Indoors with the Kids

Spring is upon us.  Yay!  I cannot wait to get outside with the kids everyday and be WARM again.  BUT, spring is a teaser in many parts of the country.    We have beautiful days and then we get some of the biggest snow storms of the year.  And, while I know the moisture is good for the land, and yadda yadda yadda, it's bad for me because that means more days cooped up inside with three busy kids.  In November, that's tolerable.  In April--not so much.  

So, what to do on those bad weather days?  When I'm being a good mom with loads of energy (wait, when do I EVER have loads of energy?), there are a few fun activities we do inside.  Thought I'd share them!

(Just as a warning--some of these are messy.  Very messy.  So, there's kind of a love/hate relationship there.  But the kids really think they're fun.)

 Oobleck

Don't know where the name came from. Basically, you mix some cornstarch and water together, maybe some food coloring, and MAGIC happens.  Seriously, the stuff is weird and fun.  I myself find it entertaining.  It's like a liquid that's a solid that's a liquid.  Lots of fun. Lots of mess, as you can tell from my little boy.  Oh, and it's not supposed to be edible.  Don't ask me why he's got stuff on his face.  

Slime

This one isn't quite as messy but it's still a lot of fun.   I made it with my son's co-op preschool class for Halloween and it was a hit.  Amazing what some household products can turn into!

 Edible Playdough

Another one that I love.  First, there's the peanut butter kind.  My favorite recipe so far is here.  Entertaining and yummy.  

Then, there's cake mix playdough.  Dangerous.  Very dangerous.  This stuff tastes way too good.  One of my boys pretty much just stuffed his face with it.  And then I stuffed my face with the leftovers over the next few days.  But it's fun because they can make "food" with it and then actually eat it.  Sometimes, I let them use chocolate chips for decorating. 

 Paper Helicopters

I got this cool book from my son's book order a while ago:

The Usborne Big Book of Science Things to Make and Do

Some of the activities are more crafty than science-y, but what I really like about them is most of them use things I already have around the house and they don't take much time to do.  One of the boys' favorites was the spinning paper helicopter.

Boy, that kid really needed a haircut. 

I was going to write all the instructions for you...but then I got lazy and found a video that will work. This video has you use a template.  Our book didn't say to do that, but a template is an easier way to explain it.  It's really, really easy to make.  And my boys had a great time with them.

Indoor Hopscotch

I like ideas that will get my kids' energy out.  'Cause otherwise, they go into hyper-crazy-silly mood which drives me totally crazy.  So indoor hopscotch is a good one.  You get some masking tape and make hopscotch squares on your carpet. You can add numbers or not.  And then play.  Easy and fun.

Another thing you can do with masking tape:  make "roads" for them to push their cars on.  My boys definitely liked that one. 

And of course, there's always balloons and dance parties and cookie-baking and crafts galore.  So if your kid is like mine and asks you several times a day, "What can I do??", you've got options!