Rainy Day Fun For Preschoolers

Two great resources for moms who are stumped on how to entertain their preschoolers:

1. Indoor Rainy Day Activities for Preschoolers
2. General Indoor Activities for Young Children (organized by topic)

Keep 'Em Busy

In the car

• Baking sheet + fun-shaped magnets
• Cardboard + sticker sheets

In the waiting room

• Tear a magazine subscription card into four pieces and then have your child piece it back together.

At the store or mall

• Let you child keep a tally of how many bears she sees, or people wearing hats, etc. Give her a piece of paper and crayon to keep count.

Share you boredom busters - leave a comment with some of your favorites!

Keep 'Em Busy

Here are some ways to keep your toddler/preschooler busy with items you may have in your purse:

• Have your child close her eyes. Using your lipstick, make a small dot somewhere on your body. Then have you child try to locate it!
• Using a pen, draw smiley faces on the tips of your child's fingers. If they get lonely their finger pals can entertain them!
• Wrap a small object inside a (clean) tissue and see if your child can guess what it is from the shape of the tissue.
• Breathe onto a pocket mirror to steam it up. Then use your finger to draw a shape or letter on the fog. See if your child can identify it, then let him try.
• Draw something nearby and in sight, using a pen. See how long it takes your child to guess what you a drawing, and then locate it.
• Ball up a clean tissue and then let your child see how far she can blow it in the air. Crumple up another and let your children have a race to see who can blow it across a table first. Join in the fun with them!

Turn Off Week 2009 (9/20-9/26)

September 20-26 marks Turn Off Your Television Week. People everywhere are accepting the challenge to unplug for one week and discover new avenues of entertainment, be it solo or family-oriented.

Up for the challenge? Wonder what you could possibly do without TV all week? Check out this resource found at SimpleKids.com (click link or image to left).

Hold That Dollar

Use your local library as a way to "preview" movies and books.

If there is a title you are eager to check out, check the library first. Being able to view the item for FREE sure beats paying for it, especially in these hard economic times. If you find that the book/movie isn't what you had hoped it would be then you can return it to the library. A free preview can help you decide to buy or not to buy, or even to just be content to borrow for a short time.

DID YOU KNOW? If your local library does not carry a particular title you are searching for, they can help you locate it in another library ... and then get the book shipped to your branch for you to check out. And it's all FREE!

Tap into the great FREE source of entertainment today! Memberships are FREE. It's a win-win situation. Your local library gets used and you get to read books, watch movies, etc. for FREE!

PS - It's a great place for a playdate!

Snow Business

Let's face it. Winter is upon us, and with that comes snowy days. Are you or your kids in need of some fun ways to enjoy the snow besides building a snowman or sledding? Check out these fun ideas sure to excite anyone:

1. Feed nature - string items such as cranberries, popcorn, or dry cereal and adorn some trees/bushes in your yard to give passing wildlife a scrumptious snack.
2. Make "Snowcastles" - use cake pans or sand box toys to create some snow molds. Drizzle or spray food coloring when the molds are done for an added zing.
3. Hide-n-Seek - Pout water into ice tray slots. Add in each slot a small amount of food coloring. Freeze. Once frozen hide the ice cubes in the snow and see how many your child can find before they melt!
4. Target Practice - Using a spray bottle filled with colored water spray a target in the snow. Then take turns seeing who can launch a snowball and hit the target.
5. Build a Fort - Use sand castle toys to build the walls and colored water to decorate.
6. Resurrect Beach Toys - Pull out those summer floats and have fun sliding all over the yard in them.
7. Pin the ___ on the Snowman - Blindfold your kids and then have them try to pin the eyes, nose and/or mouth on the snowman. See who can be the most accurate or the most creative.
8. Move Those Hips- Have contests to see who can hula hoop the longest. It's not so easy when you are all bundled up!
9. Paint the Yard - Fill various spray bottles with water and a variety of different colors of food coloring. Let the yard be your canvas and "paint" away!
10. Examine Snow Close-up - Brink a dark cloth outside and let some flakes fall onto it (or sprinkle some already-fallen ones onto it). Use a magnifying glass to examine the differences in all the flakes.
11. Blow Bubbles - chill some bubble soap in the refrigerator. Then try to blow it away on a freezing cold day. You will be amazed at how long it takes the bubbles to pop.
12. Make an Ice Candle - Fill a large container with liquid. Float a tin can in the center, weighted with rocks, and set outside until liquid is frozen. Pour warm water into tin can to warm and loosen. Remove can and add candle into open hole. Light the candle and ooo and ahhh over the way the light shines through it.

For these and more ideas please visit parents.com. Ideas in this post come from the February 2005 issue of Parents magazine (article by Mary Mohler) and January 2007 issue of Parents magazine (article by Amanda Kingloff and Lauren DeBellis)

Travelling With The Kiddos - Sanity Savers

We all know that road trips, especially ones around the holidays, can be grueling if the kids are bored. Check out the Let's Explore blog and discover some very creative, yet simple, ways to occupy your kids' minds while going over the river and through the woods. An especially creative idea? A cookie sheet and magnetic letters ... read more.

Cheap Fun

Instead of buying another toy for your child (a toy that they will probably get tired of in a week), try this fun idea:

Create your own play area on the floor!

Basic Supplies: a roll of masking tape, small toys (vehicles, animals, people)
Optional supplies: colored paper, foil, cloth scraps or wash cloths, scissors, small boxes, markers (for you to label buildings or make signs)

Ideas to get you started: Think about what type of small toys your child has or enjoys playing with (little people, cars, trains, zoo or farm animals?) and make an appropriate setting.

Example 1: Have a lot of animals? Make a zoo. Use the tape to mark out animal cages of different sizes and shapes. A plastic fruit basket or clear container could be a cage, but just a square taped on the floor works too. You can write or draw labels and signs. Use masking tape also to make paths connecting the cages.

Example 2: For the train or vehicle lover, use the masking tape to make tracks or roads. Make it interesting by adding bridges, tunnels, or ramps. Don’t forget the road signs and a station or two.

Example 3: Make a neighborhood. Start with a couple houses and some roads. Add a school, grocery store, Wal-Mart or other familiar places. Maybe a park with a pond or swimming pool.

Help your child think of pretend scenarios to act out with the toys. You could also map a setting for a simple fairy tale and help your child tell the story using toys. (Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Gingerbread Boy, etc.)

idea taken from MOPS On The Hill Blog