Feeling in a Rut

Hi,
Not to commercialize, but there is a new video out that instructs Moms in easy activities that are born from what is around the house! Fun, easily adaptable to any age and kids love them. There is only one title right now, but I hear there are more coming. I think you can get it on netflix, barnes and nobles etc. just search Goof Juice-My Sky. Hope that helps.
S.-mother of 5, teacher, writer

I used to have my kids do collages. I would give them a stack of magazines and glue sticks and small poster boards andlet them go to town. They loved it.

Check out Family Fun magazine's on-line site for some cool arts and crafts ideas. http://familyfun.go.com/

You can also check out http://www.howtomakestuff.com/ for more things you could do.

A couple personal favorites are to find big cardboard boxes and turn them loose to use their imagination. Or encourage them to make a little house. Cut out windows for them, give them markers to decorate.

Balloon games are fun. Just blow some up and see if they can hit it around without letting it fall on the ground.

You can also let them make their own movie if they are old enough. Have them write a script, get costumes, and then record it for them. Then finish with a movie day. Darken the house, served popcorn, etc. Or you could do movie day without a homemade movie.

Try some cooking too, if they are old enough.

Or try to have them make jewelry from pasta. Penne pasta works well. They can color the pasta with watercolors or markers and then string it together for colorful, cheap, fun jewelry.

It is tough to keep kids amused, especially when the weather gets cold and you are trapped. It is nice to see that you are trying to keep everyone engaged and not parking them in front of the tv all day!!!

Suzi,

I know just how you feel. While I was running my own home daycare I was actually advised to get a "light box" because my doctor thought I might have SAD - seasonal affective disorder. You sound just like me...tons of energy all spring and summer, then drop off like a fly in the fall and winter. The light box cost me about $200, but let me tell you - it works! I sit in front of it for about 0 minutes in the morning while I eat breakfast and put my makeup on at the table. (The light stands on any hard surface.) If I am really low, it sit in front of it for another 15 minutes in the late afternoon until doing it just in the morning seems to hold my energy up all day. The light gives me the missing light only the sun can give me and it really puts a better hop in my step. I found my light at a medical supply store, but you might want to call your doctor/insurance company to see if one can be prescribed to you and at least partially covered by them. If not, I still couldn't emphasize any stronger how different my winter "self" is now with it and I would never go back - no exaggerating at all.

Good luck finding your smile,
A.

P.S. Here are a few websites with fun at-home crafts and activities that might have some new ideas for you.

familyfun.com
mothers-home.com
preschoolcorner.com

P.S.S. Finally, here are some other things I did with my kiddos to keep us busy during the winter.

-Yard/House scavenger hunts

-Shaving cream fingerpainting on the table (FUN!)

-"Fingers Only" lunch - messy, but great - try mac & cheese, etc.....slimy and fun!

-Jammie Day - I invited all daycare kids and my family to wear them all day and we watched movies, etc.

-Find a bookstore that does a preschool reading hour. Borders here does a story, art project and snack for free once a week

-Go visit a willing and able elderly neighbor who would like the little bodies around for a 1/2 hour. It'll bring a smile to their face and give you some adult conversation/time out of the house.

-Put on your own daycare exercise class. My kids LOVED this. I was the "instructor" and we did stretches, jumping jacks, etc. together. It will give you a good endorphine kick to get rid of some blahs, too.

-Freeze dance - We would silly dance to a fun kid cd and have to freeze when I pushed pause. Another good chance to get some endorphines, which are clinically proven to kick the blahs.

I know the feeling - I'm always brainstorming to try and keep things interesting around here. These are a few of the things we're doing now:

We just finished making our first "lapbook" & it was a lot of fun. We did this one on our own, but I just ordered a guide from www.handsofachild.com for our next project. You can pick a subject, learn a lot & be really creative.

I don't know what the ages of your children/daycare kids are, but PETCO gives free field trips that are really great. I arranged one for my family & friends through www.fieldtripfactory.com and it was entertaining for everyone from the toddlers to the teens & moms.

This year, we're spending a few weeks studying each of the continents. Since I homeschool our kids, we're building a curriculum around it, but you could just do the fun stuff! We get all the books & dvd's we can find at the library that are about that continent (non-fiction books with lots of pictures or just stories that take place there), we find recipes from those countries to try, find easy crafts either in our "Global Art" book or just by searching "South American Crafts, etc." online.

