Young children are naturally curious and born to explore. Their natural languages are creativity, exploration and movement. Winter weather, illness or other reasons can restrict families to the house. Creative activities that we can plan for during these times promote language skills, nurture imagination, and reduce stress of both parents and children.
Thoughts on activities at home: When seen as an opportunity to break from routine and spend some family time; bad weather can be a good thing. Messes are easier to clean up than handling a child bouncing off the walls. If I am prepared with a few activities to do with my child, then I can feel better about needing time to do the other essential chores. I feel so much better when I allow my children to create and explore an activity, than when I turn on the television. Some days can be about both of us without me needing to leave home.
1.
Play in old cereal or beans, etc. ~ Set out buckets, funnels, measuring cups, spoons, and bowls. Then fill the buckets with rice or old cereal, etc. The kids are happy to "play cook".
2.
Play doh or any comparable knock-off, is cheap and versatile. There is a recipe in the Bates “Song Book”. Using household utensils are favorites. Older kids get might enjoy making it for the youngers. Plus, you can find recipes that harden in the oven for painting.
3.
Paint ~ Watercolors are fine, and washable paint is okay. But any acrylic craft paint can be washed off if caught in a relatively short period of time, and the colors are so much more bright and vivid. Simply “painting” with water on colored paper, including boxes, cardboard, etc. shows results quickly, then dries for use another day.
4.
Shaving Cream Paintings ~Mix shaving cream in a bowl with the desired food coloring. Then they can spread the colored fluff all over a page to make intricate designs that bleed into each other. Shaving cream does a great job of cleaning surfaces like tables and counter tops. Let the kids spread it all over the place, and when it is wiped off, the table is shiny clean. Cookie sheets, the fridge, and windows LOVE shaving cream!
5.
Build a Fort ~The only drawback of turning the couch or the beds into a fortress is how often they'll want to do it in the coming days. Having small, cozy places to hide and stay is wonderfully comforting to a toddler. It may serve as inspiration to make a cozy reading nook in their room. If you can allow it to be left up awhile, it is more fun for the kids.
6.
Throw a Party~ This can be especially fun if you know that the next day is going to be unpleasant and you want to turn the tides by setting up a morning surprise. Put up streamers, hang balloons, bake a cake, play dance music, set up simple games. Have a theme of the day such as beach day and turn up the heat for an hour and make tropical smoothies.
7.
Music Time~ Getting the family together to sing is engaging and very good for child development. If you're not musically inclined, look at it as an opportunity to learn along with your child. Get a used guitar, buy a book, and learn some children's songs. Check out some good children’s music that won’t drive you crazy. There are companies who will make a DVD/CD/book with your child’s name in it.
8.
Dress-up ~Collect a dress-up kit full of old clothes, aprons, sunglasses, Halloween
costumes, and the like. It's great to pull out on rainy days.
9.
Bake something ~ It’s a lot of fun for kids, especially if they know they're going to get to eat it
later. You may want to separate out theirs from the rest of the treat.
10.
Tunnel ~ Move your sofa or table away from the wall far enough to make a crawl space -
this is your 'tunnel'. Put a chair at either end that your toddler can crawl through. Now drape 1 or
2 sheets over the chairs and stretching along the tunnel's length.
11.
Find The Timer -Hide a kitchen timer that ticks loudly enough to be heard, and your toddler
looks for it. Be careful not to make the hiding place too hard - go with your child if you think she
might get frustrated by this activity. For younger toddlers, hide the timer in the same room.
12.
Housework Ideas~ Sort out all your clean laundry, while making it into a game for your
toddler. Get him to put all socks, trousers etc in different piles. He can then match up all the
socks. Toddlers who are not scared of the sound of a vacuum cleaner can 'help' you vacuum
up by sweeping. Wiping, dusting, unloading are important skills.
13.
Outdoor play ~ As long as they are dressed for the weather; provide shorter, frequent
times for outdoor exploration. It’s good for everyone!
14.
Bring outdoor activities indoors~ roll the ball into a basket/box/tunnel, etc. Use some
summer outdoor equipment in the house/garage such as the wading pool or slide. Make a ball
pit, pillow pit, fluffy pit, etc. Wad up newspaper/socks/fabric/etc. for tossing into targets that are
OK such as laundry baskets, boxes, tubs, etc.
15.
Recycle! Kids love the left over junk…boxes of any kind or size, sacks, containers, paper
tubes, tape, packaging, etc. They will learn sorting, combining, categorizing and much more.
16.
Empty/Fill ~ toddlers like to “help” and carry things around. Provide bags, purses,
containers with handles, etc. for filling and taking out and carrying around.
17.
Kitchen cook~ since kids like the “real” things you use, designate a safe spot for kitchen
gadgets, pots, pans, containers of all types so they can whip up something while you do!
18.
Rotate toys ~ moving toys to another location promotes new problem solving, creativity
and language skills. Try it for 2-3 weeks at a time. Reducing the number of toys available can
be an advantage also.
19.
Sensory bins ~ anything you want to put in a large bowl or shallow tub can turn into a
sensory activity. Put it on a floor cloth and fold it all up at the end and take it outside to clean
up. Try: large aquarium gravel, sand, cornmeal, cornstarch, shells, water, feathers, cotton
balls, paper shreds, paint with marbles in the bottom, etc.
20.
GO OUT! Visit play areas at the malls~ Children’s Museum of Tacoma.org for Play to
Learn programs ~ Odyssey I ~ play dates with friends ~ neighborhood walks/visits ~ Pt.
Defiance Zoo appeals to all ages ~ find a warm swimming pool.
Key Peninsula Cooperative Preschool Award Presentation: back row left to
right Laurie Dahl Isacson, Janice Reeder, Mary Tyler, Amanda Warfield
with children, left to right, Ben, Julia and Mason
