By Andrea Gibbs
It’s no secret that winter is long, cold, and dark. So long that you may be feeling a bit at your wits end with all of the cabin fever and are desperate for something to do with your kids.
According to Baby Steps, Compulsively active kids need a lot of energy burned off. Sometimes it’s just too hot, too rainy, or too cold for outdoor activities. What do hyperactive children do when they’re stuck inside? Well, sit in front of the television all day? We’ll show you an array of indoor activities to keep your child entertained!
1. Play dress up
Kids can have a lot of energy and may find sitting still problematic and frustrating. A way to help release that built-up energy is to play dress-up. Here are some ideas for playing dress-up with kids:
Put some clothes on the floor or a chair, close your eyes and then tell the kids to get dressed. When they are dressed, open your eyes and guess who is who. Sometimes you can get them to do funny poses for their photos.
Get the kids to dress up as their favorite storybook character – with lots of accessories! Then act out the story.
<p class="has-drop-cap has-vivid-purple-color has-text-color" value="<amp-fit-text layout="fixed-height" min-font-size="6" max-font-size="72" height="80">2. Make hand-print art2. Make hand-print art
It is not only a fun way for your kids to get some exercise doing something that’s all about touching and moving their fingers, but it can also be an excellent way for you to teach them about their body parts – like the hands, wrists, elbows, and shoulders they use when creating these prints.
You’ll need:
- Printable hand-print art template
- Construction paper in various colors, or plain white paper for painting later on.
- Sharpie for writing on the hand-print template
- Glue sticks
- Scissors, sharp ones – just in case you have a craving to be a surgeon. They’re also helpful in cutting out letters, numbers, or shapes.
- Construction paper in various colors, or plain white paper for painting later on. Sharpie for writing on the hand-print template Glue sticks Scissors, sharp ones – just if you have a craving to be a surgeon. They’re also helpful in cutting out letters, numbers, or shapes. How to make hand-print art:
Get your kids in a comfortable position and have them place their hands on the construction paper as you see pictured above. If they are four years old or younger, it’s best to have an adult do this with them – if they are over four, you can let them do it independently. Have the kids trace around their hands with a dark black Sharpie marker.
Then have them trace over the outline of their hand to make a printable hand-print – follow the directions on the hand-print template and try to make their print as large as you can. It is a good time for you to talk with your child about all of the different parts of their body involved in making this print (the hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, etc.) Encourage them to join the folds of their hand with the folds in the paper – this is called “blending” and makes a more fine print.
Once your kids are happy making prints, have them go over to their art table, and you can have them paint over their hand-prints. It will give them a chance to feel what it’s like to use different colors and glues.
3. Make an indoor path w/ foam blocks
You will need duct tape, which you can use to stick the foam blocks together, creating a big path. You could also use paint and stencils to decorate the track making it even more fun. Please make sure you get different colors for the blocks so that they can tell who they are when they’re finished.
The next step is to lay the path wherever you want it but make sure it’s in a flat place. We used the kitchen floor because it was easy to clean and got rid of all extra tapes. It was a bit messy, but it was worth it!
Now your path is ready! You can stand in front of it and let everyone walk around it, or you could make it bigger by adding more blocks.
4. Make an indoor fort
It’s a bit cold outside to be building forts, but you can make the insides of your house the perfect setting for creative play.
For a musical fort, cut holes in the walls and windows of your bedroom or living room, then cover them with blankets, couch cushions, and pillows. When your child is in the fort, they can pretend they’re conducting an orchestra. For a blanket fort, place sheets over couches and blankets on tables to make a tent underneath.
As you’re making these forts, invite your child to create their imaginary worlds and characters. By making different worlds, it gives them a chance to use their imaginations.
5. Create a family tree
Every family has a different story, and when you create a family tree with your kids, you can explore all the branches that make up your family’s tree. You may think this is something only adults want to do, but nothing could be further from the truth. Besides learning about where they came from, kids enjoy researching what their grandparents did before they were born and seeing how their lives are intertwined. So, why not begin the activity by starting your family tree that will turn into an album as your family continues to grow.
There is nothing more impressive than making your kids feel connected to all their ancestors; you can have them research information about where they live and who their ancestors are. When researching, children can read books, listen to CDs, and even YouTube videos on this subject. And when they are ready for a genealogy lesson, the Internet offers up endless information for free about origins.
Advantages of Keeping Your Child Entertained at Home?
There comes a time in every child’s life where they are bored. It is a usual part of growing up, but parents shouldn’t let their children suffer from boredom. Engaging your child in an entertaining activity can help you spend quality time with them, help them learn new skills, and even bond with them.
Children can get bored quickly, and parents don’t want them to go off the deep end with their boredom. If you feel your child slowly loses interest because of boredom, try to find a way to entertain them for a while. You can play educational games, read an exciting book or even have them watch an entertaining movie.
Children may also get bored because of too much TV. While there are some great advantages of having a TV in your home, it can be more beneficial to have television out of reach. You don’t want to cut them off from the world completely, but you don’t like to offer up more screen time either.
You can teach your children creative skills while you entertain them with games and activities that they will enjoy.
Not every kid is interested in playing an educational game with you, so there are some ways to pull them into learning. Please make it a competition between children and the consequences of losing can be something fun. You can play games like matching memory games or memory races. Even simple card games are fun because they teach children to be competitive and learn how to win and lose. You can also involve your child in more physical activities when they are bored.
As you can see, there are a lot of creative and fun things you can do with your kids indoors. Give them a chance to explore their imaginations and learn about different things that they never knew before. Let each of the activities run smoothly, and make sure you keep their attention. If your kids are having a good time, it’s easier for them to learn and grasp new concepts. As a parent, it’s your responsibility to make sure they are safe and entertained while teaching them.
These ideas are just a tiny sample of what you can do indoors with kids this month. The possibilities for your kids indoors are endless; they don’t have to play inside just because it’s cold outside.
Now, I’d love to hear from you! If you have additional suggestions for hyperactive kids’ indoor activities, leave a comment below or send me a message at brigid@nannysavvy.com.
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