Indoor Wax Paper Skates
Our family has a great winter or rainy-day activity that is low cost and high energy. We clear out the coffee table and make an open space in the living room. We turn on some classical or soft-rock music. Then comes the real fun! We cut squares of wax paper and fasten them around our feet with rubber bands on our ankles. It's like magic: we have created "ice skates." We skate slow and fast, and we boogie. It's so much fun. We are all pooped out when we're done. --Deborah C.
Editor's note: Please check the slipperiness of all surfaces before trying this activity.
 | At-Home Newscast To stop boredom one cold winter day, I set up the video camera, a pretend desk, and a map of the United States. The kids didn't know what was going on until I explained that we were going to play Newscast. For a good hour or more we took turns being the cameraman, the news anchor, and the weatherman. The kids loved it, and all of us including Dad enjoyed watching the tape when he got home from work. (So much so that we did it again with him that night, mostly to add the sports anchor, which he couldn't believe we had forgotten.) --Pamela G. |
 | Barbie Sock Fashion We have lots of fun designing outfits for Barbie. She looks great in just about anything, including an old sock. We make use of the basket of single socks (the ones that have survived the washing machine), most of which are small with nice designs and colors. We cut off the foot of the sock, cut armholes in the sides, and slide them over Barbie's head. You can cut the socks in different ways for different fashions. Get creative by adding belts, fringe, headbands, and hats for that special Barbie flair. --Noda H. |
 | Cooling Water Colors I give my girls watercolor paints (and spray bottles with water in them for cleaning later) and let them go outside and paint the sliding glass door. When they are finished painting, I take a picture of their drawings and print it out for them. Then the girls spray down the window and wipe it off with a cloth. They have a blast painting the window and each other and then spraying the window and each other, and I have a clean window when they are finished. --Leslie H. |
 | Cooperative Storytelling Have your family try some interactive writing games. Give each person a piece of paper, then set a timer for 8 minutes. Have each person start writing the beginning to a story. After 8 minutes, pass the story to their right. Then set the timer for 10 minutes and have each person read and then write the middle to the story. Next, pass the story once more to their right. Set the timer to 12 minutes and have that person write the ending to the story they are holding. Share aloud for laughs. --Lesley K. |
 | Driveway Chalk City Make a driveway city! With some sidewalk chalk, draw roads, train tracks, houses, farms, a zoo, shops, and anything else you want included in your city. Add some toy cars, trains, boats, and doll people, and you have hours of fun for the whole neighborhood. One "city" of ours circled the whole cul-de-sac. --Rebecca K. |
 | Driving Scavenger Hunt The last time our family went for a long drive, I brought along a scavenger hunt on paper. I listed random items with a check box next to them. We all looked for items on the list while we drove, such as a red van, a cactus, a police car, a pink house, a train, a smiling person, a waving person, a big-rig truck with no trailer. (Having made the list the night before, I was familiar with it. My daughter checked off my list, so I could focus on the driving part.) We checked off the boxes until we got to where we were going. (My daughter getting someone to smile and wave was just awesome.) And our drive seemed shorter. --Tim W. |
 | Fairy Tales Under our old oak tree in the backyard we make homes for the fairies out of tree bark. We use moss for their lawn and roofs. For plates we use small leaves, and for tiny teacups we use the tiny flowers that grow in our lawn. We fill tiny vases made from trumpet flowers with even smaller flowers from our lawn. And every day we fill their cups with water and leave fresh-picked berries from our yard for their dinner (even though the birds eventually eat them during the day). We hang small mirrors from the tree branches so that we can sneak out at night and catch a glimpse of the fairies as they are having their dinner, and we watch the mirrors light up (thank you, fireflies) from their beautiful reflections. --B.M. |
