April Birthdays- Caitlin Thorpe - 4/18
- Logan Black - 4/19
- Jillian Erin Kemp - 4/20
- Nick Whatcott - 4/21
- Hilary Keller Armstrong - 4/21
- Ann Marie Arbuckle - 4/24
- Kimberly Ann Kemp - 4/25
- Brennan Kemp - 4/25
- Wyatt Black - 4/25
- Morgan Victoria Boyd - 4/26
- Emily Whatcott - 4/29
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No News is Good News ? ? ?
Since I have not heard of any news from anyone in the family I hope it is safe to assume, no news is good news. If you have something to share, email me and I will add it to the blog to share with the rest of us!
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You Know What They Say . . . .
April Showers bring May Flowers, but sometimes the April Showers just seem to keep you inside. Kids can't always go outside and play for long periods like they can in the summer. This means more hours to fill with fun indoor activities. Here are some suggestions for indoor activity ideas to entertain you and your family the old-fashioned way. Being inside is a great opportunity to laugh more, talk more, enjoy your family more. Just think, you might find that you live with some pretty great folks while waiting inside for your beautiful Spring Flowers to bloom!
Plate of Bubbles - All you need for this fun activity is a small plate, a plastic drinking straw, dish washing liquid and tap water. Place two drops (that's all you need!) of dish washing liquid in the center of a plate. Carefully run tap water onto plate, pointing water over the dish soap to create some foam or bubbles. Carefully place the plate on a flat, sturdy surface, such as the kitchen table, and have your child point his straw into the water. To create bubbles, blow gently and slowly into the sudsy water. Not too fast, it won't work! Slow and steady will create huge bubbles!
Make a Cartoon Strip - Many parents will remember this from their own childhood! You will need a pad of paper and something to draw with. At the bottom of the pad, starting from the left, draw a stick figure, a box car, cartoon dog, anything you want to put into motion. On the next page, draw the figure again with a slightly different pose and a positioned a little bit to the right of the page before. Repeat this process on each page until you reach the right side of the pad. Now fan the pages with your thumb to watch your character move across the page!
Can Stilts - Turn 2 cans upside down so that the plastic lids are on the bottom. Poke a hole on each both sides of each can using a screwdriver (parental supervision is recommended). Use rope, bailing twine, or several strands of yarn braided together for strength and thread through one hole. Thread the other end of the rope through the hole on the other side and tie off inside the can. Be sure that the rope is long enough so that when your child stands on the cans, the rope is high enough for them to hold in their hands comfortably without hunching over.
Cookie Cutter Glitters - Pull out the construction paper, glue, glitter, stickers and cookie cutters. Kids can trace around the cookie cutter shapes, spread glue over the shape and decorate with glitter and stickers. This can be a messy craft, so be prepared with a disposable table cloth and garbage can for scraps. Using a vacuum with a hose attachment is a much easier method of cleaning up glitter than a broom.
Feely Box - Use any box that closes or has a lid, a shoebox is ideal. Cut a hole in the side of the box large enough for a child's hand to fit inside. Place an object inside the box and see if they can guess what it is. If they can't guess right away, let them ask questions or provide them with clues until they figure it out.
Hide the Object - Using any ordinary object (stuffed animal, vitamin bottle, drinking cup, etc), play this fun hide and seek game with your children. Simply have your child hide their eyes, then place the object somewhere in plain view (on the fireplace mantel, on top of the TV, near the front door, etc) and then have them look for it. Another idea is to use objects relating to a particular theme each day. For example, if your Kindergartener is focusing on the letter "A" that week, use objects that begin with "A" (apple, alligator [stuffed of course!], etc)
Sardines (Reverse Hide-n-Seek) - One child is the hider, everyone else is a seeker. The hider hides while the seekers seek. However, when a seeker finds the hider, instead of pointing him out, he joins him in the hiding place. Soon, the children will all be stuffed in one place, like a box of sardines! The first child to find the hider gets to hide next.
Make a Writing Box - If your house has kids, you need one of these. You can find shoe box sized plastic containers with lids from your local dollar store. Stock the box with crayons, markers, colored pencils, small plain paper pads, stickers, stencils, a pencil sharpener and an eraser. This box should be kept stocked so that when needed, everything will be at your fingertips. Explain to children that this is a "special" writing box and that everything that comes out, must go back in for the next time they want to get creative. Spend an afternoon writing letters or making homemade cards to send to out-of-state relatives. Let the kids make drawings, finger paint portraits, or collages to send to Grandma and Grandpa to adorn their refrigerator.
Picnic Indoors - Pack a basket with paper plates, utensils and cups. Make sandwiches, pack fresh fruit, pretzels, a thermos of juice, and yogurt for dessert. Spread a blanket on the living room floor and serve a picnic lunch indoors! Add to the fun by dressing in summer clothes or beach attire. Be sure to wear your sunglasses and your sunscreen!
Have a Tea Party – Make some Kool Aid, Lemonade or Hot Chocolate. Pull out the teapot and teacups and hold an afternoon tea party. Along with your beverage of choice, serve finger sandwiches and cookies.
Paper Bag Puppets - The easiest form of this requires only a paper lunch bag and crayons or markers. Simply draw on a face and you have a puppet! To make the characters more elaborate, decorate with yarn for hair, buttons for eyes, and glitter for cheeks. Ribbon can be added to the hair or made into a bow tie for the "neck". Draw on eyelashes and lips with colorful markers.
