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Rainy days can be so boring for a child…and just
as hard on moms. So we give some ideas to brighten your
day and chase their rainy day blues away!
Shadow puppets
In a room that is fairly dark set up a flash light
so it is facing a wall. Have the children make hand
shadows…If they get really good at them they could
even put on a little play.
My box home
As a little girl some of my best times were spent making
Barbie homes out of medium card board boxes. Paints,
markers, crayons, fabric scraps, glue, and so on were
used to fashion wall paper curtains and the like. The
ideas and possibilities are endless!
Little boys can make garages for there cars as well.
Magazine Story
Take ten pieces of paper. Staple them together. Have
you child go threw a magazine and pick out 10 pictures
to cut out. Tell him/her to paste one on each page.
Now what ever order they are in the must right a story,
the story should have some thing to do with the pictures
on each page. This can be a real challenge but is endless
fun and giggles.
Puzzles
Have you child search for a few pictures they like
in an old magazine. Paste these pictures onto heavy
cardboard. With a paint brush, brush on a coat of clear
drying glue such as Elmer’s glue. Let them completely
dry. Once they are dry cut them up into different shaped
pieces. Now you have a puzzle for this rainy day and
rainy days to come! Store in zip lock bags.
Bean Bag Pals
You will need a 10x10 square of felt, thread, needle,
a parent to sew, beans or rice, tacky glue and scraps
of different color felts to decorate with. Mom or Dad
should sew the squares together all the way around,
all but about 2 inches. Turn the square inside right.
Fill with the beans or rice and sew closed. It can be
decorated with the scarps of felt to make animals. Googly
eyes are fun to add as well but are not recommended
for children under four.
A Gift of Comfort.
Not long ago when I was in the hospital having my son,
I was given a special heat pack for my back. It was
very simple and would be a great project for children
to help with. My suggestion is have your child make
about 30 and donate then to a labor and delivery floor.
Rice Sock Heat Packs
You will need white men’s tube socks ones that
have no preformed heal medium is a good size.
You will need uncooked white rice (not minute)
You will need ribbon any color or colors you like.
Gift tags that tie on.
Fill each sock two inches from the top.
Tie a length of ribbon tightly in a knot attach the
gift card and then make a bow.
On the gift tag write the instructions for use (you
could make gift tags on your computer and print them
all out) Microwave on high for 2 minutes or until it
reaches the desired warmth. Enjoy!
These work great, stay warm for a long time. If your
child makes them to give away it is an added bonus of
pride!
Dress Up
My children have a tote full of dress up clothing.
I did it inexpensively threw yard sales, Dollar Stores,
Halloween clearances and Good Will. I pick up things
such as jewelry, hats, sun glasses, badges, fancy dresses,
costumes and other articles of interest. Many times
I save new things to add on a rainy day or another day
they have nothing to do. It generates new interest and
hours of play. One reader even mentioned the idea of
theme boxes. Such as a fairy box if that was what your
little girl was into or a princess or a firemen ect.
I think that is a good idea for but also I believe a
good mix of things inspires imagination and creativity.
Driving Mat
A huge poster board or cardboard is great to let your
little one paint roads on for his cars In fact I bought
my sons a light colors rug remnant (it was cheap) about
4x5 .It can be any size you like. My sons used fabric
paints on the rug. They painted lakes, roads, airports
trees and so on. If you decided to do the poster board
you can use crayons or markers as well. They had a really
great time making this one rainy day and still enjoy
it to this day. When they are done they just roll it
up and put it away. Card board milk cartons can be saved
and painted to make little decorative houses and stores
as well as stores to place on their car mat. Be sure
to wash them well, dry them and staple them closed.
© 2003-2004
Jennifer & Gregory Gove |
