Several people have mentioned to me that they would enjoy a compilation of what-to-do-with-my-kids-during-the-nine-rainy-months-of-Oregon activities :)
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Kristy Ives said that she gets passes from the library for places like OMSI (I'm SO going to do this.). She said that the passes do need to be reserved ahead of time.
Heidi Jensen said she's working on digging some ideas up (which I'm stoked about, because she's SO creative!).
My mom was super great about this kind of thing with us kids. I remember tons of time at the table with her, and she's carrying on with my kids!
Here's a few of the things we've been up to lately, and I hope that by posting this, y'all will think of some things that YOU do, and if you send them to me, I will edit this post and add them :) I could use a few fresh ideas!
Race cars! I got this little ramp from Value Village recently, lysoled it thoroughly, and we've been enjoying it! Today we added a road out of cardstock paper, and placed numbers (and caution cones) along the road. The number each car landed on was how many points they scored, and was a fun activity to practice numbers! I love this kind of thing because once we get 'em started, kids tend to run with it!
...mattress jumping :) My mom used to let us jump on her bed on wash-day (monday!). SooOOoo fun. We have an extra mattress stuffed under Jonathan's bed for when Henry is old enough for a "big boy bed", and occasionally we pull it out to burn off a little pent-up energy! This is a highly supervised activity, and has to be followed by story-time or something quiet to redirect them. LOTS of fun.
Cardboard Castle! This is another one that my mom used. She told us once that if we cleaned our rooms SPOTLESS that she would get us each a refrigerator box! Josh thought of making a cardboard castle recently, so we went to Standard TV & Appliance, and got 4 refrigerator boxes! They cost $2 each now (used to be free), but they lasted us a month or so, and became all kids of things: a castle, tunnels, garage, a race car (with steering wheel, door, and 2 seats), as the boxes began to break down they became a drumset (GO DAD!), and guitars! Josh ripped off the smooth outer layer on the middle of the guitar so that the corrugated part made a cool noise when they were "rockin' out".
Diaper-box Train It's amazing what some diaper boxes and a little sharpie can do... :)
Jousting. Around Christmas time, the empty wrapping paper tubes became swords. This is another highly supervised activity, and I totally recommend Dad for this one. Dads just have this way of... ya know... or maybe I'm just awkward with a sword.
"Swimming" This is one of the boys' favorites. They get all dressed up in their swim trunks and surf shirts, fill this pop-up with pillows and blankets, and take turns diving in :) This kind of thing happens best when I sit nearby (ok, right next to) them with a stack of paperwork, directing who "dives" when.
Painting My parents made the boys an easel for Christmas, and trustingly bought them water colors. They've done really well with them! We just drip a tiny stream of water over the paint tray, and drain it so that there isn't excess. I don't give them a cup of water to rinse their brushes in, because they don't mind the mixing of the colors just yet. I'm enjoying having giant kid-art to hang up in my kitchen!
Cooking The boys love to "help" me cook :) I pull up a chair each to the counter, and give them a cutting board, a couple small bowls, and a table knife or a spoon. They get little bits of most ingredients, and concoct their own mixtures. My favorite version of this is when we are cooking carrots- they each get a piece of carrot (3" long ish), and they feel like such big kids slicing chunks off with their table knives :) (occasionally a chunk will go flying, but it's MUCH easier to clean up than flour!).
Lego-bath I don't have any photos of this one, but after the kids are sick I try to always lysol as many of their toys as I can. We've discovered that Legos are really annoying to clean with lysol and a toothbrush- a lego-bath is much easier and much more fun! I put the kids and some soap in, then dump the Legos in. Afterward we spread them out on a towel over night to dry.
...and a few classics:
Blanket forts!
Quiet-time-with-books
Homemade Play-dough (google it for a recipe!)
Fun-color baths (2 drops of food coloring)
Okay-- please send me more, and I will add them! (Please? I need some new ideas to last until mid-July when the sun shows up! :) )
P.s. Um, I'm not sure what girls like to do on rainy days... anyone? Courtney??
