“It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is snoring.” We look outside the window and guess what? You guessed it; we cannot go out again today because it is raining yet again. Our garden is happy but the kids—-not so much!
If we are stuck inside but need to get rid of the energy, we put Patty Shukla on and the kids do the exercise to her music. Josh loves this one and it keeps him jumping. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmclP1Qh09A
There are times when the kids are more subdued like the other day when Joshie spilled a quarter bottle of Young Living Lavender oil on himself. We use the oil at bedtime to help the kids sleep better so he was kind of tired midday. The kids picked out a film and we did movie theater time—watching the Lorax, eating our watermelon snack on a blanket on the floor.
If we are stuck inside we might decide to have learning TV time with our familiar friend’s– cats or dogs. The kids like Leapfrog with the puppies Violet and Scout. They take us on adventures using numbers or letters.
Or it might be a kitty day. In that case we watch Jesse the Guess cat. The kids are fascinated by the British accent and Josh loves to try and guess along with the characters.
Music is one of most favorite distractions when we cannot get outside. I will put on Patty Shukla or if we are at Joshie’s they have some great children’s bible songs. Joshua is very good at memorizing lyrics and notes. Mouse just likes to hum and rock and roll.There are times I play a little Barry White for dancing. McKenna loves his voice and she loves to get her groove on.
Here is a list of some fun games for your toddlers to keep busy and not get so upset about yet another rainy day stuck inside.
Games:
Laundry basket boat (Carter’s)—use laundry baskets and dress them up with blankets and towels and the kids favorite stuffed animal and set sail. WE push them all around
Mirror mirror—I place a mirror in bottom of container and have each child check out the image and try to tell me who it is. Sometimes I color a mustache or hair on it before they look in and it really amuses them
Hide and go seek flashcards-I hide letter and number flashcards in obvious places and they find them and name them
Clothespin drop in bottle –we get a wide open mouthed bottle and try dropping clothespins in it (18 month olds not so good at this one)
Tent making use blankets and towels to make a tent and doors
Mattress romp— from Mary Cater. Use an old mattress (preferably toddler sized, and use as a ramp to drive cars down or lay on floor for jumping
Treasure hunt-pick their favorite toys and play hide and seek
Indoor theater—we get snacks, pick a movie and got to movie under our blankie like a drive in
Shaving cream in tub to make mustaches and hair
Paper pick-up—we use newspaper or construction paper. It is 2 parts—the first is tearing it up and throwing all over. The next is getting a bag for each kid and play pick up and a prize goes to the one who gets the most pieces
Flashlight Fun http://fun.familyeducation.com/childrens-science-activities/color/37105.html
Materials
· Scissors
· Uninflated balloons (one red, one yellow, and one blue)
· Flashlight
· Rubber bands
Directions
1. Cut the rounded ends from the balloons.
2. Stretch one balloon end over a flashlight and hold it in place with a rubber band.
3. In a darkened room, have your child shine the flashlight on the ceiling or a wall to see the colorful light.
4. Change colors.
5. Layer balloons to see how mixing the colors creates new ones: yellow over blue to make green, red over yellow to make orange, and so on.
6. If you have three flashlights, place a different color on each.
7. Shine two or more colors on the same spot to create a new color.
This has been a pretty rainy spring so we have had to keep our toddlers interested and engaged more than usual—indoors. Mouse and Joshie have been quite happy even with the limited freedom of being cooped up. I kind of believe it is because they are so close (like siblings) that they are happy just to be together. How lucky are they? And how fortunate for us parents –having these best buddies right next door to each other. It never rains on their friendship.
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