What to do with a stuck-indoors-in-bad-weather kiddo...again
September 13, 2023 12:47 PM Subscribe
We've got yet another weekend of wild weather ahead of us, and I have used up all of my ideas for fun activities (and a lifetime's worth of screen time) on the last three weekends of crappy weather. Can you help me amuse my very busy 3.5yo?
We're staring down the barrel of a hurricane/tropical storm – it's due to make landfall early Saturday and stick around for the better part of the weekend. There's a strong likelihood of power outages. Outside play will most likely be out of the question for at least a day. We've had a lot of bad weather lately and I feel like I've used up every single idea I ever had for keeping my kid happily entertained inside. (She'd gladly spend the whole 48 hours watching Thomas & Friends, but...no.)
She loves to help with household tasks (to a point), including cooking/baking, vacuuming and laundry. She enjoys painting, drawing and playing with play dough (colouring and sticking stickers are sometimes, but not always, fun) and "writing" stories, lists and postcards. Reading and seek-and-find books are good, if I'm there to do them with her; we're working on early literacy skills and letter/number recognition. She enjoys the messy experiments a la Busy Toddler, but I find that they require more set up and clean up than interaction time, and frankly, I don't have the bandwidth or mess tolerance right now. She hates puzzles and board games. She loves "keep-uppy."
We've got tons of craft supplies, a fair amount of enthusiasm, and some but not a ton of space. I'm willing to spend $20 or so to augment the activities box.
I dream of the day we'll be able to hunker down and spend a stormy day knitting and watching tv together, but until then....your tried, tested and approved suggestions for fun, not overly messy, activities to do with a preschooler will be gratefully received. There's no idea too small – I've got a complete mental block about this right now. Thank you!
We're staring down the barrel of a hurricane/tropical storm – it's due to make landfall early Saturday and stick around for the better part of the weekend. There's a strong likelihood of power outages. Outside play will most likely be out of the question for at least a day. We've had a lot of bad weather lately and I feel like I've used up every single idea I ever had for keeping my kid happily entertained inside. (She'd gladly spend the whole 48 hours watching Thomas & Friends, but...no.)
She loves to help with household tasks (to a point), including cooking/baking, vacuuming and laundry. She enjoys painting, drawing and playing with play dough (colouring and sticking stickers are sometimes, but not always, fun) and "writing" stories, lists and postcards. Reading and seek-and-find books are good, if I'm there to do them with her; we're working on early literacy skills and letter/number recognition. She enjoys the messy experiments a la Busy Toddler, but I find that they require more set up and clean up than interaction time, and frankly, I don't have the bandwidth or mess tolerance right now. She hates puzzles and board games. She loves "keep-uppy."
We've got tons of craft supplies, a fair amount of enthusiasm, and some but not a ton of space. I'm willing to spend $20 or so to augment the activities box.
I dream of the day we'll be able to hunker down and spend a stormy day knitting and watching tv together, but until then....your tried, tested and approved suggestions for fun, not overly messy, activities to do with a preschooler will be gratefully received. There's no idea too small – I've got a complete mental block about this right now. Thank you!
The one thing I don't see in your list is music and dancing. Collect together some swirly scarves, put on some tunes, have a dance party. Uses lots of energy and back in the day, we always found this a welcome change after hours of arts and crafts and books.
posted by ojocaliente at 1:09 PM on September 13, 2023
posted by ojocaliente at 1:09 PM on September 13, 2023
Playing the floor is lava or building a fort?
posted by heathrowga at 1:16 PM on September 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by heathrowga at 1:16 PM on September 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
Big 2 gallon ziplock bag 1/3 full of neat stuff- little animals, those glass bead globs, little hair barretts, letter magnets, buttons, coins, shelles- whatever is hand sized that she can grab/sort/treasure hunt,etc, fine to use stuff from around the house. YMMV with how much mess this might be, but at least it all goes back in the bag.
