With more of us working remotely and children home from school, we’ve probably never spent so much time at home. But it doesn’t need to be boring, stressful or feel like a waste of time.

We’ve put together some of our best boredom busters to keep you and the kids sane over this time.

These activities will keep you and the kids occupied over the coming weeks, while keeping up their education, ticking off your to-do list and having some fun at the same time.

Online camps so the kids continue to learn

To help take the pressure off parents and give kids something fun and educational to get into, Australian children’s activities provider Skills and Thrills has launched online camps designed to be done remotely. Unlike traditional e-learning, the programs are live-streamed with tutors who run each workshop and interact via video and online chat with the kids at home. Activities are all skills-based and engaging. For example they have a Kitchen Chemistry workshop, where kids follow along to make lava lamps and bubbling volcanoes using ingredients found at home. There is a range of classes from science to coding, to fitness, for kids aged from 5-12 years old, so there’s something for every child. Schedule one in per day and give yourself that hour or so of time to peacefully work at your desk, do some stretches or have a nice cup of tea!

Get cooking

With restaurants and take-outs off the cards for a while, we can all fall into the trap of cooking the same things over and over. So why not use the time to get creative in the kitchen and even get the kids involved too? It’s a great opportunity to experiment with new recipes and lap-up some incidental learning opportunities for the whole family while you do it.

Whether you’re already an active cook or could do with more confidence in the kitchen, rest assured there are tools and tutorials available to help make home-cooking easy, fun and delicious. For example, the Thermomix TM6 incorporates the functions of 20 appliances in 1 and has over 50,000 recipes available through ‘guided cooking’. This means you pick your recipe and simply follow step-by-step instructions on the screen – easy, no matter your skill level. The timings and temperatures are set automatically too, helping you save time (and stress!) as, if you’d prefer, the Thermomix can do most of the cooking for you. Thermomix has also recently launched Virtual Cooking Classes, so you can see it in action from the comfort of your own home, too.

Start that herb garden you’ve been thinking about

Taking time out of your day to enjoy the outdoors and spending time in the garden can be a great way to introduce your kids to growing produce at home. Browse online and order your favourite seedlings and a pot to plant your herb garden in, delivered straight to your door. Ensure that you pick out seeds that are currently in season, meaning you’ll grow produce that you can easily add into your daily meals. For added benefits, investing in a quality potting mix, such as Scotts Osmocote Plus Organics Vegetable Herb Mix, will provide your garden with valuable nutrients that will keep them healthy and be a perfect add on to your meals at home.

Pay it forward

With time spent at home, it is the best time to declutter your house. Remove your drink cans, plastic drink containers and glass bottles from your general recycling to donate to local charities. In NSW, QLD & NT, when you recycle eligible drink cans and bottles through a TOMRA recycling machine you will receive a 10 cent refund for every container, which you can choose to donate to one of the charities listed on the machine. This is a great way to do something good for the community and is especially timely with Australians consuming more eligible containers as a result of current government social restrictions.

Bring back games’ night

We’re all on our screens more and more, checking updates and keeping up with friends in a virtual way. But it’s great to make time for some screen-free, good, old fashioned board game fun with the family. Either get stocked up with a couple of new ones or pull out some old favourites, make some snacks and drinks to enjoy while you play and get going with some friendly competition. You can even start a weekly scoreboard with a prize at the end for the overall winner – how about no washing up for a week!?

These are just a few ideas of how to use this time at home to tick off jobs around the house, build up skills, keep connected and do something for the greater good too. Once you get going, we bet you’ll find a whole lot more!

Let us know what are your best boredom busters? Tell us in the comments below.