Snow snow go away, come again another day…sooner than later please!!
Go to a craft store on nice day or before warnings of bad weather. Get what I call “rainy day” supplies. Big sheets of paper/poster board, coloring stuff, paint and finger paint, pipe cleaners, foam cutouts, and any other seriously hands on things you think would be amusing. Pull ONE out for every “snow day.” This way the children do not get immune to it or find a craft boring.
Activity 1, age any: Invest in small space fitness equipment. It takes a few minutes, music or a video/cable show, and dance, stretch, or bounce your heart out during your favorite shows. This list can be any of the following:
Yoga mats/ball etc.
Small 2-5lb weights
A small child, with tons of energy.
A ballet barre
YOU!
When my kids were babies, I used to “bounce” instead of rock them to sleep. Not hard or volatile, but utilizing your core muscles and legs to control minor bouncing takes focus and control and will tone and hurt! Also, put socks on you and a small child, the ones with grippers on the sole, and play hide and seek or tag. You feel more energetic when you are working out, having fun, AND laughing while bonding!
Activity 2, age 5+: Interactive piano lessons. Now many people would say, how do you get more interactive than a child’s fingers hitting the keys and the keys making sound in response? Well, for this activity you need painters tape ($1.99 a roll or so), a computer/printer to go on line and print out musical symbols, notes, etc. (the cost of paper and the ink to print) and a box of crayons (99 cents to $5.99).
First you put up the tape on the wall in long lines, making it low enough a child can reach but high enough to fit 10 horizontal lines evenly spaced, with a larger almost double space between lines 5 and 6. This will be your Grand staff. Next you find or blow up to size large notes and musical symbols, some of which a child will be able to color in. Talk about musical theory and symbol recognition while they color them in. Then cut out the symbols, place a piece of painters tape on the back, (you could laminate these if to be replicated in a school setting) and have the children assemble their Grand staff with the Bass and Treble clef, and putting notes on lines and spaces. Then encourage them to play on the piano what they assembled.
Activity 3, age 4+: Ribbon sticks. You will need a trip to a craft store: 1 package of 12″ dowel pins (typically contains about 1-12 of them) the cost is about $3. You will need either hot glue/glue gun or glue conducive to multiple items, i.e. wood and fabric. This cost can range from $1.99 to $9.99. You also want to make sure it dries at least white or clear preferably. Then comes the fun part. Proceed to the fabric/ribbon section. This will be the most expensive part of the purchase. Look for satin ribbon about 2-3″ wide. It should appear like waves when flapped up and down. You will need one 2-3″ wide by 6′-10′ long (your preference) for every dowel pin you are going to make. You can choose all of the same colors or different ones. The total cost for 12 pieces of ribbon at 8′ long was $25.00.
Assembly is pretty easy, but they need time to dry, and will depend on the glue directions you purchase. You take one end of the ribbon knot it about 1-2″ up, place glue on the face of one of the dowel pins and along the shaft part wrap the extra ribbon from the knotted end up around the glued portion and the inside go the knot on the glued face of the dowel pin. Then let dry and fill in and areas that may need more glue. The upper 1″ or so of the dowel pin should be completely covered by ribbon, and this will give it a good hold. Let dry. Then play!
Activity 4, age 6+: Make snow days- “Clean out for donation days” if a kid says they are “bored” have them find toys that they either no longer play with, or want. Grocery store bags work great for collecting all of the little pieces that come with many toys. Have them collect and clean /package them up for the next little child to use whose family cannot afford to buy them new toys. Emphasize how lucky they are to be blessed with extra, and how happy they are making another child, much like how excited they were when they first got the toy.
These are just some of the ideas I have to kick the winter blues. Just remember, if you as the parent are down, lagging, or poopy, that brings the household energy down too. Kids are not young for very long. Play with them! Play LIKE them!
Activity 5, age 8+: Freshen up bulletin boards. Measure the bulletin board from complete height and width. You will need tiny nails and a small hammer and thin flat head screw driver. At the craft store pick out a funky patterned cloth and have them cut it about an inch longer than your board measurements on each side. On the way to the cash register, grab some double sided tape. It will make life a bit easier. Take the board off the wall and delicately tap each corner a few times with a small hammer to loosen the sides. They are either held together with a staple or a small nail. Keep tapping around until you can carefully wiggle in the screw driver or pull out the staple or nail with the hammer. Pull the edging off completely. Wrap tightly and flatly the fabric so it covers the cork side in full and as even on the back side as you can. Double side tape the edges down on the back side so the fabric is nice and tight and smooth. Reapply the border by nailing in to the corners in the area you removed the old staple or nail. Hang back up. A fresh look to an old item, and can bring a childish room up to a preteen or teenage room.
These are just a few of my magician’s hat tricks for days stuck in the confines of the home. My only advice is go with the flow. If a child is not up to a craft, don’t force it upon them, encourage and other fun things may appear to do. Consider this day a blessing in disguise to bond with your child(ren). I know I do.