We live just outside of Dallas, Texas. While some parts of Texas can receive (and have already received) huge amounts of snow this winter and look like the above image (minus the beautiful mountain backdrop), we are still hovering in the fifties with the occasional rainy day. Our cold (read: icy) days really don’t hit until January and February. By that time, I want to be fully prepared with some great activities to do indoors with Little Mister and Little Miss (especially since Little Miss is full into crawling and wants to copy her brother’s every move).
Painter’s Tape Roadway
Little Mister fell in love with the Disney Cars movies. He has several of the toy versions of the cars, and multiple versions of Lightning McQueen. Some of them wind up, some of them talk, some of them just roll. All of them he loves.
I love painter’s tape because it comes up fairly easily and doesn’t leave a gooey, gunky mess on our floors. Even better – no damage!
So what better way to combine these two loves than to create a roadway for Little Mister to roll his cars along. You can do it on the floor, over the couch cushions, along the coffee table – the possibilities are endless! And for Little Mister, who loves to watch how things fall and roll off different heights and places, this is the perfect activity!
To make it even more fun, have them put up obstacles using other toys! Maybe there is a HUGE stuffed duck crossing the road by the couch. Maybe there is a little LEGO town over by the dining table. What sights do the drivers want to see? What pillows will they have to avoid? Imagination is endless here.
If your child has a lot of matchbox cars, check out this roadway tape! It will stick to floors and pulls up easily without leaving a sticky mess. The roadway is the width for matchbox cars to fit perfectly. It’s easy to tear, so you can quickly make a roadway for your child to use.
Balloon Bounce
I will never forget the first time that Little Mister saw a balloon. We were at a Halloween event. It was like he was the hair gravitating towards the balloon by static electricity. He picked up that balloon and didn’t let go. He would toss it in the air and chase it. We would bop it up to him and he’d hit it back. He giggled and giggled, and he has loved balloons ever since.
For an easy indoor activity, play with a balloon! Hit it around, see how long you can keep it in the air, or use it to create static on your heads. Just make sure to turn the fans off!
Sticky Wall
Remember that love of painters tape? Here’s another great use for it! Use tape to create a web in a doorway so that when the door is open, you can have the sticky side facing you. Then, use different colored paper crunched up into balls to throw at the tape, trying to get it to stick.
If you want to make a game out of this, make sure each of you is a specific color, and then tally how many balls you can get to stick to the tape. Another game can be to see if you can knock each other’s paper balls off the tape (whoever knocks off more paper balls wins).
Puzzle Hunt
I found this fun activity from No Time for Flash Cards and thought it was perfect for our family! Little Mister has a ton of puzzles, many that are the large peg kind that he has started to outgrow. Instead, they just sit on the toy shelf, waiting for Little Miss to be old enough to play with them.
While we are in the interim, what a great way to use the puzzles – as a scavenger hunt! Hide the puzzle pieces throughout the house – behind couch pillows, on dining chairs, on window sills, and more. Then send your kiddo on an epic search through the house for the pieces to complete the puzzles!
Make Me a Mummy
Grab an extra toilet paper roll or two and have a mummy wrapping competition! Who can wrap their sibling the fastest? Which sibling can design a fabulous mummy suit or dress? Who can wrap themselves the longest without tearing the paper? These games would be great for elementary school-aged kiddos who are bored on snow days. Keep them moving and thinking even on their day off!
Crepe Paper Maze
This activity to get you moving like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible is thanks to Brassy Apple. Use painter’s tape to tape crepe paper along a long hallway in laser beam style. Then the kids can crawl, step over, and maneuver their way through the maze.
When you’re making your maze, make sure to leave space between each piece of crepe paper to allow for them to stand up, crouch down, or slightly move around.
Shredded Paper Dino Dig
Several months ago I made a tub of moon sand for Little Mister to play with. It. Was. A. Mess. Every time he got out the bin to go digging for the letters and shapes that we had hidden, the sand would get everywhere. We ended up putting a towel below the tub, but what a mess! Sand never really does go away once it gets inside.
Then we stumbled upon the Dino Lab event at our local library. One of the activities was a dino dig using shredded paper. The kids would hunt for bones made out of moldable clay, such as this one or this one that comes in many colors, within the shredded paper. That was when the idea came to me! My husband is constantly having to shred papers for work. What better way to reuse the shredded paper than to replace the messy moon sand!
It’s still messy – paper comes out of the bin as he digs around, especially because he likes to pour it over his head occasionally. But it’s much easier to gather back up and place back in the bin than the moon sand. You can use just a little paper in a smaller bin and toss in letter magnets for your child to find, or you can put it in a larger tub (like this one) and they can go searching for dinosaur bones!
Bowling
This is one of Little Mister’s favorite activities recently. He loves to stack up his Play-Doh containers and then use sensory balls to knock them over. The great part about this activity is that you can use so many different items for your pins and balls. Build block pins, Play-Doh pins, or use board books as pins. Then you can use sensory balls, stuffed animals, or rolling toy cars as the bowling balls. See how many “pins” you can knock down! What types of towers can your child build with the items to knock them down? Have them switch hands when rolling their “balls” and practice their aim. This is a fun activity to adjust to their interests and energy levels. It can be fun, hyped, and exciting, or it can be relaxing and meditative.
Goldfish Sorting
There are all kinds of sorting games you can do. Little Mister really likes sorting Goldfish and gummy bears because he can sneak a few to eat, but we’ve also used this Learning Resources Veggie Sorting Game and small colored dinosaurs.
For the Goldfish and gummy bears, I used corresponding colored construction papers. I would lay the papers out on the floor and give Little Mister a small bowl of the colored Goldfish or gummy bears, then he would sort them out by color. Once they were sorted, they made for an excellent snack!
The small colored dinosaurs I found at our local party supply store. There are five different colors and a couple of different types of dinosaurs. I grabbed some clear plastic cups and let Little Mister sort the dinosaurs by color or by type. When he’s done, Little Mister likes to line up the dinosaurs like they’re at roll call. I love multi-use toys!
Make a Pillow Fort
There are those rainy or snowy days where nothing feels better than curling up under a blanket, snuggling in with your kiddos, and drinking a little hot cocoa while you watch your favorite movie. Before you snuggle in and sip that cup of deliciousness, task the kids with building an epic pillow fort! Pull all the pillows you can find in the house, grab some sheets and chairs, and build a pillow fort in front of the television. Grab all the blankets you can find and curl up inside. When the movie’s done, you might even have a good fort nap!
Pro tip: Use fitted sheets for the top of the fort. You won’t need anything to help secure it and it will stay put, wrapped around chair backs and couch cushions.
Enjoy!