The temperatures are getting colder and winter
is quickly approaching. As a fresh coat of snow covers the ground, families can get a
little stir crazy. Plan ahead with a
list of our top 10 favorite indoor activities for your child! (Or if you want to spend a day in your jammies on the couch watching movies sometimes, that’s ok too.)
To see more fun ideas
like what we have below follow RIKC on Pinterest @rikcpins
1. Sensory Bags: Sensory bags provide great sensory input for children
that may need visual or tactile sensory reinforcers. Sensory bags are awesome “fidget toys” and
can also improve concentration and focus.
These fun
filled bags can be filled with anything you want! You can make Goblin Guts, Spooky Spiders, or
anything you can imagine. Our favorite
Halloween sensory bag is Goblin Guts. To
create Goblin Guts you will need:
·
A zip-lock Bag
·
Cooked Pasta (We
prefer spaghetti noodles)
·
Green food coloring
· Plastic Eye Balls, Spiders
and Snakes (whatever you think will make good goblin guts)
·
Clear hair gel
·
Super Glue
Instructions:
Mix the pasta with a couple drops of green food coloring in a bowl. Allow several minutes to dry. However, don't wait too long. You don't want the noodles to dry out. Once dry mix the green pasta with all other
ingredients in a zip-lock bag. Then just
secure the seal with superglue.
2. Sand
Trays: You don’t have to get very fancy with this one to enhance sensory
learning skills. Sand trays are perfect
for practicing shapes, letters, numbers, or designs and are so easy to make! To
get started on your own sand tray you will need:
·
Sand
(can be found at craft stores or pet shops in the fish aisle)
·
Shallow
flat container for sand (make sure the tray is big enough to draw in)
·
Cards
with numbers, letters, shapes, designs or whatever you want to practice on
them. (Parents you can even make your own sand tray for your child to mimic
your drawing)
Instructions: Once you have your container just fill it
with sand and start practicing! We like
for our trays to have a dark or colored bottom to them so that it is easier to
see what we have written in the sand.
3.
Calming Bottles:
Sometimes emotions run high and we can all be a little cranky. Calming bottles are great for helping
children during these times. Just shake
up the jar and hand it to your child as they watch the glitter and water settle
so will they. Here’s what you will need:
·
A clear container. (
We tall water bottles)
·
Clear Elmer’s Glue. (Make sure the glue is clear traditional
white glue will make the mixture milky).
·
HOT water (this helps the glue mix with the water)
·
Ultra fine glitter
(can be found at any craft or hobby store)
· Super glue for plastic (this will seal the jar once you are
finished to prevent leaks or anyone unscrewing the lid)
Instructions: Fill your container with HOT water. Next you will begin to add the glue, we
recommend about ¼ of the bottle of glue.
The more glue in the water the longer it will take the glitter to
settle. Step three, add the glitter and mix (we used a plastic knife so that it
could be thrown away after). We like to
have more glitter but you and your child might like less. Just add the amount
you think is best. Now you can add the
lid and seal it. We use super glue for plastic bottles.
** You can add
more glue if you think your mixture needs it but remember the more glue you add
the longer it will take for the glitter to settle. By following our instructions it will take
about five minutes for the glitter to settle completely.
4. Water
Marbles: Water marbles are a great
sensory tool and are just as fun to play with. You can purchase the marbles for about $2 in
a variety of colors. When we play with
water marbles we like to hide objects in them such as letters or coins to
double as a learning experience. Water marbles should be used
under adult supervision to prevent swallowing.
5.
Treasure
Playdough: Is there anything more
exciting than digging for treasure? This will keep the little ones busy for
hours while focusing on fine motor skills.
And making the playdough is half of the fun! For a treasure
chest of your own, here’s what you will need:
·
1 cup flour
·
½ cup of salt
·
1 Tbsp Cream of
Tartar
·
1Tbsp oil
·
1 cup water
·
Golden yellow food
coloring
·
Approximately ¼ cup
of gold glitter
·
A variety of gems,
gold coins, colored beads, play jewelry, etc.
(Be creative with your “treasure”)
·
A small shovel
·
A small treasure
chest *optional*
Instructions: Start by making your golden playdough
“sand”. Mix together the flour, salt and
cream of tartar. Next add the oil and
water then stir until smooth. Cook the mixture
over medium to low heat until the dough looks dry but is still sticky. Let the dough cool for 1 min then knead in
the golden yellow food coloring and gold glitter. Flatten out the playdough and place all of
the “treasure” on top. Fold the
playdough over the gems and make sure they are well hidden and evenly
distributed in the dough to make the dig even more exciting. Place the “sand” in the chest and let the
treasure search begin!
**
This can also be done with dinosaurs to make a small archaeological dig
site!
6.
Pom-Pom Target
Practice: This one is pretty simple but
will still keep the kiddos entertained for hours. The difficulty level can be increased or
decreased depending on the age of the child.
