Winter Months
Winter can be difficult when you have little ones. It can be so hard to deal with the pent up energy when your kids are trapped inside for days on end. Sure, you can bundle them up and send them outside to play in the cold or snow but in my experience they play outside for only about half of the time it took for you to get them all bundled up in the first place and then you have to deal with the after mess: wet/muddy boots and layers of dirty clothes, not to mention coats, scarves, and gloves everywhere. In the end you spend way more time getting them dressed and undressed than they spend playing outside and you're left wondering why you even bothered. Last time I bundled my little guys up to play in the snow, my 2 year old lasted 8 whole minutes and came in crying. We had to cuddle and "warm up" for about 20 minutes before he was himself again.
There are so many fun things you can do with your littles to keep them busy while stuck inside but if you don't think ahead it can feel frustrating and overwhelming to come up with anything on-the-spot, especially if you have a pile of dishes and dirty laundry staring you down.
I already shared how we made Rainbow Crayons recently. In home scavenger hunts are fun, too. Both of those take a decent amount of time and effort from you, though, and realistically we Mommas don't always have hours to spend peeling and breaking Crayons or preparing scavenger hunts. For times like that, here's a list of things that might help you out.
I will give each kid a basket or container of some sort and then have them write notes or draw pictures to each other and secretly deliver them to each other's mail boxes. Use index cards or old recipe cards for their letters. My kids have loved this game!
￫ Lego/Duplo Color Challenge
We love to build around here! If your kids are smaller they may have Duplo or Mega Blox but one thing that makes for a fun challenge is to build things only in one color. We love to do this together or sometimes I'll have them surprise me with what they're able to build with just one color.
￫ Map of Your House/Room
My son loves maps. Sometimes I'll draw the shape of his room and a couple of things that are in his room (his closet, dresser, and brother's changing table for instance) and then have him try to fill in the rest. He loves the challenge and always comes back so proud of his work! If they have the attention span send them back with crayons and have them color everything appropriately.
￫ Raid the recycle bin!
There are so many creative things kids can come up with if they are given free rein on things like egg cartons, empty bottles, boxes, paper, toilet paper rolls, etc... If your kids are old enough for scissors and glue then this will work even better, but Crayons and stickers are sometimes enough to keep even little ones entertained for a while.
￫ Boogie Board / Magna Doodles
We recently invested in a Boogie Board for each kid. These have been amazing and handy lifesavers! They work similarly to Magna Doodles but are much more precise and feel much more grown up. We take them with us when I know there will be time spent in waiting rooms or quiet places. I keep them put away so they are a special thing when we get them out (and so they don't get stepped on or lost!) and my boys LOVE theirs.
￫ Bubbles
Cheap, simple, and not too hard to clean up.
￫ Sketch Artists
Have the kids pretend they are street artists and take turns drawing each other.
￫ Puzzles
We keep our puzzles tucked away in the closet and get them out on special occasions. I'll call a puzzle day and we'll do all of them in one day or we'll do a few here and there. Either way, it's fun! I keep all of the "baby puzzle" pieces together in one place so it makes it a little more challenging for my 5 year old and he will go ahead and participate in putting them together.
￫ I Spy
Not always great for little ones but 3-6 year olds often LOVE this game.
￫ Collages from Magazines
If you have any magazines or newspapers or ads let them cut them up with safety scissors (these are great for really little ones!) and tape or glue them onto construction paper. It's fun to see what their little minds come up with!
￫ Build a Tent
We love to take a flashlight or a lantern and books into our tents!
￫ Give Thanks Jar
If you have a thankful jar sometimes stressful, frustrating, pent-up inside days are good days to sit down and think about what you're thankful for. Sometimes when they keep fighting I'll ask everyone to come to the table and come up with something they're thankful for and by the end of the conversation we are happily drawing or coloring and have calmed down a little bit.
￫ Balloons
I always hold on to any extra balloons after events. Blow a few up and they are super exciting until the newness wears off!
￫ Musical Instruments
Everyone has that one family member that always gets their kids noisy toys! We have collected whistles, horns, xylophones, musical triangles, recorders, cymbals, and so many other instruments throughout the years. I keep those tucked away for special occasions. First of all, it keeps me sane to not have to listen to them all the time and second of all, they are exciting and new when you do get them out! My kids love it when I get the musical instruments out and tell them, "Have fun!".
￫ Bus Driver!
Set up a few chairs and make a bus. Have the kids take turns driving the bus and other kids to wherever they want. The sky is the limit!
￫ Hot Lava!
Put pillows and blankets on the floor and tell the kids the floor is lava! My boys love being dinosaurs running from the volcano lava.
￫ Dress-up Clothes
Capes, left over Halloween costumes, and dress up clothes always come in handy on cold days when you're stuck indoors! Let their imagination run wild!
￫ House Mystery
My eldest is in this detective stage right now and one of our favorite things is to play "House Mystery". He'll come to me and ask if I heard any loud noises or saw anything weird and I point him in the direction of the mystery. He carries around his little 49¢ notepad and draws or "writes" his discoveries inside of it. As time has gone on I have come up with more extensive things I need him to seek out for me. If this is something your kiddo could be interested in, here's a list of some ideas to send them off to search for:
▸ Things that come in pairs
▸ Things that are dark and light
▸ Things with batteries
▸ Places that are wet
▸ Soft things
▸ Hard things
▸ Things made from nature
▸ Round things
▸ Flat things
▸ Loud things
Each time he comes to me I have another idea in my head and he happily accepts the challenge.
