Play Food For Free

Sometimes the most simple ideas are right under your nose and you just don't think about them. I went to a birthday party and the mom had her kids play kitchen totally stocked. But it wasn't plastic food and miniature cardboard food boxes. She had stocked the shelves with the empty boxes and containers from her own kitchen. What a brilliant idea!

When I got home, I went through all the stuff I had saved for potential rainy day craft material - macaroni and cheese boxes, rice a roni, poptarts, cardboard oatmeal canisters, juice containers, egg cartons, plastic spice shakers, pizza boxes...the list could go on and on. I taped them shut and stocked the shelves in my girls room. Wow! They were excited! They did nothing but play store and cooking for the next 3 days. The best part is that if items get squished or ruined, you just throw them away and replenish the next time you empty a packaged food item. What a great way to recycle what used to go straight to the trash.

You may need to experiment depending on your kids temperament. My kids didn't like having the containers taped shut. They ripped them open so they could "pour" the contents out and cook. I think they will last longer if they are taped closed but not if they tear them up trying to open them!

editors note: 1-14-09

My kids are now content to leave them taped shut, which does indeed prolong the life span.

Teddy Bear Races

Get a couple of empty plastic clothes baskets and put a teddy bear in each. Have your kids race each other or you race your kid. Set a course for the race then push your teddy bears across the floor and see who gets to the end first. Try not to dump your teddy bear along the way! (don't have plastic baskets? find something else that will work in their place - even a couple small empty boxes will do) If you have really young ones, you may want to have the goal be finishing, rather than racing.

Rain Dance

Go outside and teach your kids how to do a rain dance. If it's winter, do a snow dance. Pattern it after native american dancing and have fun.

If you have a playgroup this is a fun indoor activity. Create a rainstorm inside. Have all the kids sit in a circle on the floor. One parent starts the rain storm and whatever they do, have the kids do. To really make is sound authentic, go around the circle one by one adding to the rainstorm. They should keep doing their the current motion until it is their turn again. Say, "Here comes the wind." Make circular motions on the floor with your hands. Have the kids do the same motions, going around the circle clockwise. When everyone is making the wind noise, the parent says, "Here comes the rain," and starts tapping the floor with their fingertips. Each child in turn taps the floor. Then the parent says, "it's getting harder," and taps the floor with their whole fingers. Go around the circle, changing from fingertips to fingers. Then the parents says, "it's getting harder," and pounds the floor with their palms, and each child in turn changes from fingers to palms. Do the reverse for the storm passing.

Indoor Sledding

Take turns giving your kids "sled" rides. Get a blanket out and lay it on the floor. Have your kid sit down on it, pull the sides in towards them for them to hold onto. Now you take the end and pull them around the house. This works best on non-carpeted floors, but can be done even on carpet. note: this is in place of going to the gym for you!

Puzzles

Bring out your puzzles and spend some time putting them together with your kids. Try to use the time for teaching your kids too. You can teach them about the shapes, colors, or objects in the puzzles.

Puppet Show

Put on a puppet show. If you have puppets, you can use them. Otherwise, make puppets as a craft time activity. You can get elaborate and make a 'stage' from an old box or just sit the kids down at the dining room table. You get on the other side and sit on the floor. Then just have the puppets perform at the table height.

Animal Fun

Have your kids pretend to be different animals. Have them walk, crawl, or jump like the animals and imitate their noises. Have them try to be like a variety of different animals. You can do farm animals, zoo animals, or pets. Teach them about the different animals while they are playing. Tell them about the animals habits, what they like to eat, etc.

Simon Says

Play Simon Says. You as the parent should be Simon. You say "Simon says..." and fill in the blank with an action for the kids to imitate. (touch your nose, stomp your feet, etc.) Keep the actions more simple for the indoors. Do things that will help with them learning to identify arms, legs, hands, feet, etc. If you play outdoors, you can get even more creative since you may have more room to roam. (run in a circle, roll down the hill, etc) Then if you give them an action without saying 'Simon says' that child is out. This is a good game for older kids to help them with their listening skills. For young children, always say 'Simon says.' They enjoy doing whatever silly things you can come up with.

Shape Scavenger Hunt

Make a list of the items your kids have to find. The items should be based on shapes such as 4 squares, 2 rectangles, 1 triangle, 3 circles. Give your kids a bag or basket to collect their items. If your kids are older, you might want to increase the difficulty of the scavenger hunt by tagging colors and shapes together - ex: red square, blue circle, etc. Work with your kids to see the shapes in their every day environment.

Hide and Go Seek

An oldie but a goodie. One person is it. They close their eyes and count to ten. While they are counting, the other kids (or parent) hides. Traditionally, after counting to ten say, "Ready or not, here I come!" After finding the hiders, the last person found gets to be it.

I Spy

If you don't know how this game works, one person says "I spy with my little eye something that is...." then you give a description of the object that you have chosen. (ex: green, tall, round) Then the other person looks around and tries guessing what the object is that you have described. Take turns picking the object or let whoever guesses it get the next turn.

Play Pretend

Let your kids decide who they will be and what adventure they will go on. Get into the game with them and ask them questions to prompt their imagination further. Ex: Okay, we are Dora and Diego and we are going to the mountain. How are we getting there? Are we walking, hopping, taking a scooter?