Every person has been there, either as a child yourself or as a parent. Mother Nature seems to be working against you and won't quit pouring either rain or snow or making it so cold that it's dangerous to be outside. School is cancelled. Again. Without doubt though whether it is cold/rainy or not outside that does not stop the energy of a child to be through the roof. Yes some days they can entertain themselves, but usually that only lasts a few hours and then the common phrases start coming. "I'm bored!" "There is nothing to do". In general the kids always seem to make it the caregivers problem that they can't find anything to do. So what better way to be prepared when that day comes then to have a full proof list of activities already planned out. You may have to make a survival kit with different odds and ends in it for these days. (Buy stuff when it's on sale) Yes this may seem like a lot of work, but you will reap several benefits. Always the golden benefit as a caregiver, you get to spend more time with your child. Also, tiring your child out with help both you and them sleep better at night and several activities can be used as learning lessons for something like, oh I don't know nutrition and fitness ;)
Try some of these activities out. I promise that your children will love them. Children enjoy sidelining projects with food/exercise because as a child it is one of the first things you get to have an opinion over. Open the door and watch where it leads your family.
1. Do a quick 20-30 minute workout with your child. This will benefit both of you when it comes to getting up and getting active. Make it simple and fun, crank up the music and have a dance party. Challenge your child in a game of follow the leader with exercises. Or grab some blank popsicle sticks and create your own fitness routine. Write down an exercise on each stick and take turns picking one. You will both appreciate running out some of their energy :)
2. Give them a challenge list that must be completed before they can watch tv/game. Make some of the items fun and goofy while making other ones things that need to get done around the house. If you don't allow them to sit around and watch tv/game all day they will see it as more of a reward. As a bonus they will burn some energy off while they are completing the tasks and you won't have to fight with them over chores later. Have them empty the dishwasher in 2 minutes or less while getting everything put away completely. Have them walk around the house with a book on their head for at least 30 seconds. Have them run up and down the stairs as many times as they can in a minute.
3. Bake a dessert/Cook a full meal. As I stated earlier children enjoy food, they can relate to it because at a very young age they realize they have an opinion over it. The more you can get your children involved and allow them to be part of the process, the more willing they will be to try new foods. Allow them to be part of your monthly food planning. Create popsicle sticks with several different meals (ones you know they like and NEW ones) and allow them to take turns picking until the meal plan is complete. Play around with spices. Let them try a few different ones on different foods to see how they pair up. Have your very own cake decorating contest or cupcake station. Even if you are on the real food plan, kudos, but there are still lots of yummy things you can make. Let your kids really get creative and see what they come up with. And then the best part is you have dessert ready for dinner :)
4. Put on a play and/or concert. Have them tell you a story about how the food gets from the farm to our plate. It will allow them to do some learning and possible research themselves. If they want to put on a concert, help them make musical instruments out of stuff lying around your house. Top 2 products: paper plates and toilet paper rolls. Find some rubber bands to put around toilet paper rolls and find some sort of small object to put in the paper plates to make noise. There are like a thousand and twelve other things you can do with most of the materials lying around your house. Look it up online. Just remember it will be noisy!
5. Scavenger Hunt. You can set them up with a bunch of clues to find some of their favorite toys or you can sit back and let them create their own. Either way this will keep them busy for hours.
6. Put together a puzzle. Don't have any? Thats okay give them a blank sheet of paper. Have them draw a picture of a farmers market.(Make sure they cover the whole paper) Give them a pair of scissors. Let them cut it up into however many pieces they want. Have them put it back together. Keep letting them draw pictures until they get bored.
7. Indoor bowling. Kids are all wired to LOVE bowling. It's the one time they can throw a ball at a bunch of objects, get excited when they knock over pins and not get in trouble. Find some old containers, water bottles, or make your own pins. Then all you need is a ball and some space.
8. Write a story. Have them tell you a story about a day in the life of a farmer or what to do in order to have a garden. This activity allows them to work on several skills and get their brains thinking. If they are younger you can have them make you a book of veggies or a farm animal book. They may even have some ideas of their own :)
9. Build Fort. I know pretty much everyone has this up their sleeve. Send them on a mission to find blankets and pillows and see what unfolds. You never know I use to spend hours in my fort reading, something I didn't do much of anywhere else. They may just love it so much they never want to leave. Bonus!
10. Science projects. Thankfully for the world wide web we have so many ways to find some cool science projects that will wow the pants off of any child. One night when your watching tv look up a few projects to do, most of them will use things that you already have in your home.
11. Create game. Use something as simple as a file folder to create a board game. A good one is a pyramid frenzy where you have cards with different foods on them and as you roll the die and move around the board you must classify correctly or you will not be able to move. Let your child create the board and the cards. You can also do a good ole fashion memory or matching game. Create about 10-20 pairs of squares with pictures or words on them. Lie them face down and try to find their pairs. Again have your child create these pairs, index cards cut in half would be perfect but are definitely not necessary.
12. Arts and Crafts. Find everything and anything in your house that could possibly be used. Give them glue, tape, markers, paper and random objects. See what they create. Or give them a theme and have them make somethings to go along with it.
Snow days/Cold days/Rain days don't have to be a day to dread. Look at it as an extra day that you get to spend getting to know your child. They are unique and grow way too fast, so an extra day here and there should be welcomed with open arms. Just take a few hours one day to prepare yourself for these days and then they won't seem like such torture. Your kids are growing fast and if you just let them sit around all day it will resolve in lots of built up energy that will probably affect their sleep pattern which in turn will change their mood for the following day. Keep them active, mentally and physically and I know you will all enjoy the special days off together a little bit more :)
Keep changing the world, one child at a time.
Best Wishes for a healthy and happy life,
Lori :)