I can't wait to see more responses. I'm always looking for ways to fill our Winter days.

J. W
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/wdworkman/

I am the homeschooling/unschooling mom of a three-year old and a five-year old son. I also have an unschooliing group that has kids of all ages. One thing that the kids always seem to love is making homemade playdough. It's just mixing two cups of flour, two cups of salt, two tablespoons of oil, and one cup of water. I add vanilla to make it smell good and food color sometimes, too. Use cookie cutters to make things, or just let the kids scuplt. Bake their creations in an oven at 200 degrees for two hours. They'll harden like a statue. Another thing is to do fun science experiments. Fill three clear cups or bottles with water. Add salt to one and oil to another. Drop a nail in each one. Watch to see which ones rust. Rub a balloon against something wool. Cut of small pieces of paper, use sugar, etc. and see what is all attracted to the balloon by the static electricity. Make a color wheel out of construction paper, attach a stick, and spin it to watch the colors blend. Take the kids on a geologic quest. Look up to see what rocks you can find in your state. Try to find those rocks.
There are just so many fun activities for kids. Hope all goes well.

K.

My daycare kids love the "bean box" Used a plastic storage tub- not real deep but big enough. I used uncooked elbow macaroni, different beans & rice. Buy the cheap generic kinds. Use different spoons, bowls and anything else that would be fun to pour and play with in the "special box". I throw an old bed sheet down for easy clean-up. Three kids at a time can usually play together. I usually have to set the timer so everyone can play. They really enjoy this activity.

Let your imagination run WILD!

Ask the children what they would really love to do, like visit Dinosaurs. Then plan a day "trip" to do that. you can spend each day of the week doing something else to prepare for the trip. Make dinosaur proof hats, learn about dinosaurs, give stuffed dinosaurs names, make some dinosaur food (playdoh or cereal creations) then on Friday pretend your way all over the house to go and see them. Sort of like you are going on a Bear hunt. Always include some danger and let their imaginations lead the story as long as it is safe. At the end include a quiet drawing or art time and maybe even a video to let all of you unwind.
We lived in the desert once but my scouts fav. game was snowballs across the river. The river was a rug and the snowballs were balled up newspaper! Easy, fun, cheap and they loved it!
Enjoy!

I wasn't sure what age your kids were but for my little one...

We have a sand/water table we use outside during the summer. I cleaned it out and brought it inside. I filled one side with pasta and the other with ground up corn cobs (you can bet it at the petstore). Then I gave him his usual sand toys. I put it on an area rug so I can pick it up and shake it out in the trash.

I don't know if you've heard of it, it's a dance video called Bella Dancerella. They have ballerina, cheerleader, and hip hop. They come with a dvd, and dance mats. It's geared towards any age. My 2 1/2 year old really gets into it. Check it out online and you can probably buy it cheaper on ebay.

one of my favorite magazines is Martha Stewart "Kids" magazine... there are great ideas for indoor fun in it--especially for girls (i.e. making lip gloss out of shortening and candy flavoring, home-made play dough, and pipe-cleaner animals.) i don't have any girls, but i have cut out and save a lot of ideas for when i do. I keep a notebook for when i find fun science project ideas and stuff like that. i'm sure i'll need it someday when i am in a simialar situation as you. Sometimes i make play out of cleaning activities... fill the sink with water & bubbles and let kids "do-the-dishes" or clean the windows with a safe spray cleaner and a rag... how about letting them dress up in funny clothes and you can take their picture--(maybe you've tried ideas like this?)

How about getting them things that they can build a fort, like pillow, blankets, boxes, etc. My daughter is 22months and I do this every now and then and she loves it. It's like her own little private area.

We bought a 8x8x8 Moon walk from Toys R Us. It has to be the best thing I have bought for my boys (4,2, and 1 - of course he is too young). It blows up in less than a minute and deflates in the same amount of time. I blow it up in the living room where I can see them from the kitchen. They love it!!! WE also put balloons in there to play with and soft balls. They can't get enough. I know another Mom who also bought one for XMAS and she swears by it too. It is a great way for the kids to get exercise inside, and you to have time to focus on something else. If you are interested it is by Little Tykes..there are cheaper versions that come without the blower, and are not made of a sturdy material. Toys R Us also offers a warranty for like $23 incase it rips or something. I will have to say, it has been worth every penny. I can't wait to take it outside this summer! They will have a blast.

