Written by Jonathan Warner for MagicBeans Bookstore
When the weather is cold and rainy and the kids are home, you may find yourself wondering what you can do to keep their little hands busy. Fortunately, there are plenty of great things the kids can do (with or without you – we see you, working parents) that will keep them happy and entertained all year round. Here, MagicBeans Bookstore presents five activities you can easily adapt to your children’s age and maturity levels.
1. Time for Storytime
Having storytime is a great idea for any hour of the day. Storytime fosters early literacy skills in children by exposing them to language, vocabulary, and narrative structures, setting the foundation for reading and writing. It also promotes cognitive development by engaging young minds in imaginative thinking, critical analysis, and problem-solving as they follow the plot and characters in a story. Check out the wonderful titles at MagicBeans Bookstore.
2. Come Up With Your Own Recipes
On really cold or rainy days when no one wants to pile into the car and head to the grocery store, get creative! How do you keep everyone busy and fed anyway? Instead of giving up because you're low on chocolate chips for the family’s favorite cookies, throw on a comfortable maternity black dress and get creative in the kitchen! Enlist the help of your kids and rely on their creativity to invent recipes with what’s available in your fridge and cupboards.
Your children will have hours of fun coming up with their own culinary inventions. And make sure to teach them to be responsible by letting them clean up afterward!
3.Make a Mood Board
Here’s a great idea to spend a day at home that is both productive and satisfying. Use a large piece of cardboard (or several sheets of paper taped together) and turn it into a vision board, a mood board, or a collage. MomJunction suggests having your children collect old magazines, newspapers, photos, and other objects and mementos from around the house that they can artistically display on their boards.
Whether this collage represents their hopes and dreams or whether they’re recreating a family memory, this is an excellent creative activity that will keep kids engaged. And as a bonus, you can have them throw away the cut-up magazines, clippings, and used craft supplies when they’re done, giving you a head start on your spring cleaning.
You can also make up a fun game while you all look for images. When you find a celebrity in one of the magazines, try to guess how tall they are in real life? Then, check out HowTallHeight to look up their heights? Find a small prize for the person who has the closest correct guesses!
4. Plan a Business
Now is a great time for business ideas! Clever Girl Finance recommends taking this as an opportunity to brainstorm new ideas. Then, start putting together a plan for your new small business. Not only will the kids have fun doing it, but they’ll also learn some valuable insights into economics and interactions as they figure out how to get funded, how to set up shop, and how to make financial projections to show the viability of their new venture.
It may all seem like fun and games, but your kids will learn how to achieve financial independence and become self-reliant as they grow older. And who knows? Maybe you’ll all come up with a viable option that sets you on a new path.
5. Teach Them Valuable Skills
Of course, you may not be able to spend the whole day playing with your kids while they’re at home. If you need a few hours to work on your computer or complete some household chores, invite your children to help you. Younger kids love to feel useful and act like grown-ups, so show them how to fold laundry, put the dishes away, or dust furniture. Put on some upbeat music and make it a party!
In your home office, tweens and teens can help you organize files, sort out supplies, or even enter data into a spreadsheet. They’ll feel proud of their contribution to the household and develop a good work ethic as you lead them by example.
Make the Days Memorable
Even when life keeps you busy, make time for your kids by engaging with them in fun and bonding activities. And if the weather won’t cooperate, there’s still plenty to do at home to keep the little ones entertained. Make it educational to boot, and you’ll have the happiest children on the block.
For more creative and fun learning activities please visit thinkerfit.com