Snow Day

 Here in the Midwest, the novelty of snow wears off at approximately 12:01 am on December 26th. Sure it's pretty and the kids love playing in it, but at the end of the day, come January, we are all dreaming of sunny spring days.

 We just had a boatload of snow dumped on us and to add insult to injury, it's freakin' cold. Even the kids walked outside to play in the snow and said 'oh hell no. So I've been at my wits end trying to find the best way to keep them entertained so they I don't get burnt out on kids TV. I am by no means Martha Stewart or Miss Suzy Homemaker, so I am always on the look out for activities I can do with my kids, but also things that will keep them occupied while I get some stuff done around the house. Here are some things we've done:

Play Doh:

We were fortunate enough to get some really cool sets for the boys birthday's/Christmas. They have a whole series of trucks that the boys love playing with. Letting your kids play with play doh is an exercise in patience and requires you to let go of any OCD tendencies you may have. Once I did this we were all much happier. They will mix the colors. They will drop little crumbs of it all over. Accept this and let them be. As long as they got the majority of it back in the can when whey were done I was happy. Let the crumbs dry up and sweep them up after they go to bed.

Crafts:

We have a stockpile of construction paper, paints and crayons on hand at all times. Most of the time they are content to just color or paint, but every now and then we attempt to make some actual art. Handprint art is a favorite of mine because I get a little memory of their sweet little hands, but now that Jack is in pre-school, I am also on the look out for crafts that incooroerate learning. Sites like www.pre-kpages.com and www.twistynoodle.com are great for printables and ideas. You can also follow my Pinterest board Art for the Kiddos and Childs Play for other ideas.

Make a fort:

 

We go the way of couch cushions and sheets here but if I could sew, I would totally buy one of these patterns from this etsy shop:

 

Have a drive in movie

 

With all the boxes laying around from Christmas, its the perfect opportunity to "liven" up the movie watching experience. Plus, decorating the cars is half the fun.

 

Need more ideas? Pinterest is full of fun stuff. Here are some of the best of the best:

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What do you do when it's cold outside?