 | Fun With Appliances We keep a box of small, nonworking appliances, such as an old telephone, answering machine, radio, etc. Then when my kids get bored, I have them choose one of the appliances and take it all apart, and then try to put it back together again. If they get it together and there are some extra screws or small parts left over, we just put them in a small recloseable bag and tape it to the appliance. Then the next time they take it apart, they may be able to figure out where the "extra" pieces were supposed to go! --Chris L. |
 | Home Book Publishing Let your kids have all of your unwanted picture "doubles." Let them cut them up however they choose. Staple some paper together and give them markers or crayons and some glue sticks or tape, and let them make their own book. Your kids can create a true story about a trip or a pet, or they can write a story that is entirely fictional. For children too young to write, let them glue on the photos and draw the pictures, and then you can write while they dictate. These become favorite bedtime books. --Krista B. |
 | Home Shopping Game Get a copy of a store catalog (such as JC Penney, Toys R Us, or a newspaper circular), and give your kids a limit of $100-$500 pretend money. Have each child write down (or say) what they would buy with their pretend money. The rules are you can't go over the preset money amount. Lots of fun, and the kids can work on their math skills. --Laurel C. |
 | In-Home Drive-In We like to create a drive-in movie experience. We make a cardboard car out of large cardboard boxes. Then we line them up in front of the television, pop in a movie, and turn the lights out. I set up a concession stand in the kitchen. The kids use coupons that they've earned from doing chores to buy drinks, popcorn, and candy. We usually watch a double feature. --Kimberly R. |
 | Kids Cook Night During the summer months, when things are not so hectic, we have a "Kids Cook Night." We pick one night each week that the kids get to cook dinner(ours is on Wednesdays to break up the week). My six- and nine-year-old go through cookbooks and look online for an entire dinner menu that they can prepare (with adult supervision). They make their own shopping list, and I let them find the things themselves at the food store. They set the table, candles and all, and serve their dinner. Some recipies work and some don't. But it's always a good learning experience. They enjoy the accomplishment, it keeps them busy, and for one night each week we don't have to hear "chicken again?" --Jill R. |
 | Le CafÉ Home One activity I like to play with my kids is "Restaurant." We spend an hour or so making and decorating menus and deciding what simple meals we could make from what's already in the fridge or cupboard. Next we dress up for our parts (a chef's hat would be great, but not necessary). Then we take turns doing the role play. One person is the waiter/waitress, one person is the chef, and one person is the customer. My role is kitchen supervisor to make sure everyone prepares the food safely. We rotate roles until everyone has played each part, especially being the customer. --Beth H. |
 | Miniature Zoo Park My son Jonah and our neighbor Alexandra decided one day to gather some stones, rocks, and sticks that were lying around the yard. Each of them painted their "finds" to look like some of their favorite animals. We had elephants, tigers, zebras, fish, dogs, and even cats. Once the masterpieces were complete, Alexandra specifically placed the painted animals around the yard, creating our own zoo park. Alexandra was a tour guide to all who passed by. One tour after the other got even more creative and interesting, including actual animal facts researched by the kids! --Susan K. |
 | My Favorite Scrapbooks As a mom in Ohio with its unpredictable weather (really cold or really hot, humid days are not an exception) we can't go outside often. I have four boys, 14, 6, 6, and 5. We get out scrapbooks and get photographs and compile an autobiography for that season in time. We use categories to spark the imagination such as favorite foods, movies, books, friends, vacations we've taken, vacations we want to take, best memory, favorite gift, etc. As the boys grow, they'll have a number of books showing what their personality, dreams, and passions were at certain times of their lives. Is also a great way to capture their handwriting and organize photos. --Cindy C. |
 | My First Photos and Album I gave my 3-year-old daughter, Hannah, an inexpensive camera and a few short lessons on how to use it. We took a trip to the park and our backyard, and she took pictures of anything that interested her (people, pets, flowers, etc.). We got to spend the day together, and it allowed her to become more aware of her surroundings. After we took all the pictures, we had them developed and we purchased a small, inexpensive photo album. We decorated the album with objects found during the outing. We put the photos in the album, and now Hannah has pictures that she proudly shows to everyone. --Sandra M. |