more balloon stuff-
variation on keepy uppy/indoor badminton- keep up with a baloon with 2 fly swatters instead of your hands,
Get a pack of those small balloons that are used for water balloons, rub them on your shirt to build up static electricity, stick them to your head, the wall, the cat (if the cat is chill)
Counting how many times they can jump without stopping can be a good way to burn energy. Foam Pogo Stick is great for this
If you have to be under flashlight power and you have strong flashlights you can play shadow games. Colorful flashlights can also be fun
for blending colors in the dark
posted by wowenthusiast at 1:18 PM on September 13, 2023
more balloon stuff-
variation on keepy uppy/indoor badminton- keep up with a baloon with 2 fly swatters instead of your hands,
Get a pack of those small balloons that are used for water balloons, rub them on your shirt to build up static electricity, stick them to your head, the wall, the cat (if the cat is chill)
Counting how many times they can jump without stopping can be a good way to burn energy. Foam Pogo Stick is great for this
If you have to be under flashlight power and you have strong flashlights you can play shadow games. Colorful flashlights can also be fun
for blending colors in the dark
posted by wowenthusiast at 1:18 PM on September 13, 2023
I know it’s not winter, but those of us who live in cold climates deal with this for months at a time. A quick search on Pinterest for “winter indoor activities for kids” yielded a ton of results.
posted by Juniper Toast at 1:21 PM on September 13, 2023
posted by Juniper Toast at 1:21 PM on September 13, 2023
Best answer: Get a Twister game or make a facsimile of one (colored paper shapes scattered on the floor), and then do a game of Speed Twister: parent calls out commands like "arm on blue" and "leg on yellow" -- you can add right and left if you think she's ready for that -- and do that until kid gets all tangled up and falls over in glee. Repeat for a good long time; child will get tired while you sit on the sofa. Music is an additional bonus.
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:31 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:31 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Bath in the middle of the day with popsicles or something out of the ordinary?
posted by gillianr at 1:42 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by gillianr at 1:42 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
If there is anyone you could arrange a play date with, I would do that.
If you have a public library with a children's room that's open on weekends, do that. A) Different space! With different toys! B) Other kids! Someone else to entertain her for a few minutes maybe! C) An adult to have a conversation with, even if it's just "wow, how about this weather."
For the parts where you are home, I would definitely build an elaborate blanket fort, maybe in the living room with chairs) and then have her do all her usual hanging-around activities in there. It can add interest to things she's done a million times lately. Make it as dark as you can and give her a flashlight, make shadow puppets.
posted by gideonfrog at 1:50 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
If you have a public library with a children's room that's open on weekends, do that. A) Different space! With different toys! B) Other kids! Someone else to entertain her for a few minutes maybe! C) An adult to have a conversation with, even if it's just "wow, how about this weather."
For the parts where you are home, I would definitely build an elaborate blanket fort, maybe in the living room with chairs) and then have her do all her usual hanging-around activities in there. It can add interest to things she's done a million times lately. Make it as dark as you can and give her a flashlight, make shadow puppets.
posted by gideonfrog at 1:50 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: She enjoys the messy experiments a la Busy Toddler, but I find that they require more set up and clean up than interaction time
Every kid I babysat for was a huge fan of what I call the Weird Food game. It satisfies the urge to get messy and experiment and isn't really messier than a normal meal unless you get maximalist with it. Also kids need to eat anyway so if you make sure the game includes some nutrients you can call it a very time-consuming lunch.
It goes like this: you and your kid search the kitchen for all the food that doesn't require prep. Leftovers, snacks, random bits of stuff from the pantry and fridge. Put it all out on the table in the original packaging no need to be fancy. Now raid the condiments and put all the ones that are good on the table full of random food. Now you take turns thinking up weird combinations of the foods and condiments like turkey with grape jelly and pretzel. Dare each other to try bites of them. Take notes on what tastes good together. Whoever eats the most weird food combos wins.
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 1:54 PM on September 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
Every kid I babysat for was a huge fan of what I call the Weird Food game. It satisfies the urge to get messy and experiment and isn't really messier than a normal meal unless you get maximalist with it. Also kids need to eat anyway so if you make sure the game includes some nutrients you can call it a very time-consuming lunch.