￫ ￫ ￫ ￫
I hope at least one of these ideas fits well with the age and interest of your little ones. And if none of these work you can always threaten them with chores!
Hang in there, Momma! Spring will be here before you know it!
There are so many fun things you can do with your littles to keep them busy while stuck inside but if you don't think ahead it can feel frustrating and overwhelming to come up with anything on-the-spot, especially if you have a pile of dishes and dirty laundry staring you down.
I already shared how we made Rainbow Crayons recently. In home scavenger hunts are fun, too. Both of those take a decent amount of time and effort from you, though, and realistically we Mommas don't always have hours to spend peeling and breaking Crayons or preparing scavenger hunts. For times like that, here's a list of things that might help you out.
Ideas for cold days:
￫ Mail Boxes and LettersI will give each kid a basket or container of some sort and then have them write notes or draw pictures to each other and secretly deliver them to each other's mail boxes. Use index cards or old recipe cards for their letters. My kids have loved this game!
￫ Lego/Duplo Color Challenge
We love to build around here! If your kids are smaller they may have Duplo or Mega Blox but one thing that makes for a fun challenge is to build things only in one color. We love to do this together or sometimes I'll have them surprise me with what they're able to build with just one color.
￫ Map of Your House/Room
My son loves maps. Sometimes I'll draw the shape of his room and a couple of things that are in his room (his closet, dresser, and brother's changing table for instance) and then have him try to fill in the rest. He loves the challenge and always comes back so proud of his work! If they have the attention span send them back with crayons and have them color everything appropriately.
￫ Raid the recycle bin!
There are so many creative things kids can come up with if they are given free rein on things like egg cartons, empty bottles, boxes, paper, toilet paper rolls, etc... If your kids are old enough for scissors and glue then this will work even better, but Crayons and stickers are sometimes enough to keep even little ones entertained for a while.
￫ Boogie Board / Magna Doodles
We recently invested in a Boogie Board for each kid. These have been amazing and handy lifesavers! They work similarly to Magna Doodles but are much more precise and feel much more grown up. We take them with us when I know there will be time spent in waiting rooms or quiet places. I keep them put away so they are a special thing when we get them out (and so they don't get stepped on or lost!) and my boys LOVE theirs.
￫ Bubbles
Cheap, simple, and not too hard to clean up.
￫ Sketch Artists
Have the kids pretend they are street artists and take turns drawing each other.
￫ Puzzles
We keep our puzzles tucked away in the closet and get them out on special occasions. I'll call a puzzle day and we'll do all of them in one day or we'll do a few here and there. Either way, it's fun! I keep all of the "baby puzzle" pieces together in one place so it makes it a little more challenging for my 5 year old and he will go ahead and participate in putting them together.
￫ I Spy
Not always great for little ones but 3-6 year olds often LOVE this game.
￫ Collages from Magazines
If you have any magazines or newspapers or ads let them cut them up with safety scissors (these are great for really little ones!) and tape or glue them onto construction paper. It's fun to see what their little minds come up with!
￫ Build a Tent
We love to take a flashlight or a lantern and books into our tents!
￫ Give Thanks Jar
If you have a thankful jar sometimes stressful, frustrating, pent-up inside days are good days to sit down and think about what you're thankful for. Sometimes when they keep fighting I'll ask everyone to come to the table and come up with something they're thankful for and by the end of the conversation we are happily drawing or coloring and have calmed down a little bit.
￫ Balloons
I always hold on to any extra balloons after events. Blow a few up and they are super exciting until the newness wears off!
￫ Musical Instruments
Everyone has that one family member that always gets their kids noisy toys! We have collected whistles, horns, xylophones, musical triangles, recorders, cymbals, and so many other instruments throughout the years. I keep those tucked away for special occasions. First of all, it keeps me sane to not have to listen to them all the time and second of all, they are exciting and new when you do get them out! My kids love it when I get the musical instruments out and tell them, "Have fun!".
￫ Bus Driver!
Set up a few chairs and make a bus. Have the kids take turns driving the bus and other kids to wherever they want. The sky is the limit!
￫ Hot Lava!
Put pillows and blankets on the floor and tell the kids the floor is lava! My boys love being dinosaurs running from the volcano lava.
￫ Dress-up Clothes
Capes, left over Halloween costumes, and dress up clothes always come in handy on cold days when you're stuck indoors! Let their imagination run wild!
￫ House Mystery
My eldest is in this detective stage right now and one of our favorite things is to play "House Mystery". He'll come to me and ask if I heard any loud noises or saw anything weird and I point him in the direction of the mystery. He carries around his little 49¢ notepad and draws or "writes" his discoveries inside of it. As time has gone on I have come up with more extensive things I need him to seek out for me. If this is something your kiddo could be interested in, here's a list of some ideas to send them off to search for:
▸ Things that come in pairs
▸ Things that are dark and light
▸ Things with batteries
▸ Places that are wet
▸ Soft things
▸ Hard things
▸ Things made from nature
▸ Round things
▸ Flat things
▸ Loud things
Each time he comes to me I have another idea in my head and he happily accepts the challenge.
I hope at least one of these ideas fits well with the age and interest of your little ones. And if none of these work you can always threaten them with chores!
Hang in there, Momma! Spring will be here before you know it!
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