Every mom experiences those days when things don't go quite as she'd planned and the children are underfoot. Maybe it was raining outside or there was no school when you thought there would be. It could be that your children were scheduled for a play date and the other party had to cancel or many other reasons.
On days like this, children seem to need and want different activities to keep them busy instead of just playing with their normal toys.
I think you will find most of these simple ideas can add lots of laughter, creativity, and fun to your child's day.
*Hide and Seek – but in the dark with a flashlight only! Make sure areas that have dangerous items are kept off limits.
*Have an indoor picnic on a blanket; add a little music to the atmosphere
*Pitch a tent and let them pretend to camp. They can bring in pillows, flashlights, books, and marshmallows. If you have nature music – turn it on.
*Give them old catalogs and let them cut out paper dolls from its pages.
*Have a pajama movie party with popcorn
*Let them paint cardboard masterpieces
*Dress up! Give them old shoes, jackets, and belts
*Girls can have a hair party and do each other's hair. They can also pain their nails and toes.
*Crafts – you can find common household things like pasta noodles, toothpicks, cotton balls, stickers, buttons, etc. Let your kids make artwork on extra planter pots or create placemats on construction paper.
*Create a movie. If your children are older and are trustworthy, you can lend them your video camera and have them make their own movie! (A commercial might be fun also).
Use your imagination. Things like balloons, bubbles, pillow fights, etc. are always fun and can make an unplanned day turn into a great adventure.
