It can be a bummer in the winter when you’re stuck inside because it’s too cold to go out. We’ve recently had a cold snap here in Florida that has made us put on closed toe shoes! Here are some ideas to help you prevent from going stir crazy and getting cabin fever. These are some fun, easy ideas to do right at home! Not only are they entertaining but a lot are educational as well!
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The List:
- Play dress up. Pirates & Princesses or Superheroes & Villans are always a hit at my house.
- Create something cool with Legos. The possibilities are endless!
- Finger paint – for really little ones you can do this with yogurt!
- Organize Pictures- The kids can help! If your kids are like mine they’ll love looking through memories.
- Use sticky notes and let the kids write captions for family photos (Just make sure they don’t write on the sticky note on top of the picture).
- If you have a pet, put them in another room- hide a treat and then let them out to see if they can find it. If you have a dog and it’s like mine you can also hide their ball and then ask the dog where the ball is so they search. (Warning- There could be 1 or 2 side effects…some dogs think they can talk and will look and bark at you when you ask. The other is that you may be playing ball for the rest of the day or your pet will drive you nuts)
- Learn how to fold some easy origami
- Make paper airplanes
- Play with water beads (Check out this water beads, ice, and fake snow activity!)
- Have your kids make up a show and then record it.
- Interview your kids and record their answers. You could do a range of interview questions. 12. Record your child explaining how to do something. This could be something like- making a food item (cookies, sandwich, pizza, ect), putting a toy together, brushing their teeth, anything that has steps to it. For example, first you take the dough out, then you put the sauce on it… It is entertaining and it helps them learn to express themselves and think through a process.
- Let your child do product reviews and record them. This can be of anything. Their favorite toy, a tv show, laundry detergent, anything that they can give their opinion on. Have them tell what it does or what it is about and what they think about it. You may be surprised at the thoughts they have on some everyday products. Encourage them to sit up straight and make eye contact. It’s good practice and will help them be more comfortable as they get into school and have to do reports in front of people.
- Learn something new! There are lots of free online classes that you can watch together or you may have something new you can teach them.
- Make Forts
- Popcorn & a Movie- You could choose a new one or a classic to introduce them to! I also like to do this with old tv shows like “The Little Rascals” or “I Love Lucy”.
- Bake something
- Have a Dance Party
- Exercise- Babble has some great suggestions
- Make Hot Chocolate and Tell Stories
Read Books- Need some ideas? (Book List)
- Play Games- a couple of our favorites are “Pop the Pig” and “Shark Bite”. I especially like these two because they are great for young kids. We enhance these by incorporating questions, or making them use a specific word in a sentence, or spelling a word before rolling the dice (for my 6 yr old, my 4 yr old likes to attempt it too though. Let’s just say he spells dog and cat a lot…lol). Here’s a cute bowling game from Babble also!
- Organize something. It’s a great time to go through clothes and closets to take out what they’ve out grown. You can also organize books, your cabinets, or pictures and let the kids help.
- Have a Tea Party
- Make puppets! Use paper bags, or socks…be creative!
- Magic Carpet Ride – You can do this if you have a rug on your floor , or you can even throw down a blanket to use. Then go on your adventure!
- Make slime– You can just make slime or add to it!
- Paint Rocks– any rock will do, we like to get river rocks from Lowes or Home Depot
- Hide and Seek- Need a moment of silence? LOL This is a great way to break up the day!
- What’s missing? Get some objects (toys, blocks, picture frames, ect) have the kids look at them and then have them go out of the room or close their eyes and remove one of the objects. They then have to figure out what’s missing. Then it’s their turn!
- Sensory Play with Rainbow Rice!
- Be an Engineer using straws and playdoh
- Play- If (This)….Then (That). Give a situation, for example- If “I open all the windows” Then “it will get really cold in here!” My son’s favorite question is always If “you give a mouse a cookie” Then “he will ask for some milk!”
- Make your own snow! If you’re somewhere like me in Florida that never gets snow, this is SUPER cool!
- Make cards, or write letters to family members just to say hello and mail them.
- Play Simon Says
- Play Musical Chairs- If you have Alexa she can play with you just say “Alexa, start Musical Chairs”
- Teach the kids how to separate laundry (My 6 year old is sooo into this! It’s her job and she gets upset if someone does it for her…lol!)
- Have a race with toy cars- you can improvise and make your own ramp or race just race them across the floor.
- Play I Spy – This can help practice colors and shapes. It’s a great way to help your child remember them and recognize them without it feeling like work.