It goes like this: you and your kid search the kitchen for all the food that doesn't require prep. Leftovers, snacks, random bits of stuff from the pantry and fridge. Put it all out on the table in the original packaging no need to be fancy. Now raid the condiments and put all the ones that are good on the table full of random food. Now you take turns thinking up weird combinations of the foods and condiments like turkey with grape jelly and pretzel. Dare each other to try bites of them. Take notes on what tastes good together. Whoever eats the most weird food combos wins.
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 1:54 PM on September 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
Buy a roll of butcher paper.
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 2:14 PM on September 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 2:14 PM on September 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
If you have a Target near you I just bought “Tactile Turtles” for 50% off in the clearance school supply section. It’s 30 small colorful turtles with different patterns that you can encourage your kid to sort, match, count, in multiple ways. My 3 year old has been playing with them for days now. The game we came up with while I was trying to make dinner was I’d describe one like “a blue tiny turtle with a spiral shell!” and she’d run off to find it.
She’s also enjoyed tucking them into bed, they are very cute.
And for an activity that doesn’t require buying anything I had good luck teaching her to play “hot and cold” when she searches for a hidden object, I used that one weekend with great results.
posted by lepus at 2:43 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
She’s also enjoyed tucking them into bed, they are very cute.
And for an activity that doesn’t require buying anything I had good luck teaching her to play “hot and cold” when she searches for a hidden object, I used that one weekend with great results.
posted by lepus at 2:43 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Audio books.
If you have a kiddie pool you could a) clean it before the weekend b) put stuffed animals to turn it into a ball pit of sorts or put toys with small pieces in it to contain the mess.
Put out a call to your neighbors to see if anyone has a large cardboard box...
Do you have any yoga/ exercise/ gym mats for jumping onto? Alternatively couch cushions (from the couch, or thrifted I suppose) are the classic answer.
If you kid doesn't have specific dress up clothes, play dress up with old Halloween costumes or clothes from the adult closet. Put on a fashion show.
Make (shadow) puppets and put on a show.
Juggling scarves (or a DIY variant) can be thrown indoors relatively safely.
Things that can be rolled down the stairs... ping pong balls... slinky... hot wheels car... train on train track.
posted by oceano at 3:47 PM on September 13, 2023
If you have a kiddie pool you could a) clean it before the weekend b) put stuffed animals to turn it into a ball pit of sorts or put toys with small pieces in it to contain the mess.
Put out a call to your neighbors to see if anyone has a large cardboard box...
Do you have any yoga/ exercise/ gym mats for jumping onto? Alternatively couch cushions (from the couch, or thrifted I suppose) are the classic answer.
If you kid doesn't have specific dress up clothes, play dress up with old Halloween costumes or clothes from the adult closet. Put on a fashion show.
Make (shadow) puppets and put on a show.
Juggling scarves (or a DIY variant) can be thrown indoors relatively safely.
Things that can be rolled down the stairs... ping pong balls... slinky... hot wheels car... train on train track.
posted by oceano at 3:47 PM on September 13, 2023
Use dry erase markers on a sliding glass door or mirrors. Use shaving cream on mirrors or a tabletop or cookie sheet (to help contain it)
posted by metahawk at 4:01 PM on September 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by metahawk at 4:01 PM on September 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Making homemade playdough, or cloud dough, and then letting the kid mix in the food colour to colour the different balls is a good activity. This seems more entertaining to kids than just opening a can of play dough. If you had vanillia or almond or mint extract you could also make scented playdough.
There is a salt dough you can make than then you can bake in the oven and paint to make things like Christmas ornaments. This is good weekend activity because you can make and bake one day and paint the next day.
If you have a stand mixer or a hand mixer, making foam and then then playing in the bathtub can take up a lot of time. There are lots of toddler sensory foam tutorials.
Making granola or tea biscuits was something I often do with my kid when he is home sick.
I know it's screen time, but there are two excellent games, "teach my monster to read" and "teach my monster math" that have some educational value and are not annoying.
Sometimes my son and I will play a game where one of us will hide a small toy and then other has to look for it. But it's a lot of work for the adult, to look and interact with the kid.