Here’s what you
will need:
Painters tape
or masking tape
Large and small
pom-poms (can be found at a craft or hobby store)
Instructions: Tape a target on the floor. For younger children you can only put only two
rings on the target and use larger pom-poms.
For older children increase the difficulty by adding more rings to the
target and use smaller pom-poms. If you
are a competitive family you can create your own scoring system to make play a
little more interesting.
7.
Indoor
Snowmen: Sometimes the desire to build a snowman is outweighed by the desire to
not get frost bite. The good news is
that you can make a snowman without any snow at all and all from the kitchen
counter! To get started you will need:
·
2
boxes of cornstarch
·
A
can of foaming shaving cream
·
A
box or plastic container
·
A
sheet, tarp, trash bag, newspaper or anything you can use to cover the table
for any spills
·
Odds
and ends you may have to help play in the “snow” Ex: buttons, yarn, beans, hard
candy, dry pasta, ribbon, bottle caps etc.
Instructions: Empty the boxes
of cornstarch into the containers and add the shaving cream to the corn starch
(we use the whole can). Let your little
one mix the snow together until it makes a crumbly powder that will stick
together when formed into a ball. If it
isn’t sticking you may need more shaving cream.
You are now ready to make your snow art! Your snow should last a few
weeks if you want to save it for another “snow day” just put a lid on your
container for storage!
8.
Campground Living
Room: Camping can be a lot of fun but
can also be hard to do for some families.
No worries! Bring the campground
to your living room. Here we will show
you how to set up your Campground Living Room.
·
Tent (If you already
have the real thing great, if not a good old fashioned tent from bed sheets
will be perfect).
·
“Campfire”
·
Oven S’mores
·
Flashlights
·
Sleeping bags
·
Nature Crafts
(perfect way to bring the outside inside for your special campout)
Setting
up camp: Decide where to set up the tent
so that it is easily accessible for everyone and in a safe place. Next it’s time to start the camp fire. For logs we use old paper towel and toilet
paper rolls or you can use brown construction paper formed into a tube
shape. For the center of your fire use
red, yellow and orange construction paper cut into flame shapes. (For an extra
touch we also like to put a battery operated candle in the center of the fire
to give off a real glow while being safe!) Glue your logs and fire to a square
piece of cardboard (pizza boxes work well).
Don’t
forget the s’mores! Preheat your oven to
450 F and assemble the s’mores on a baking sheet (just bottom graham cracker
and marshmallow for now) place the crackers about an inch apart from each
other. Let the s’mores bake for about 5
minutes or until golden brown. Remove
from the oven and place the piece of chocolate on the marshmallow and top with
graham cracker. Let cool and enjoy!
Bring
nature indoors! You can create a nature
loom or skip ahead to #10 on our list! Nature
looms are a classic camping activity.
Collect sticks for the frame of your loom, choose a size that best
represents the size of loom you wish to make.
Lash the sticks together with yarn to create the base. The base can be in any shape you would like!
Pull the yarn tight in a criss cross motion to bind the sticks together at the
base. For the inside of the loom tie a
piece of yarn at the corner of your base and begin wrapping it around the
loom. To decorate your loom use items
from outside such as flowers, leaves, nuts, bark or pine cones. Just be
creative!
9.
“Stained Glass”:
Creating your own “stained glass” masterpiece is great fun on rainy day, cold
day or snowy day. This can provide
entertainment for hours or just as a quick activity depending on how big you
want to make your piece. Here’s what you
will need:
Press and Seal
Wrap
Masking Tape
Colored Tissue
Paper
Instructions: Cut the desired size of press and seal wrap
for the “glass” and use the masking tape to tape to a wall or window (this just
holds the wrap up so it’s easier to add the tissue paper). Next cut the tissue
paper into different sizes and shapes.
Once you have cut your tissue paper press them onto the press and seal
to create a colorful pattern!
10. Birdseed Wreath: We love every
part about making a bird seed wreath, from the sensory feeling of the bird seed, to creating a food source for the birds we share a yard with. Once the wreath is hung outside your children
will be anxiously waiting to see the first bird stop by for lunch. To get
started you will need:
4 cups of bird seed
¾ cup of all purpose flour
½ cup of water
3T corn syrup
1 package of plain gelatin
Cooking spray
Bundt pan or other mold with a hole in the center
Ribbon
Instructions: In a large bowl put ½ cup warm water and gelatin mix together
and let the gelatin dissolve. Whisk in
the corn syrup and flour to create a paste.
Add in 4 cups of bird seed and stir well. Spray the Bundt pan with cooking spray then
scoop in the seed mixture as evenly as possible. Compact the seed in the pan with a spoon or
spatula. Leave the seed in the pan for 24 hours to harden and dry. After 24 hours turn the wreath over onto a
plate or paper towel and then allow continuing to dry for 24 – 48 hours. Now you are ready to hang your wreath from a
tree limb with your ribbon (Just make sure to tie the knot tight).