Sanity Saving Rainy Day Suggestions

The snow is gone and spring has definitely sprung. Gone are the days of snowmen, ice-skating, and hot chocolate. Here are the days of sunshine, shorts, and even the occasional rainy day. What can a parent do to keep the natives from getting too restless on a day when everyone is trapped inside? Here are some proven suggestions from an experienced mother of four that will keep the little ones happy with out breaking the bank.

The first thing that can ease the pain of a rainy day is building up a supply of rainy day items. These are items that you will put away only to be used on a day when you cannot go outside due to the weather. Great sources for these kinds of items are thrift shops and lawn sales. Some good items to have are board games that the children can play with you or with each other. Classics like Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, and Hi-Ho Cherry-O are always great for the younger kids.

Card games like Uno or Skip Bo are appropriate and fun for older kids. Even a plain deck of cards can spark up a fun game of Go-Fish, war or rummy.

Playing active indoor games is a good way for kids to release some of their energy in a safe way with out tearing up the house. A game like Twister is fun for kids of all ages, even preschoolers who do not quite understand the finer points of the game will love to put on his socks and twist with the rest of the crew. Some other ideas are hot potato with a small stuffed animal, Simon Says, or even that birthday party favorite musical chairs. All you need is a small amount of space in a living room or family room and you can have lots of safe active fun.

Putting in a movie is an easy option when Mom or Dad needs an hour of quiet to get some things done around the house. Just putting in a movie is not always that exciting though. Jazz up movie time with some popcorn served in paper cups or homemade paper cones. Each child could construct and decorate their own popcorn cone as a craft earlier in the day. This way everyone gets his or her own serving and there is no fighting over the bowl. If the day is warm a nice milk shake is a welcome addition to the movie and popcorn. If you do not want to run out and get ingredients for milk shakes you can keep the items to make the following recipe right in your pantry. My children love these shakes. Credit for this recipe goes to Miss Maggie at WWW.Hillbillyhousewife.com.

Magic Milk Shakes
1-1/2 to 2 cups ice water
1-1/2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 1-1/2 trays of ice cubes, as much as you can spare
2 tablespoons corn oil plus a 5-second squirt of non-stick spray for emulsification purposes
Place all of the ingredients into the blender, including the oil and the non-stick spray. Use less water for thicker milk shakes and more water for shakes that are easy on your blender motor. The blender should be about 3/4's full. Place the lid on. Process the mixture for a full 2 minutes. Pour into cups and serve. Makes 4 - 12oz servings.

Speaking of crafts cardboard boxes, paints, tape and glue can bring about an entire day's worth of creative fun. My kids build houses for stuffed animals, garages for cars, and sometimes even pretend cars for themselves. I help the younger ones with the cutting. Older children may be able to cut things out of the boxes themselves but use your wisest judgment with your own children to determine what is safe.

In my house a giant batch of homemade play dough is always a bit hit with all ages from preschoolers to middle schoolers. A selection of safe plastic knives, cookie cutters, a rolling pin and other kitchen items are fabulous accessories to the play dough. My kids create for hours with the play dough and come up with the most creative ideas like running a play dough sushi shop. A simple and relatively inexpensive recipe for play dough follows. You can color this with your children's favorite colors and store it in zip lock bags or storage containers. Here is my tried and true recipe for play dough; I usually multiply the recipe for my crowd.

1 cup Flour
1 cup Water
1/2 cup Salt
2 teaspoons Cream of tartar
1 tablespoons vegetable oil

Cook and stir continuously until a ball forms. Add a few drops of food coloring. Makes one big ball you can hold in your hand. Put in an airtight container. Work food coloring in while warm.

Hopefully these ideas will save your sanity and for the kids you can be Super Mom or Dad and save the day!