It’s officially winter which can mean CABIN FEVER! What to do to keep your kids engaged, creative and out of trouble? These 8 ideas are great boredom busters for any child.
Crafts are a perfect idea for fine motor skills and creativity but what if your monkey needs a burst of energy? Creativity with tactile, sensory elements are ideal for kids who need more hands on interaction and exploration. All you need on hand are some basic staples (flour, salt, food colouring… and you can whip up these play ideas pretty quickly!)
momstown has ideas for ALL ages so grab a smock and get ready for some messy, homemade fun!
Homemade Puffy Paint
We love this Puffy Paint which can be made quickly and then zapped in the microwave to make puffy and cool. What a true science experiment! These winter snowflakes are a fun way to make the project more seasonal.
Recipe:
1 cup of flour
3 tsp. Baking Powder
3 tsp. salt
food colouring
water, enough for a thick paint consistency
Paint on cardstock and microwave for one minute for paint to puff up!
Homemade Playdough
You're never too old or too young for playdough – countless ideas, constant creativity and an excellent stress reliever (hey parents, you should play too!).
Homemade playdough is softer and smoother than store bought and simply cheap to make! Put aside the cookie cutters and encourage your kids to just PLAY, create sculptures and let their imaginations go wild. It's homemade and not dear, so make a few coloured batches and don't fuss when the colours get mixed up — you know who you are!! 🙂
You can make Silly Putty!
I didn't know you could make Silly Putty at home until I bumped into this concept – doesn't it look like FUN?? Slimy and bouncy all rolled up into one – what little one wouldn't roll up his sleeves and play forever in it?
Oatmeal Construction Site
Put on an apron for Oatmeal play as it will get messy. Maybe even best played directly on the floor with a cloth down as oatmeal has a way of wandering. In terms of simple play, this is it – in a tray or bucket, give your child some oatmeal and access to water to mix into it to create her own texture. Then build, squish, pile, load…. have fun! Even babies can get into the action as there's nothing to hurt them, just wild oats!
Cloud Dough – so soft!
This recipe is easy and makes a very different kind of dough called Cloud Dough. Softer and fluffier than playdough with a transforming texture, babies will love to play with it too. Use a big bin to play as it's easy to make a mess due to it's crumbly nature. All you need on hand is flour and baby oil and voila you have Cloud Dough for hours of fun!
Bring the Snow Inside!
Is it way too cold outdoors to play? Bring a big scoop of SNOW indoors, dump into bowls and play away! The warmth indoors will cause the snow to melt slightly and create instant packing snow. Add indoor plastic toys and imagination to create anything your child chooses! For colourful fun, fill a spray bottle with water and food colouring to spray the snow rainbow colours! Create a snow sculpture and place it back outside to freeze again to view from your window.
Ever heard of Flubber?
It's slimy but solid, runny but squishy. It's strange and wonderful and so, so, so much fun! This is a must try recipe which both young and old will be fascinated by. Dr Seuss called it Oobleck in his book – perfect for a Seussical day!
Homemade Bathtub Paint
When all else fails, my mid-afternoon emergency rule has always been to throw my kids into the bath. There's nothing more fun that an unexpected daytime dip in the tub to play (supervised obviously!). To add to the fun – give your children some paints to play with made of just shaving cream and food colouring.
The Shaving Cream Paint is a cinch to mix up and let your kids wild on the tile walls of the shower. It all just rinses away! In fact, this could be fun to do after they've made a mess at any of the above sensory ideas!
Have fun learning! And don't let anyone ever say they were bored! Open the cupboard and CREATE!
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