 | Nature Collage Give each child 4-6 cups. Tell them to fill each cup with something different from outside (dirt, rocks, grass, sand, etc.) While they are busy collecting, draw or trace a design on pieces of paper, such as a boat on the ocean with a sun. Then have the kids spread glue in each section and use their nature collections to "color in" their pictures. --Kim P. |
 | Picture Puzzles A favorite boredom buster of ours is creating puzzles out of photos or drawings. We begin by searching for old photos that we have doubles of or are unwanted. Then we cut them up into several different shapes and sizes (a few pieces for little ones and lots for older kids). The fun is then trying to put the pieces back together! To make the pieces easier to handle, mount them on cardboard. You can also store them in individual zipper bags for later use. --Daphne R. |
 | Pictures for Neighbors My children enjoy making pictures for our neighbors. Coloring a picture is something any child can do, but what makes it fun for them is taking it to the neighbor's house. The kids take the time to do it neatly and finish the whole picture. When they are done they put on their shoes, and I watch from the door as they go to the neighbors to deliver their surprise. The neighbors are happy to see them and their picture, and that makes the kids happy too. It's a great way for the kids to do something fun on their own, and it builds up the community within our neighborhood. --Amy T. |
 | Rainy-Day Garage Mural Summers are long and hot in Florida, and it almost never rains for an entire day. Our three granddaughters were staying with us for the summer when one day the rain just didn't stop. What could we do? We cleared one of the cement block walls in the garage, put on some aprons, and using various leftover paints and shaped sponges, we decorated the garage wall. We tried to keep it neat and balanced looking, and WOW! It came out great. The kids had a ball and we had fun taking pictures. All winter long we saw that wall in the garage, and it reminded us of that rainy day. --Carole K. |
 | Sensory Stimulation My boredom buster is to use sensory stimulation with the children. I take empty film containers and put a small piece of sponge in each container. Then I take an eye dropper and drip one or two drops of different kinds of extracts onto the sponge. We are always looking for how to make a new "flavor," like "banana split" or "pineapple upside-down cake." We put the lids on the containers and save them for a rainy day. The kids love making experiments, and I love that they are using their noses instead of wanting to watch a movie or TV. --Marlena L. |
 | Sticky Pictures Take about 2 feet of contact paper and attach it to the wall at all four corners, with the sticky side out. Peel off the back so that the face is sticky. Supply your child with various items to stick on the contact paper, such as scraps of paper or cloth, ribbon, feathers, foam shapes, cotton balls, tissue paper, etc. The result is a beautiful, creative, fun picture. --Joann K. |
 | Summer in the City Each summer my children build a city by painting and cutting and pasting empty cereal and shoe boxes. We have also used empty plastic containers and the centers from paper towel rolls. The kids work on it as the mood strikes them. The people and animals are made from clothespins, small plastic bottles, or clay. Flowers and trees are created the same way. At the end of summer we take a picture of their masterpiece and dismantle it so they can start anew. They have made jungles, igloos, Ewok villages -- all out of household junk. --Mary W. |
 | Table Topic Place Mats I let my daughter make place mats for dinner from old magazines, sales papers, and colored paper. She cuts out pictures and glues them to 11x14 sheets of construction paper. She sits on the kitchen floor and does them while I fix dinner, so she is close by but not in the way. Sometimes they are about what we are having for dinner, with pictures of foods. Other times they are about what she did that day, or what she'd like to be doing (particularly on rainy days). She makes new place mats several times a week, and we always have something to talk about at dinner. --Tina B. |
 | Water Bag Seats Get a hose and fill up lawn bags with water. Use twisty-ties or knot to seal. They make COOL beanbag chairs on hot summer days. They roll downhill well and are the ultimate water balloon! --Bob B. |
