Looking at the forecast for the next week I am struck by the Seattle rain storm and the entire Northeast being covered with snow. Winter is here. I thought it might be fun to reflect upon some fun rainy day and snow day activities for kids that will save their parents from going batty while making delightful memories. To say the least: being pro-active can combat the constant battles that emerge from stir-crazy kiddos.
Go ahead and make your home an Indoor Playground with these snappy ideas...
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10. Make Forts: Get out all of those blankets, pillows,
chairs, and tablecloths. Forts are a great and creative way to go “camping”
indoors. It is a wonderful creativity tool and a make believe world. By making
forts kids use their building imagination to make their dreams come true.
Sleeping in the forts that night is even better. (As long as they go to sleep,
anyway!)
9. Read Books: Pile the books high in front of you and read
one after another. Don’t get up for as long as you can. Use crazy voices and
accents, and point to the pictures. Get into it and talk about them. Get
excited about books and love them along side your kids. Reading is practically
becoming a lost art, with the idiot-screen (including video games, movies,
television) taking over for most kids – so take the opportunity to buck that
trend and dive into those children’s books.
8. Bath-time fun: Get those kids in the bath with lots of
toys. Shaving cream is a great bath-time toy. They can paint it on the walls
and put it in the water. Also, get those summer-time bubbles out and blow them
at the kids in the bath. They will love to grab at them and see them land in
the water. 
7. Pull out the play-dough bin: Make homemade play dough if
you need to. It is fun to sit at the kitchen table and create sculptures,
snowballs, and bricks. Getting those cookie cutters and rolling pins out of the
kitchen drawers to add to the fun. The kids love to bring their ideas to life.
6. Clean your closet: Kids enjoy trying on high-heeled
shoes, sandals, and fancy scarves. They can find treasures in your closet while
you take inventory and re-organize and de-clutter things. It is just so cute to
see them stumble around the house all gussied up with nowhere to go.
5. Bake: Make something yummy. Start with the ingredients
that you have at hand and go from there. Don’t let the fancy cookie recipes
make you think that you have to go to the store. Use what you have. Stay home
and be creative; try something new, and get the kids involved. Pancakes are a
great way for kids to practice cracking eggs. Cookies are a yummy wet weather
treat. And when your spouse comes home, they will be stoked!
4. Craft Centers: Raid the craft closet and get out those
craft supplies that you save for a rainy/snowy day. Put them on the kitchen
table and use them (let the kids use them, that is). It is great to spend time
creating something and using the supplies at hand. It can also be fun to get
out the recycle bin and use the supplies in there to make new and exciting
things – milk cartons, cardboard boxes, and newspaper make for creative
materials.
3. Play with your pet: Make a snuggly bed for your dog, a
raisin trail for your bunny to follow, toys arranged in a square to make a new
play yard for your guinea pig, decorate the fish tank, or grab some yarn and
tease the cat. It is fun to engage with those furry friends in a new way. The
kids can see how fun their pets really are.
2. For those techie kids: make a short video. Use your cell
phone to do the video recording. (If the kids are old enough to use it
themselves – probably age 2, right? – let them be the videographers, too.) They
can act out something or describe something like a news reporter. They can
watch themselves when they are done with their show.
1. Have a dance party: Bust out the 80’s dance tunes…or some
more current pop/dance stuff that’s appropriate for the kids…and crank it up to
11! Be sure to dance with the kids – they love seeing their parents jump around
with them. Bonus: This burns off a lot of the kids’ energy, and it’s good
exercise for you, too!
-1. Go outside and get really wet in the rain or play in the
snow. The great thing about a bad weather day is that going outside and jumping
in puddles or playing in the snow can burn off a lot of cooped up energy. It is
fun for the kids to have a rainy day or snow day fort so they can be outside in
the bad weather and be under cover. If the kids do get wet, dirty, or cold you
can easily fix that in a jiffy.
Then you can come in and do all of the numbers 1-10. Embracing the indoor lifestyle can be a lot of fun for kids and adults on those gloomy, blustery, or frigid days!
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