Beating the winter blues: Fun indoor activities

Its not a secret that I absolutely hate the winter. I have Florida blood running through my veins and seriously countdown the months until I can break out my flip flops and maxi dresses. If I didn’t have to be a responsible adult and take care of my household and little one, I’d probably stay in the house every single day dressed in pajamas. Since that is not an option especially with an energetic toddler, I have to try to keep him occupied with activities other than the television.

Here’s some of our favorites:

• Board games/matching games– Depending on your child’s age this can be extremely fun and time consuming. Since my son hasn’t completely grasped the concept of most games, we stick to matching/memory games and hungry hippo. He gets a kick out of beating me and I try to throw in a math lesson by having him count all the matches or the balls he gets.
• Arts and crafts– Now you can get pretty creative with this. My son is pretty easy to please so a blank piece of paper with a variety of crayons and he’s in heaven. Some days we’ll take out his tabletop easal and paint or take turns drawing pictures on his chalkboard. If you’re really in the mood, pull out some old newspapers and magazines and help your child clip letters and pictures to glue to paper. You can get really creative here and make it themed based, focus on a letter or particular color. Kids seem to really enjoy this.
• Worksheets– I grabbed a preschool activity book from our local teachers resource store for about $5. You can focus on writing letters, learning numbers and coloring activities. Again, this is something that is fairly inexpensive and keeps your kids occupied for a while. I’ve even created my own sheets and made copies of printouts from the internet for free. This is definitely a “must-have” in your home!
• Reading– This is pretty straight forward. Select a few books that you can read together with your kids and have them read to you as well. If your kids are old enough or a little more independent, have them spend some quiet time alone just reading some of their favorite stories. While they’re doing this you can either do the same and catch up on the latest celebrity gossip or toss a load of laundry in the wash without interruption.
• Baking– This actually gets me in trouble this time of year. When I’m cold, I want nothing more then to bake yummy comfort food. But this can be a great activity to share with your munchkins. You don’t have to make it complicated, simply pick easy recipes that they are capable of helping with. Bake cookies, make homemade pita pizzas, apples with peanut butter and raisins. The options here are endless, just get your kids involved to make them feel special.

When we’ve completed most of the above, I tend to feel better about snuggling on the coach watching a movie. I don’t think television is bad, but sometimes it gets too much attention in our household which I’m not okay with.

What are some activities you enjoy with your kids when the weather is crappy?