Indoor Play

As the weather gets colder we all have to be a little more creative with having to be inside a lot more. Here are a few tried and tested things I've found helps with kids on cold weather days!

1) Indoor Car Wash

Get some bowls, pans, plates etc, some shaving cream (we ended up running out and using mousse as well), cars and trucks, water and lots of towels!

Let the kids wash and rinse the cars and trucks and it keeps them busy for a quite while! Both big and little kids like this activity and if you're looking for something a little more girly, try washing little dolls and animals instead.

 2) Bake and Decorate Cookies

I'm sure this one needs no explanation, but I think we tend to make cookies that need decorating on holidays only. At least that's what I do, so maybe it's time to step out of the box and create some colourful and fun cookies any day of the week!

What better way to spend a chilly day than inside baking and decorating a delicious snack? Cut out shapes and make it into a learning adventure for little ones or cut out people and have a contest on the scariest, funniest etc.




3) Masks

This is a relatively simple idea and it's easy to pull together. Use scrapbook paper, stickers, felts, pipe cleaners and whatever you have on hand to make monster faces, silly faces, animal faces and so on.
After the kids create their masks, they can have fun acting out the characters they created!






4) Busy Boxes

These are so great for indoor play! Boxes of stuff to inspire the imagination and cure boredom. I have a cupboard full of them. There are tons of ideas to create your own. Some of mine include: rocks and trucks; a gardening bin with little plastic flowers, tiny pots and dry black beans for the dirt; a post office bin full of emvelopes, paper, a little mailbox, stickers for stamps, labels etc; a cooking bin full of measuring spoons and cups, various noodles for the food and bowls. That's just a few. It keeps them busy and gives them something creative to do. Well worth all the effort and I bought a lot of supplies from the dollar store to keep it fairly cheap.

5) Games
This dice game in particular is a fun game for the kids with no set up required. All you need is some wooden blocks. Write animals on the one and feelings on the other, keep it around for those times where the kids are bored.

All they do is roll the dice and act out what they rolled. For example, a silly mouse, a happy cow, a mad cat. It's a fun and easy game to play for all ages and there's no mess!

 

Here are a few other places to find some great ideas!
Family Fun (Indoor Activities)
Red Ted Art - Cardboard Tube Activities
Hands On As We Grow - 50 Toddler Activities