Being stuck inside with young children day after day could make you (and them!) a little stir-crazy. Here are some ideas for fun activities and indoor games to keep yourselves busy and provide learning opportunities for your kids.
1) Make Playdough!
* In a saucepan: mix together 1 cup flour, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup salt, 1 Tbsp cream of tartar and 1 Tbsp vegetable oil. For color, add food coloring or dry unsweetened Kool-Aid.
* Cook on high, stirring constantly, until mixture reaches playdough consistency. Let cool.
* Store in a plastic bag or covered container.
* Show your kids how to roll the playdough into a ball, smash it flat, use cookie cutters to make designs, and other shapes. Have fun!
2) Make a Quick Snack.
* Sweet potato fries
- Cut sweet potatoes into slices.
- Coat in oil (kids can help with this).
- Cook at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
- Lightly salt if desired.
* Funny Faces
- Use ingredients to make funny faces on your food! Some ideas include: cut up veggie shapes on pizza or bagels with cream cheese, fruit shapes on pancakes or on top of yogurt, and raisins on top of muffins.
* Special Shapes
- Use cookie cutters to make sandwiches into fun shapes. You can also use squares, circles and triangles to help teach your child shapes. Or, find alphabet or number cookie cutters!
3) Stay in Touch
* Make cards for friends and relatives! Toddlers can color or finger paint on paper, and older children can draw something just for grandma.
* Make hand prints to send to distant loved ones. Use washable ink or paint.
* Have a photo shoot and email your pictures.
4) Big Box Fun
* If you have a large box around, you can have lots of fun with it! Start by allowing your child to decorate the box (inside and out!).
* Make a playhouse.
* Play jack-in-the-box and take turns jumping out!
* Pretend it is a car (or train, or truck) and push your child around the room.
* Fill the box up and dump it out. (Be sure to talk about putting things "inside" and "outside" the box to build vocabulary).
5) Make Music
* Make a drum from an oatmeal container or empty plastic ice-cream bucket.
* Put dry beans or other rattly things in a tight-sealing container to make a shaker.
* Use two wooden spoons as rhythm sticks and tap them together.
* Get out all of your instruments and march around playing them.
* Put on a favorite CD and sing together. You can even dance!
6) Vroom!
* Use masking or painter's tape to draw out roads on your floor. Get out small cars and trucks and drive them around the town.
* Use cardboard tubes to make tunnels.
* Cut openings in a shoebox to make a garage.
Combine these ideas with a bath, a nice nap (for you, too, after all of this excitement!) and maybe a splash or two in the rain. You'll survive the day and probably start coming up with your own ideas for rainy day fun!
