loves music like no one I’ve ever met before.

When we’re stuck inside and looking for one of the best eco-friendly indoor activities for kids, we let him create his own musical instruments so he can make a band.

If you have a REALLY good pair of noise-cancelling headphones, you can break out the classic pots, lids, and wooden spoons. If you’re like me and prefer to keep things a little less headache-inducing, there are several other options to consider.

Toilet paper rolls with beads sealed inside make excellent maracas. An old cereal box with string taped across a hole in the middle can become a makeshift guitar.

For a lot of kids, half the fun is just letting their imaginations go wild and seeing what kind of sounds and noises they can create with different objects.

9. Make Recycled Crafts

Making crafts out of recycled objects found around the house is a tried-and-true rainy day activity. If your kids need some inspiration to help them come up with something to make, one of these upcycled gift guides might help:

10. Build a Birdhouse

If you have some scrap pieces of wood and the right plans, you and your kids can build a birdhouse that the feathered friends in your backyard will love.

If you don’t have any scrap wood, that’s no problem. This birdhouse kit comes with everything your kids need. If your kids are feeling ambitious, they can even build a bird feeder to go along with their birdhouse.

When the weather gets nicer, they can hang their birdhouse and bird feeder in the yard and take notes of the different birds they see.

11. Make an Insect House

Birds aren’t the only backyard critters you kids can build a home for when they have to stay inside. There a variety of beneficial insects that also need a place to stay.

While you can certainly purchase an insect house that’s already put together, why not let your kids make one all on their own?

All they’ll need is a wooden box or open bird house, twigs, leaves, wood chips, cardboard tubes, and blocks of wood with holes drilled into them. They can then use a hot glue gun to start attaching everything inside the box.

Great Eco-Friendly Indoor Activities for Kids

When your kids have to stay inside, you don’t have to listen to complaints of boredom or see them zoned out in front of a screen. Instead, use one of these fun eco-friendly indoor activities for kids to get their imaginations going.

More Top Eco-Friendly Tips

Now that you see how easy it is to entertain children with these eco-friendly indoor activities for kids, are you interested in even more great tips to help everyone in your family live a more natural and sustainable life? Then be sure to check out some of our other top posts: