It's Raining, It's Pouring, the Kids are Saying 'Boring!'

It’s raining. It’s not just drizzling or sprinkling… it’s down right pouring! Welcome to the fall season on the west coast!
The question is… what do you do with your children when cabin fever is setting in?
Sure, you could dress them head to toe in slickers n’ boots and hope they don’t get lost in some giant mud puddle outside, as you try to get a little bit of sanity in your day. By ‘day’, I mean days, weeks, months, you just never know when the rain will end on the west coast!
Or… you could check out this list of ideas and links, staying warm and dry, and get started on some amazing and fun quality time! Soon, you will be looking forward to these rainy days when you can hibernate inside together and really enjoy some treasured experiences.
Now, I know what you are saying, ‘it’s pouring rain and I’m not going out to get a bunch of crafty supplies,’ no worries! Our first list is a 'No-Craft' list! If you are, however, a crafty parent, we have a second list of some fantastic ideas for crafting with your little ones.
 
• Turn on music! Easy! Music always brightens the day and drowns out the sound of the rain. Once the music is on…
• Dance around together! If you have some scarves, they are a perfect prop for children to dance with. Play ‘follow the dancer around the house’, up onto the beds, down the hall, under the table, where ever you choose!
• Make some hot chocolate or tea and get busy baking your favourite treat! (And dancing of course! No one said you can’t dance with a measuring cup in your hand!)
• Play cards, or make a card house!
• Do a puzzle together ~ hope you are still groovin’ in your seat!
• Get a bowl for each child and fill it up with their favourite snacks. Find pillows and cozy blankets. Turn down the blinds and turn on your favourite family movie! It’s the middle of the morning? No big deal! The kids will love it!
• Play board games! You know the ones that have been sitting and collecting dust all summer? Yeah, those ones!
• Snuggle up in the blankets with some favourite books to read together! Spy Books are fantastic, they are super interactive and create some great early learning opportunities!
• Let your little one have a warm bath with some shaving cream (you can color it with a tiny bit of food colouring) and a paintbrush and let them ‘Picasso’ the bathtub!
• Go online and send e-cards to people, just because! Let them know you are thinking of them. Often we get so busy to remember to let people know how special they are to us. This is a great activity to model caring and giving to others. Making others feel good, just because. And making others feel happy makes us feel good!

Ok, here’s the ‘Let’s get Crafty’ list!

• Tis the season to start thinking about a few new Christmas decorations!
• Gingerbread houses!
• Christmas tree decorations! This is really endless in possibilities!
• Glue sparkle on small pinecones
• Use a baker’s clay (see LittleHands link below for a recipe) and cut out shapes and paint them
• Use white pipe-cleaners and make snowflakes
• Lace red and green buttons onto ribbon or pipe-cleaners
• Lace red, white and green beads on to pipe-cleaners and make candy canes
• Popcorn and cranberry garland!
• Handprint felt wreaths! And so much more! (See LittleHands link below for instructions)
• This is a fantastic facebook page with links to many ideas to keep little ones entertained and craft ideas to do together! Ideas and Inspiration for Crafty Parents
• Here’s is a website that is absolutely endless with ideas! Printable games and pages, crafts, etc. FamilyFun
• Looking for gifts to make together for loved ones? Or just some easy crafts to do together? Little Hands Lots of Love Blog
  
  Whichever activity you choose, take a deep breath and just enjoy this precious time. The rain helps us slow down and ensure we spend much needed time together.