------
Kristy Ives said that she gets passes from the library for places like OMSI (I'm SO going to do this.). She said that the passes do need to be reserved ahead of time.
Heidi Jensen said she's working on digging some ideas up (which I'm stoked about, because she's SO creative!).
My mom was super great about this kind of thing with us kids. I remember tons of time at the table with her, and she's carrying on with my kids!
Here's a few of the things we've been up to lately, and I hope that by posting this, y'all will think of some things that YOU do, and if you send them to me, I will edit this post and add them :) I could use a few fresh ideas!
Race cars! I got this little ramp from Value Village recently, lysoled it thoroughly, and we've been enjoying it! Today we added a road out of cardstock paper, and placed numbers (and caution cones) along the road. The number each car landed on was how many points they scored, and was a fun activity to practice numbers! I love this kind of thing because once we get 'em started, kids tend to run with it!
...mattress jumping :) My mom used to let us jump on her bed on wash-day (monday!). SooOOoo fun. We have an extra mattress stuffed under Jonathan's bed for when Henry is old enough for a "big boy bed", and occasionally we pull it out to burn off a little pent-up energy! This is a highly supervised activity, and has to be followed by story-time or something quiet to redirect them. LOTS of fun.
Cardboard Castle! This is another one that my mom used. She told us once that if we cleaned our rooms SPOTLESS that she would get us each a refrigerator box! Josh thought of making a cardboard castle recently, so we went to Standard TV & Appliance, and got 4 refrigerator boxes! They cost $2 each now (used to be free), but they lasted us a month or so, and became all kids of things: a castle, tunnels, garage, a race car (with steering wheel, door, and 2 seats), as the boxes began to break down they became a drumset (GO DAD!), and guitars! Josh ripped off the smooth outer layer on the middle of the guitar so that the corrugated part made a cool noise when they were "rockin' out".
Jousting. Around Christmas time, the empty wrapping paper tubes became swords. This is another highly supervised activity, and I totally recommend Dad for this one. Dads just have this way of... ya know... or maybe I'm just awkward with a sword.
"Swimming" This is one of the boys' favorites. They get all dressed up in their swim trunks and surf shirts, fill this pop-up with pillows and blankets, and take turns diving in :) This kind of thing happens best when I sit nearby (ok, right next to) them with a stack of paperwork, directing who "dives" when.
Painting My parents made the boys an easel for Christmas, and trustingly bought them water colors. They've done really well with them! We just drip a tiny stream of water over the paint tray, and drain it so that there isn't excess. I don't give them a cup of water to rinse their brushes in, because they don't mind the mixing of the colors just yet. I'm enjoying having giant kid-art to hang up in my kitchen!
Cooking The boys love to "help" me cook :) I pull up a chair each to the counter, and give them a cutting board, a couple small bowls, and a table knife or a spoon. They get little bits of most ingredients, and concoct their own mixtures. My favorite version of this is when we are cooking carrots- they each get a piece of carrot (3" long ish), and they feel like such big kids slicing chunks off with their table knives :) (occasionally a chunk will go flying, but it's MUCH easier to clean up than flour!).
Lego-bath I don't have any photos of this one, but after the kids are sick I try to always lysol as many of their toys as I can. We've discovered that Legos are really annoying to clean with lysol and a toothbrush- a lego-bath is much easier and much more fun! I put the kids and some soap in, then dump the Legos in. Afterward we spread them out on a towel over night to dry.
...and a few classics:
Blanket forts!
Quiet-time-with-books
Homemade Play-dough (google it for a recipe!)
Fun-color baths (2 drops of food coloring)
Okay-- please send me more, and I will add them! (Please? I need some new ideas to last until mid-July when the sun shows up! :) )
P.s. Um, I'm not sure what girls like to do on rainy days... anyone? Courtney??
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