Rainy Day Activities

Are you and your little one(s) going stir crazy too? I know we are! We are ready for spring and play time at the park again! But since it's still too cold...here are some fun (and educational) ideas to shake things up a bit and help pass the time while stuck indoors!

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My good friend Nicole at life's little moments kept her kids entertained for a good hour with this...

Kitchen Hopscotch! A little tape and you're good to go! This is a great way to practice counting, number recognition, and those balancing skills!

Aren't her kids so cute? And her pictures are amazing! She is a great photographer.

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My wonderful friend Marie (elementary teacher turned mommy of 1 - almost 2) is genius when it comes to keeping her little girl busy. She has so many good ideas. This one is on my list of must-do's!

Colored Noodles - you can sort these by shape or color. Works great if you're little one wants to help cook - these can be used over and over again without making too much mess!

"Making colored noodles is easy and cheap! Just buy a variety of noodles (I used mini penne, elbow macaroni, wagon wheels, and shells), food coloring and rubbing alcohol. Place noodles in a Ziploc baggie, and pour alcohol (a few teaspoons--just enough to coat the noodles) over them. Close the baggie and smoosh around to coat. Add 5-10 drops of food coloring; seal and smoosh around to coat. Let sit for an hour or so to let color absorb. Then spread noodles out on a paper towel to dry. Allow several hours to dry. Voila! Use them for stirring, sorting by color or shape, art projects and more." - Marie

Thanks Marie!

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Besides the usual cooking, dollies, coloring, playdough, reading, and pretend we play. Here are some of the things I do with Little Miss... (too bad I don't have pictures for any of them!)

• Laundry basket next to her crib, her in the crib with a doll, toy, ball - and we shoot baskets!


• We are constantly building forts around the house with a bed sheet - the kitchen table, the couches, anything that will work. She loves to hide.


• I take her on magic carpet rides - she sits on the end of a long beach towel and I drag her all over the house. Fun for her, a great workout for me!


• We use paper towel tubes to roll small balls down and race them.


• Bowling with empty 2-liter pop bottles as the pins. She loves this! When we start this activity it's usually a good week before I can finally take the bottles out to recycling.
  


• Flashlight Fun: in a dark room start by demonstrating - name things you're pointing the flashlight at, "This is the ceiling", "This is the clock" - then let your little one have a turn and prompt her. This is a great way to expand your child's verbal skills - works great with a toddler. You can tweak it for older children too.


• Finger painting with pudding...pretty self-explanatory - super fun, messy, and tasty!


• She loves to pretend to be animals - sometimes we're both kitties crawling around, other times doggies. Pretending to be animals gives me a chance to teach her about different animals - what they eat, what they like to do, etc.


• Crank the music and dance!! This helps get rid of some of that energy.


• A paper bag and some crayons to make a puppet.
  

The possibilities are endless!! Do you have any great indoor activities to help pass the time?! Please share by leaving a comment!