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Beating the Rainy
Day Blues
Most
of these easy, child-tested projects first appeared in "A
Wet Weather Compendium," edited by former Parents' Press
staffer Margot Lind.
Super Simple Art
Projects
Keep a secret
stash of basic crafts supplies hidden away for emergencies and
difficult days - tape, white glue, blunt scissors, scraps of
fabric, buttons, drawing paper, sharpened pencils, new but inexpensive
sets of crayons, felt tip pens, watercolors, chalk. Add a special
"rainy day only" coloring book. Sometimes just the
stimulus of a new item is enough.
Glue almost anything
to white or solid-colored paper plates - pasta in various shapes,
scraps of cloth and yarn, stray buttons, bits of colored paper.
Punch a hole through the top of the completed collage and hang
it up with yard or twice.
Make paper chains
from colored construction paper. Stapling is easier than gluing
for some children.
Teach your child
how to make paper cut-outs - snowflakes or paper doll chains.
Create
your own paper dolls and clothes for them.
Have your child
lie down on a large sheet of paper and trace around him or her.
The youngster can color in the silhouette. (If you don't have
a big enough sheet of paper, tape together smaller sheets or
flattened-out paper bags.
Make tie-dye
napkins. Crumple up plain white paper towels, hgold them in place
with rubber bands, and dip in food coloring (one or more colors).
Spread the towels out to dry and use them as napkins at dinnertime.
Create
a pet rock by painting a face on any small, smooth pebble. Furnish
a shoebox with paper and cardboard beds, chairs, etc., as a house
for the rock.
Start a large
(500-1,000 piece) family jigsaw puzzle. While very young children
to not have the small motor skills to fit the pieces together,
they can help turn the pieces right sideup and sort them into
colors, edges, ow however you like to do it. This is an activity
that can go on for days, and when it is finally completed, there
is a real sense of accomplishment. You can buy special glue to
make the completed puzzle permanent.
In the Kitchen
Hints:
keep it very simple with the youngest kids; expect a mess and
don't expect too much help with clean-up; make sure you've got
all the necessary ingredients, pans, utensils, etc. before you
start; and be prepared to eat less-than-perfect results with
a big smile.
Be sure to carefully
supervise use of the stove, knives, and other sharp utensils,
glass bowls and measuring cups, and electrical appliances.
With toddlers
and preschoolers: Cut up bananas (with a dull knife), add seedless
grapes, berries, canned fruit, orange segments to make a fruit
salad. Make instant pudding from a package. Spread peanut butter
on a rice cake and top with raisins or banana slices. make biscuits
from a mix - more foolproof with this age group than cookies.
Fix French
toast for lunch. Even little kids can help mix the eggs and dip
the bread. Or make miniature pizzas, using English muffins as
the base.
Invent your own
frozen pops by pouring fruit juice into small paper cups, putting
a plastic spoon into each cup (it becomes the handle), and freezing.
Invite
another family or friends over for a potluck lunch or tea. Dress
up in party clothes if you wish and set the table in a festive
manner, serving the milk or juice in wine glasses and dining
by candlelight.
Dino-Mite Family
Project
Buy a paperback copy of Chris
McGowan's "Make Your Own Dinosaur out of Chicken Bones"
or its successor, "T. Rex to Go: Build Your Own from
Chicken Bones" (HarperPerennial, 1999, $14) and follow the
detailed directions. Not a one-day project, but fascinating.
Letting Off Steam
When
it's too wet to go out and play ...and your cooped-up child just
has to let off steam ... and the bed will collapse if she jumps
on it one more time - here are alternatives:
Have a
parade! Buy a CD of rousing John Philips Sousa marches and have
kids march to the beat along a parade route that winds through
the house. Pull toys make good "floats." Costumes and
toy musical instruments add to the fun.
Make a
punching bag. Fill a paper bag with wadded up newspaper or socks,
tie the top closed with string, and suspend in a doorway. (Keep
an eye on younger children so they don't become entangled in
the string if it comes loose.)
Build an
obstacle course appropriate to your child's age. Masking tape
on the kitchen floor becomes a "tightrope," cardboard
boxes with the ends removed are tunnels, shoeboxes are hurdles.
Take a rain walk.
Don't worry about getting wet. Just get raincoats, umbrellas,
boots or tennis shoes and go. Jump in puddles. Follow the rushing
water in the gutters.
There
is a system to street storm drainage: water goes into drains
only to reappear across the street or around the corner. It can
eventually all merge into large catch basins. Occasionally these
clog up and create large lakes stretching halfway tinto the intersection.
It's
fun to float things in the gutter - sticks, leaves, boats made
of waxed paper or aluminum foil, or an inexpensive plastic boat
(nothing costly, as it may disappear down a drain). See where
they go, how they get caught in collections of debris, and if
the force of the water is strong enough to push them around.
Watch
for slugs and snails, and see if you can find where the birds
go in the rain. Look for damage if it's a big storm. Fallen tree
limbs are a great source of interest.
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Beating the Rainy Day BluesMost of these easy, child-tested projects first appeared in "A Wet Weather Compendium," edited by former Parents' Press staffer Margot Lind. Super Simple Art
Projects
|
Letting Off Steam
|
|
| HOME - CONTENTS - WHAT'S NEW - THIS MONTH - MOMS' CAFE - BAY AREA RESOURCES - PREGNANCY - PARENTING - EDUCATION - FAMILY FUN - BOOKSTORE - FORUM (message boards) - EDITORIAL GUIDELINES - BUSINESS FAQ | ||