Try a tea party for your girls. Let them dress up themselves and serve tea (non-cafeine) with tea cookies, pastries and little cucmuber sandwiches. It's a great opportunity to learn manners in a fun relaxed atmosphere. Plastic canvas sewing projects are a lot of fun. My daughter started making gifts for the grandparents, aunts and uncles when she was five. She really enjoys working on her projects and I helped her assemble them until she was about 8 and now she does them all herself. Roeland park has an enclosed swimming pool that is open year round. I didn't see what your location is, but swimming is always a good activity for the kiddos.

What great ideas. I suggest a story telling circle. It builds on creativity, imagination and speaking skills. Start with a word and build a story. Act out popular stories. Break into small groups and each group can act out part of say the Three little pigs. This kind of thing gets the children from being entertained to being entertaining. And it's fun, even for a tired mommy to watch.

cafepress.com/delladesigns
B..etsy.com

Suzi, I am with you. I don't know if it's the daylight savings thing going off and bringing dark earlier or what, but we are suddenly dragging around here - but, of course, NOT the kids. Today, for the first time ever, we sort of took Saturday off and didn't go anywhere. We focused on things that need to be done around the house. The kids actually had a great day. They played and played. Dad had Dylan help him install a light in the basement stairwell, and they were all excited about Dylan learning about wiring. I taught the girls how to read recipes and we made brownies from a mix. The girls planned a "pretend birthday party" for their dad (complete with goody bags, brownies and pin the tail on the donkey) and just sort of had an easy, self-directed day.

I think we'll probably use the rest of this "mood" to do crafts for holiday gifts for grandparents, etc. Reading and watching old movies (we just watched Wizard of Oz) are good down-time things to do too.

I think what I'm saying is, this is a natural adjustment that we definitely go through when the seasons change. Just relax and try to enjoy the down-time (even if you're dragging). Pretty soon the holidays are going to kick in. This is an excellent couple of weeks to just regroup and rest. You'll have to kick into gear really fast, really soon.

Puppets with Penny is great. She performs around town. I just saw her at Overlook House today. She has a website you can google. 4 people/$10.00. She will be at Children's Museum, too. Sip and Kranz is a nice coffee shop with sandwiches and a play space for kids with a huge window so parents can see what's going on! Enjoy!

start collecting dress-up clothes and costumes - active kids can usually keep themselves busy for hours playing make-believe.

I am right there with you Suzi! Today I had plans to do this and that and I didn't do any of it. Tomorrow we are hopefully going to go out and take our Christmas card pictures if it doesn't rain. Tomorrow afternoon we are going to start making the grandparents craft for Christmas. Just relax because in a few weeks you are going to be so busy with this holiday party and that holiday party and gift wrapping that you are going to be wishing for a "nothing" day.
Isn't it silly when we have a "nothing" day we feel strange?
Have a great Sunday
N.

have u tried starting early and make x-mess decorations for the tree. or try to have more free time for yourself and read a good book for 30min in the day it sounds like u might be tired. Give yourselk some time to regroup go to the libery w/ ur kids they would love that!

Hi Suzi,

I'm a little late on this reply, as it looks like everyone has given you some great ideas!

Just one more to think about....

I started my own business last May, because I was in a rut myself and was looking for fun, easy, and most importantly, educational activities for my kids during the winter months! So now I create, package and sell, educational craft kits for kids! All the materials you need come in each kit - no more, no less! everything is delivered so you don't have to spend the time shopping for all the materials.

For more information: www.abracadabracrafts.com

Hi Suzi and all the moms who responded,
Thanks for asking, and answering, this question--the responses had so many great ideas & websites that I created a separate document with activity websites and ideas that I can add to as time goes by and my 2 yr old (and soon to be newborn) get older. What a great listserv this is!

Hope you're finding more fun things to do to chase away the winter blahs.

Take care,
K. S

Found a great game that can be played indoors and out, Hyperdash.

If your rut is from lack of sunlight; have you tried tanning?