I’m not a fan of the winter . . . I’m one of those born and raised Southern Californians who starts complaining when it gets below about 70 degrees. But even worse, another thing I don’t like about the winter is when it’s too cold or rainy to send the kids out to play. We all get major cabin fever and I quickly run out of ways to keep them entertained (other than watching movies or TV or playing on the iPad). I found some fun ideas that I can’t wait to try out when the weather starts to get dreary here and wanted to share them with you.
Let the Kids Play With Their Food  Four Fun Ideas
There are some food items that the kids can use to “build” and have fun with. Pretzels can be used to create stick figures or mazes. Marshmallows can be mushed and formed into snowmen or faces. Mini chocolate chips can be used as eyes and mouths. Marshmallows and pretzels together can be used as tinker toys! Allow your child to skewer the marshmallows with the pretzel sticks to create a house or little people!
Or make popcorn snowmen! That will keep the kids busy and they’ll have fun getting messy!
What about sugar cookie pizzas for a snack? Slice several thick slices from a roll of refrigerated sugar-cookie dough. Gently flatten them on the cookie sheet to widen them into a “pizza crust”. Bake as directed, then allow to cool for about 10 minutes. How about strawberry jelly for the sauce, shredded coconut for the cheese, and M&M’s for pepperoni. The possibilities for this pizza creation are endless!
Decorating these cute Food Face Plates at lunch time will keep them busy too!
Put Their Senses To Work
Fill a bunch of bowls with various textured objectsâ€â€peeled grapes (they feel very weird!), dry beans or rice, cold cooked spaghetti, steel-wool pads, cotton balls, and anything else that the kids would have a fun time feeling. Have the kids close their eyes and touch the objects, while they guess what it is.
Dance, Baby Dance
Kids LOVE to dance. Turn on some music and just dance! Not only will they have fun doing it, but they’ll also burn off some of that pent-up energy.
Have a Picnic
Yep, spread out the picnic blanket, get the basket (or whatever your family uses to when they eat at the park), and let them decide what to have for lunch on the living room floor! Easy picnic-friendly foods like string cheese, little crackers, and PB&J sandwiches are perfect suggestions. Let them eat off of paper plates. Pretend that you’re outdoors and that you feel the warm sun and have to brush ants off of the blanket. The kids will get a kick out of pretending!
What other fun indoor activities do you depend on to keep your kids busy?
photo source: flickr
