9 Drama Activities to Keep Your Kids Active at Home
By Kevin Weir
Perhaps you have an unexpected day off from school, are sitting at home with your kids on a Professional Development day, or need something to shake up the weekend. Finding something entertaining (and productive!) for your kids can feel like a challenge. Drama activities are a fantastic solution, and here at Quest, we are the leaders in such activities!
Not only are they a blast, but they also keep your kids moving, thinking, and getting creative, whether it's for a day or a week away from their usual routine. Besides, who doesn’t love a little fun playing pretend?
Why Drama Is a Big Win for Kids
Before we jump into the activities, let's look at what drama can do for kids.
Unleashes Creativity: Drama encourages kids to think outside the box. Kids get to invent characters, dream up wild stories, and solve problems in imaginative ways!
Gets Them Moving: Drama games aren’t just about acting—they’re surprisingly active and get kids burning off all that extra energy.
Builds Social Skills: Drama requires teamwork. Kids learn to collaborate, communicate, and bring ideas to life together.
Now, let’s get to the good part. Here are 9 fun drama activities to turn a boring day into a spotlight-worthy adventure.
1. The Storytelling Circle
How to Play:
Sit in a circle, and one person starts a story with a single sentence ("Once upon a time, there was a talking pineapple..."). The next person adds another sentence, and so on. To take it up a notch, have each person act out their sentence as they go.
Why It’s Awesome:
It’s silly, it’s creative, and it keeps everyone on their toes! Kids practice teamwork and quick thinking while laughing the whole way through.
2. Wacky Improv Games
How to Play:
One-Word Story: Like the Storytelling Circle, but each person only adds one word at a time. Hilarity ensues.
Scenes from a Hat: Have everyone write goofy scenarios like "A pirate teaching a dance class" or "Aliens trying pizza for the first time" on slips of paper. Draw one and act it out!
Why It’s Awesome:
Improv is all about saying “YES!” It builds confidence, creativity, and the ability to roll with whatever comes your way.
3. Create a Crazy Character
How to Play:
Give your child a prop or a prompt (like, “You’re a king who only talks in rhymes”), then let them create a character around it. This is a great time to break out all those unique thrifting finds, accessories, or anything you can use as a prop. Encourage them to come up with a backstory, a silly voice, and a walk.
Ask them questions about their new character. Favourite food, colour, job—have fun with it! When they’re ready, swap in a new prop and start again from scratch.
Why It’s Awesome:
This lets kids step into someone else’s shoes and explore new perspectives. Plus, it’s just plain fun to see what they come up with!
4. Marvellous Miming
How to Play:
Have your child act out a scene—like being stuck in quicksand or eating a giant ice cream cone—without using any words. If you want to add in another later, treat it like charades and have everyone else guess what they’re doing.
Why It’s Awesome:
Kids get to flex their non-verbal communication skills and get hilariously creative with movement. At the same time, you can practice a few of your moves and see how well your kids know the classic “trapped in a box” bit.
5. Where Are You?
How to Play:
Pick a place, like a sunny beach, a quiet library, or even outer space, and have your kids pretend they’ve just landed there! Watch as they surf invisible waves, shush loud-talkers, or float in zero gravity. Then, shout out a new location and watch them “teleport” in an instant, switching up their moves and voices to match the scene.
Why It’s Awesome:
It’s a nonstop adventure that sparks creativity, quick thinking, and giggles galore as kids hop from one wild setting to the next!
6. Obstacle Course Adventure
How to Play:
Set up an obstacle course at home with pillows, blankets, and furniture. Then, add a dramatic twist! Maybe the floor is now lava, and they must navigate the furniture-islands to retrieve a hidden treasure. They have to crawl through a "cave" (under a table) and balance on a "narrow bridge" (a line of tape on the floor) to reach the gold!
Why It’s Awesome:
It combines physical movement with imaginative play. The story adds motivation to complete the course, making the activity way more exciting!
7. Mirror Mirror
How to Play:
Pair up family members and designate one as the leader and the other as the mirror. The leader creates a series of movements, and the mirror must mimic them precisely. Once you’ve gotten the hang of things, swap up the leader!
You can also add in characters, such as being a janitor cleaning a museum or a chef cooking a delicious dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. Or any other meal (I guess).
Why It’s Awesome:
It’s surprising to see how well kids can focus when they’re trying to match your movements. And it’s even more fun when they take the lead and you’re the one left trying to keep up. Trust us, there will be lots of laughs!
8. Create a Soundscape
How to Play:
Pick a theme, like a rainforest or a busy city. Have everyone come up with sounds to match (birds chirping, traffic noise, etc.) and layer them together to create an immersive soundscape. For added fun, close your eyes and imagine the scene.
Why It’s Awesome:
Whatever you think is the most logical sound to hear at a beach is not always what your youngest kid will come up with. But whatever strange creature they decide is inhabiting the chosen location, you know it’s going to be a fun time! All the while, this activity promotes teamwork, active listening, and creativity while teaching kids how sound can tell a story.
9. Put on a Play
How to Play:
For a more involved project, why not create a short play? Work together to come up with a short story. It could be a retelling of a favourite fairy tale or a completely original idea. Come up with some simple lines, assign roles, and grab some DIY costumes (hello, bedsheets and cardboard crowns!). Then, perform for an audience. And yes, pets totally count.
Why It’s Awesome:
From brainstorming to performing, this activity gets kids involved in every step of the creative process. It’s what we do during our evening drama classes, just crammed into a single afternoon of fun! And who doesn’t love a good curtain call?
Let the Drama Begin!
Drama games are a fantastic way to keep your kids entertained, active, and learning—even on unexpected days off. From creating wild characters to acting out silly scenarios, these activities are all about letting their creativity soar.
Who knows? Maybe they’ll discover a hidden passion for the stage! And if they do, we’d love to help them grow with our drama classes. Reach out to learn more about the educational programs at Quest Theatre—we promise they’ll have a blast!