Sequestered, Due to Rain

Let me start by saying I love the rain and I'm not complaining about it at all. It has been challenging this week, but challenging in a good way. LIke a "mom test" or something. I had to really flex some creative muscles and that was fun. It's a little bit comical that we SoCal types get so worked up about a few days of rain, but we (at least I) do. Ben's school was canceled twice, like a snow day but not nearly as cool. Four days of going NOWHERE (because I'm a chicken and won't drive in more than a drizzle) made us a little stir crazy and the kids were climbing the walls, literally.



Here are a few things we came up with to pass the time...

~ Coloring on paper is fun, but coloring on the kitchen table made me the coolest mom ever (for at least that hour). Dry-Erase markers saved the day and the kids had a blast creating a city on the kitchen table. Coloring on the windows and the sliding glass doors has been fun in the past, but the table was a new idea and it really tickled my kids that they were allowed to draw on a piece of furniture. A good time was had by all.



~ We played "Animal Hospital" and Ben and Addison cut bandages out of paper for their wounded animals then taped them all up. What kids doesn't love using scissors and a role of tape?

~ One morning the kids set up their cozy chairs around the lit fireplace, I brought out a tray of snacks and they listened to one of Ben's Adventure's in Odyssey CDs. It was precious. I love that Ben LOVES those CDs because I so enjoyed listening to new "adventures" every morning in the kitchen while I ate breakfast before school. Its fun to share that with him now.

~ I found a "family workout" video on YouTube and we all got a little exercise time in.

(What? Doesn't everyone workout in their undies? No? Just my kids? Well there's a first time for everything...)

~ We built an obstacle course using tunnels, chairs, a mini trampoline, a hula-hoop, the LuvSac, a tricycle and the couch and made the kids run it over and over. (They liked that they were allowed to ride their trike in the house. Something I justified by telling myself the tires were no dirtier than their feet.) One of the "challenges" in the course was having to stop at me and recite Philippians 2:14. "Do everything without arguing or complaining". Ahhhh, that's a great verse for us all to memorize I do believe. (I have a video clip of the kids running the course and attempting the verse, but It's taking too long to upload, so maybe it'll come out another day.)

~ And of course we've had our fair-share popcorn-movie days too.


I think we're supposed to have a few more days of rain, so if you have any more ideas send them my way! I loved the ideas my friend Kaci posted on her blog. I will for sure be busting out the shaving cream! (I have done this before with Lolly, but I totally forgot about it).

Comments

Kelly said…
I was going to suggest shaving cream too :) thats a ton of fun! Make your own homemade playdough! Do indoor scavenger hunts, have them find things you hide! ie:cut out shapes. Freeze dance! build a fort, have a camp out inside and eat s'mores :)
9:57 PM
Anonymous said…
We totally use to climb the door frames like ben!
10:30 AM
Anonymous said…
On rainy days I used to take old, stale dry goods (like cereal and rice) and put it on the floor with pots and pans, etc and the kids pretended they were in a sand box. Clean up isn't more than sweeping it up and they had tons of fun!
2:43 PM
Kaci Mae said…
We played animal hospital yesterday and it was a hit. I loved hearing the stories Samuel made up as to what happened to the animals...some were a little gory. Evan preferred to be the ambulance driver and to eat the Smarties we were using for pills.
1:31 PM
Lolly Caruana said…
ah, thanks for sharing these ideas! i was just praying for and believing that God was going to give me some fresh inspiration for my kids, especially Jonny, to engage him and play with him--and these were awesome!!! can't wait to try out the scavenger hunts and the obstacle course! and as soon as feb 1st hits, we're totally doin the smore deal! !! :) if you have nerf dart guns, those are fun to set up targets and try to hit them. oh yeah, get a dog. :) that has been a HUGE help this winter in providing hours of entertainment when i'm out of cool ideas. maybe david would let you borrow the wii??? make sure they have "work" to do, too. I try to make sure that all of my kids have a time (or multiple times) of day when they have jobs--they have to set the table, sweep, pick up toys, feed the dog, clean off windows, fold laundry (i get a huge pile and throw their clothes at them, then they fold them and put them away--it's especially funny if the underwear lands on their heads)--kids can appreciate their play after they've had a chance to contribute as well...maybe get some big task done before quatro comes, and invite them to participate...organize a closet, who knows...but make sure you take out time to celebrate with a yummy treat when you're done! :) luv u.
6:00 PM
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