Inside Activities?!

Posted by  | Sunday, October 5, 2008  at 3:53 PM  
We live in a big city with high rise buildings - the "concrete jungle" as Josh affectionately calls it. Our home, or flat, is in a tall building, with no yard or grass in sight. If I were to send Lydia out to play, she'd be in the street with all the lead, pollution, sewege, and trash, not to mention cars and traffic. (We do get out and have fun outings, they are just planned. . . I just can't send Lydia "out to play.") We have to be creative with things we do inside. But, Lydia is young and just starting to get excited about creative play and games. I've really been looking forward to this week to get ideas from YOU about indoor activities for a "rainy day!"

Here are some things we do in our home:
  • Play dress up
  • Play-dough
  • Color and draw
  • Make pie dough and use it to make cookies with cookie cutters
  • Read books - lots of books!
  • Horsy-back rides on Dad
  • Watch videos (especially Miss Patty Cake and Nemo)
  • Dance to music
  • Sing songs
  • Pretend play with stuffed animals and dolls
  • Play in the princess castle
  • Make jewelry or just sort and organize Pop Beads
  • Cut up felt pieces and make different shapes, people, and animals
  • Play in her kitchen, cut food, and make/serve pretend meals
  • Candy Land (we are just beginning to learn this game)

Well, that's what comes to mind as I type. Please leave comments this week and let us know what you do for indoor activities!!

4 comments:

ChezDeshotels said...

We have lots of playtime outdoors her since we live on a farm but lately we have been doing a lot of inside activities as well, We play grocery store and Lydia gathers her products and puts them in the cart and I ring them up and then we decide what to cook.

We cook alot together and play playdough, water paint, sugar paint, watch videos some, read books, get in her playhouse and make up make believe stories, play dress-up, take pictures (she loves cameras), dance and do gymnastics and play hi-ho cheerio.

She also loves ring a round the rosy and we play a popcorn game she loves, I put a sheet on the floor and get out our air popcorn popper and music and we dance and catch the popcorn as it pops (without the lid) and then we eat it all up. She would do this everyday but we don't.

That is a few and I hope everyone has great ideas since I need to broaden the collection as winter is approaching.

AJ

Jeffrey & Shannon said...

Hey, Krista!
We play inside a LOT as well, and I saw a good idea on the Passionate Homemaking website... she lets her daughter sit in the kitchen floor and puts water in a large, shallow glass pan. Her daughter can use different cups and spoons for dipping out and pouring water, splashing, etc. It's messy, but it's just water! Easy clean-up! This is great when playing in the pool or bathtub is not an option!

When I was little, (although I DID spend almost every second outside) my mom would make sheet tents in the living room or our bedroom. I would play for HOURS in those tents, and continued making them myself when I got older - so much fun!

We also have a great tunnel Maggie got for her birthday (from Target, I think.) It folds up and fits great under the bed or back of the closet. This only comes out on those days when the kids are going stir-crazy, and I really need to get dinner ready or something - it's a real treat for them.

AJ-
LOVE the idea of the popcorn; that sounds like a ton of fun... and what is sugar paint?
-Shannon

Unknown said...

I was about to ask the same about the sugar paint! :)

ChezDeshotels said...

Sugar Paint I take a cookie sheet and sprinkle a good layer of sugar and if I have on hand I add sprinkles or colored sugar to the mix and then I give Lydia utensils and paint brushes and let her draw and paint in the sugar making designs. She can always smooth it out and start again, she loves it and the texture play is good and it keeps her busy at the kitchen counter while I cook or do dishes and we talk about what she is drawing. Hope that helps
AJ

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