Sunday, November 30, 2008

Keeping Kids Busy #1

I'm home from church with the kids today. Elliana was throwing up during the night last night. Two of the others have colds. Not to mention they were all up way too late last night. But we had a great time with family. It was worth it!

So here are some ideas about what to do to keep kids entertained.

I plan to make some applesauce in my crockpot. Yum! Warm applesauce on a cold day! Other things kids can help make are good. My oldest two love to peel things, apples, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc. The little ones like to stir. Cookies, brownies, pudding, jello, etc.

I got some videos from the library on Friday. The kids are watching them now.

My three little ones LOVE to color. So I'll print some pages for them to color.

Two of them have some homework to do. Grace has a letter to write to Jose Fernando and Enmanuel.

A scavenger hunt is always a good idea. Make a list of household items for the kids to find. I put them into two teams because only Grace and Olivia read. I still have Halloween candy stashed to use as prizes.

Dusting. My kids love to dust!! I'd better take advantage of that while they will still do it.

Naps. We were out way late last night so they need naps so I can get them up in the morning without too much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

I am going to order some crafts from Oriental Trading for future days like this. They are really economical. They cam make great gifts, too. For grandparents, teachers, etc.

Talk to the kids about Advent and what it mean. There are some great resources on this on the web. Here is one I found.

Room Rescues! Believe it or not, this can be fun! When a room needs 'rescued' (cleaned up) I turn on the music and the kids try to have it picked up before I turn it off (usually about 5 minutes.) It is amazing how quickly they can pick up if it is a game.

Make paper snowflakes to decorate the windows! Always fun and someone can run the vacuum afterwards. My two oldest fight over who gets to vacuum!

Games. We enjoy playing games as a family. Sorry and Uno and Yahtzee being the current favorites. I will probably invest in checkers soon. Can you believe we don't have a checkers game? Weird!

Laundry. Keep bins in the laundry area so the kids can sort. Even my littlest ones can do this. Towels in one bin, whites in another, colors, pinks and reds....you get the idea.

Read to the kids. It makes for great cuddle time!

These are just a few ideas. I'll keep adding as the winter goes. There are lots of things the kids can do besides veg out to the tv all winter! If you have some other ideas, leave them in the comments and I will compile them in a future post for all to use!

8 comments:

Melissa said...

Hey...can I send my 3 over? Cam has figured out that there is no cleaning that can be disguised as a game. Grrr!! Actually, Anna and Ju are at my grandparents, so it's been a quiet morning!

Mommakitten said...

Thanks for the great list and wonderful links! There wasn't anyone in Sunday school today, so Adam was the only one, so he helped in the nursery. So at dinner we are going to talk about Advent :)

Dawn said...

Wow, that's a fun list! Can I come play?!!

Andrea said...

Love the ideas - I am dreading this winter the way our school district closes. Hope the kids are feeling better.

Tracy said...

Thanks for the great ideas Tonni....I also love lincoln logs, legos, wooden blocks and matchbox cars. Keeps em busy for hours...even the girls AND you can find these at secondhand stores or in knock offs ....

lamamachina said...

I love that crockpot site!

I've become a crock addict.

Ada

rednk-n-eurp said...

Got anything for the grown ups to do? :)

Anonymous said...

those are such great ideas and crafts! I'd love to add that to my lists. If you are interested with coloring pages, here is an addtion: Thecolor.com.