Spring weather has finally come upon us. I am sure we will
be having some rain in the forecast, so I thought this would be a perfect time
to talk about some activities you can with your kids to keep them busy when
they cannot go outside to play.
- Bake or Cook: Who doesn’t love baking cookies on a yucky rainy day? Use this time to bake with your kids and talk about measurement and time! Let them measure the ingredients and even have them help you mix them together. Help them keep track of the time as well. If you want to really get scientific, you can have them record the change cookies make every 5 minutes in the oven. You can have them record his/her data and even draw picture showing their findings. If you have a slow cooker, another great activity to do with your kids is to have them help you make a “fix-it-and-forget-it” meal. That way you have more time to do other fun activities and won’t be tied down to stop and make dinner at some point. They will love adding all of the ingredients together and turning the switch on!
- Go on a Treasure Hunt: Take turns hiding a toy somewhere in the house. For young readers leave them easy to read clues to follow. It’s a great way to review sight words! You can also play the hot/cold game where if your child is close to the hidden object you tell them they are getting “warmer” and if they are walking far away from the object they are getting “colder”.
- Go for a Swim: Have your kids put his or her bathing suits on, break out
some small pool toys, and go for a swim in the bath tub. While playing in the “pool” you can also try experimenting with object to see if they sink or float. - Museum Trip: Living in New Jersey provides us with great opportunities to visit museums. Between New York City and Philadelphia there are tons of places where you can bring your little one to pass the time away on dreary days. There are some great places to explore just in Paramus alone! Visit www.visitnj.org/museum for more information!
- Veg Out: Spending quality time with your kids is the most important thing in the world. In my opinion, the term “veg out” can mean any number of lazy-day activities. Some ideas could be:
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- Eat popcorn or other goodies and watch a movie,
- Make a pillow and blanket fort,
- Read a Chapter Book together: I used to love to
listen to my mom read me The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. If you think your child would sit for it, it is an excellent bonding experience. Other great chapter book series that I even read to my students include, but are not limited to - the Ready Freddy book series and the Flat Stanley book series. They are perfect for beginning readers to listen to!
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Rainy days can be tough on all of us, but with a little planning and imagination, it
can turn into an excellent opportunity to spend, real, quality time with your
kids. Take a look at “What’s on Our Bookshelf” for examples of the Ready
Freddy and Flat Stanley book series.