Collages - Save old magazines and catalogs and store them in a cabinet just for this purpose. Have the kids cut out pictures and paste them onto a piece of cardboard or construction paper. You can let them cut out whatever they want, or assign each child a letter of the alphabet or a theme to go by for a more challenging project. Keep a trash can close by for the scraps and be sure to keep a stock of glue sticks on hand!
Coloring Pasta - Place a handful of dry, uncooked pasta, such as ziti, rotini or farfelle, into a plastic zipper baggie. Add a tablespoon of white vinegar and 2-3 drops of food coloring. Close the baggie and have the kids shake the bag until the pasta is completely colored. Spread out onto a paper plate or paper towel and allow to dry. Use several baggies to create different colors. Once the pasta is dry, kids can use yarn to string together pieces to make necklaces and bracelets, or glue them to paper plates or construction paper to create a work of art.
Family Memory Game - Play a family memory game with your kids. Print 2 sets of pictures of different family members to be matched up, make sure they are able to say who is the match! Or play a family memory game by asking questions like "What is Grandpa's first name?" and "Who is married to Aunt Tammy?" Look through old photo albums and see if kids can guess who is who in each picture.
Hot Beanie - This variation of the old favorite "Hot Potato" uses a beanie type toy. Have everyone sit in a circle and toss the beanie from one person to another, never knowing where it's going to end up.
Name That Tune - Hum tunes from popular songs and see who can guess it first. Whoever guesses correctly becomes the next "hummer".
Create a Story - You can do this out loud or have kids write their entries on paper. Someone starts the story with "Once upon a time there lived a...", that person chooses the character and setting (princess in a far away land). The next child tells the next part of the story, and so on around the room, the story changing with each new addition.
Be a Thespian - Help the kids make up skits or act out stories to perform for Dad when he gets home from work. Along those same lines, help the children put together a family talent show in which they sing, dance, or do magic tricks. For added fun, use a camcorder to record the performances to watch again later. The children will love seeing themselves on TV.
Never Ending Adjectives - Ask your child to point out an object, then take turns coming up with adjectives for that object. For example, you may say "a ball", your child would say "a big ball". The game might continue with "a big round ball", "a big round bouncing ball", "a big round bouncing white ball" and end with "a big round bouncing white beach ball". See how far you can get and still have it make sense!
Go Camping Indoors - Pitch a tent or build a tent in your living room out of blankets and chairs and let the kids pretend that they are on a camping trip. Pull out the sleeping bags and they can take naps in the tent or even sleep the whole night there. Don't forget to bring the flashlights, snacks, and books.
Build a Fort - Let the kids take every cushion off the sofa and build a fort. Crawl through once or twice yourself. Or make it an igloo and pretend to hunt for polar bears and go ice fishing.
Jigsaw Puzzles - Get the whole family together to work a giant jigsaw puzzle. Be sure to have plenty of popcorn on hand for snacking.
Edible Artwork - Provide the kids with fruits, vegetables and snack foods cut in a variety of shapes and sizes. Ask the kids to use the different shapes to create their own edible artwork. The only rule is that they have to eat whatever they put on their plates. Be sure to take pictures of their creations before they eat them.
Play Dress-up - Almost all kids enjoy playing dress-up. Gather up all the outdated clothes, gaudy jewelry, weird hats and bright makeup you can find and let the kids go for it! Be sure to take pictures.
Games - Pull out those board or card games. When's the last time the family enjoyed a friendly game of Scrabble or Monopoly? Turn off the TV and enjoy some family together time as you enjoy some friendly competition. You can teach the kids all of the card games you know and create your own “house rules”. Speaking of cards, why not use those playing cards to build card houses? Compete to see who can build the tallest card condominium.
Movie Night - Create an in-home theater. Set up chairs or pillows in the living room, turn out the lights, grab popcorn and beverages, and put on a classic like Lady and the Tramp or Cinderella. Rather than renting movies from the video store, borrow videos from friends. In return, offer to lend them any videos you own. Be sure to return them promptly when you're done.
Recycle, Reuse, Renew - Find broken crayons, put them in an oiled muffin tin, and place them in a warm oven to melt. Let them cool and pop them out of the tin. Use your new "rainbow color wheel crayons" to draw pictures for Grandma and Grandpa.
Get Messy! - Can't play in the dirt? Play in the tub with shaving cream, bathtub paints, and bath crayons. Don't want a bath? Paint with finger-paints or, for easier cleanup, let your kids paint with chocolate and vanilla pudding cups. Yummy!
Have a Tickle Party - Wrestle and roll around with your kids.
Read! - Take the kids to the library to stock up and lay in a mountain of books. The older kids can read to the little ones when your voice gives out.
Share a Skill With Your Kids - Do you knit, sew, tie flies, play an instrument? Spend some time passing your talents on to your family.
Dance Dance Revolution - Have a dance party in the living room.
Bake Something - Even the youngest can help with simple cookie recipes, or you could cook dinner together.
Get Crafty - There are tons of books with terrific craft projects in them. Get one, get some felt and get to work.
Service With a Smile - Do something for someone else, spend the afternoon collecting old toys that are no longer played with to give to less privileged children. Or some other more personal service that a close friend or family member may need like helping clean a house, fix a meal, or making a surprise for someone that needs some extra love.
Can We Fix It? - Fix that leaky faucet, sew those ripped pants. Turning off the set gives you time to do some of those household projects you've been ignoring. Let your kids hand you wrenches, or work on their own sewing.
Get Photographic - Work together on scrapbooks or organizing photos into an album. Kids love to see photos of themselves as babies or younger children, and they can help make beautiful scrapbooks that will become family treasures.
