How to Make a Rainy Day a Fun Day with Toddlers
Just because your children can't play at the playground or in the backyard doesn't mean it has to be a boring day spent in front of the television. When bad weather shoos you and your toddler back indoors, it's a great opportunity to flex your creative muscles and find fun, interactive activities that you and your little ones can do together.
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Instructions
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At Home
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Create a fort or playhouse using pillows or boxes or a tent using blankets or sheets draped over chairs. Your toddler will love hiding, crawling and playing in it, especially if you join in.
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Find the darkest room in the house, and play with flashlights. Make shadow puppets, go hunting for hidden treasures, or write letters and numbers on the wall using the beam of light.
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Let kids play in the bathtub. Who needs to wait until bedtime? Offer bath crayons, pull out bubble solution and wands and blow bubbles, or play with shaving cream.
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Bake some cookies together. Depending on your toddler's age, he might be able to help pour and stir ingredients and, of course, taste test.
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Channel your children's inner artists--whether it's with crayons, finger paints, markers or chocolate syrup, let them draw and create to their heart's content. If you don't have drawing paper available, you can use newspapers or cut-up brown paper bags. Play-Doh, or a homemade equivalent, allows squishy fun without the mess.
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Turn on music, and dance. Show your toddler some steps and moves, and have her imitate you. You can even turn it into a mini-workout session--hold her as you do squats, and hold her above you as you lay on the floor and do chest presses.
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Have a parade. Beat on pots and pans with wooden spoons as you march around the house and sing. Fill empty jars or bottles with pennies or buttons to create maracas.
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Create your own puzzles by picking out pictures in magazines and cutting them into less than 10 simple puzzle pieces. Or take the pictures you find, and have your toddler help glue them onto cardboard to create collages.
Outside the Home
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Take your toddler to the mall to walk around and get some energy out. If your mall has a kid's play center, let him socialize and climb around on the equipment.
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Check out the kid's section of your local library. Go through books your toddler has never seen, and while you're there, check out whether or not the library has a children's story hour. Some local bookstores also offer free kids' storytimes.
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Turn a trip to the grocery store into a game of "I Spy"--in the produce department, you spy something red...could it be an apple? This is a fun way to make a necessary trip into an educational game for little ones. Let your toddler touch the different textures of the fruits and veggies going into your cart, and talk about them--"Feel the bumpy green avocado? It's good for your eyes and heart."
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Check and see if you live near one of the country's children's museums by going online to www.childrensmuseums.org/visit/us_members.htm. These museums offer fun, safe environments for children to play, discover and explore.
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Tips & Warnings
Moods are infectious, and if it's clear you are having fun, it will make the day more enjoyable for your toddler as well.
References
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