If you like to knit and have wool, my son found the pompom maker somewhat entertaining.
Making paper fish and putting paper clips on them and catching them with a magnet on a string.
Air dry clay from the dollar store.
posted by ice-cream forever at 4:48 PM on September 13, 2023
There is a salt dough you can make than then you can bake in the oven and paint to make things like Christmas ornaments. This is good weekend activity because you can make and bake one day and paint the next day.
If you have a stand mixer or a hand mixer, making foam and then then playing in the bathtub can take up a lot of time. There are lots of toddler sensory foam tutorials.
Making granola or tea biscuits was something I often do with my kid when he is home sick.
I know it's screen time, but there are two excellent games, "teach my monster to read" and "teach my monster math" that have some educational value and are not annoying.
Sometimes my son and I will play a game where one of us will hide a small toy and then other has to look for it. But it's a lot of work for the adult, to look and interact with the kid.
If you like to knit and have wool, my son found the pompom maker somewhat entertaining.
Making paper fish and putting paper clips on them and catching them with a magnet on a string.
Air dry clay from the dollar store.
posted by ice-cream forever at 4:48 PM on September 13, 2023
Give her a pile of scrap paper and a pair of scissors. Three is a little young for carefully cutting out pictures or making snowflakes, but a 3 year old can have a lot of fun just cutting pieces of paper into random smaller pieces of paper.
Give her a spray bottle of window cleaner and a rag and let her clean windows and mirrors.
Show her how to use Paint or the equivalent on your computer to play around with putting lines and colors on the screen. Maybe she can even manage to draw a crude picture.
Open up Word and let her type random letters, numbers and characters or write out things like her name for her so she can type them. Teach her what backspace, delete, enter and the space bar do. Show her how to make capital letters. Maybe she would like to send emails or texts to some people. Ask her what she wants to say and write it out for her so she can find the letters and type it, then you can send it for her.
posted by Redstart at 5:53 PM on September 13, 2023
Give her a spray bottle of window cleaner and a rag and let her clean windows and mirrors.
Show her how to use Paint or the equivalent on your computer to play around with putting lines and colors on the screen. Maybe she can even manage to draw a crude picture.
Open up Word and let her type random letters, numbers and characters or write out things like her name for her so she can type them. Teach her what backspace, delete, enter and the space bar do. Show her how to make capital letters. Maybe she would like to send emails or texts to some people. Ask her what she wants to say and write it out for her so she can find the letters and type it, then you can send it for her.
posted by Redstart at 5:53 PM on September 13, 2023
Wet days don't have to be about inside time. As long as it's safe (eg not during an actual hurricane/tropical storm), playing outside in the rain or at least just after it has been raining can be great fun for kids. It may not seem as much fun for adults, but when was the last time you jumped in a puddle?
posted by dg at 6:54 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by dg at 6:54 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Kinetic sand can keep them occupied for a while and for $20 you can usually get a case for it.
Echoing that making our own play doh is always a go to for this. Somehow entertains him much longer than store bought.
You can also fill a bin with dried rice and let them scoop.
Recently we've been having success with the dinosaur fossil dig eggs from the dollar store. But usually we make him go outside to "dig" because they can get messy.
I also try to get a bunch of new books from the library and dole them out one at a time.
posted by luckdragon at 6:56 PM on September 13, 2023
Echoing that making our own play doh is always a go to for this. Somehow entertains him much longer than store bought.
You can also fill a bin with dried rice and let them scoop.
Recently we've been having success with the dinosaur fossil dig eggs from the dollar store. But usually we make him go outside to "dig" because they can get messy.
I also try to get a bunch of new books from the library and dole them out one at a time.
posted by luckdragon at 6:56 PM on September 13, 2023
Have you ever emptied out the whole pantry and fridge to clean together? Big hit that can include building towers out of cans and boxes.
Mr. Clean magic erasers for cleaning marks off walls are also a lot of fun.
My daughter likes filling up a pot with ice and then with a lot of supervision, boiling it away on the stove.
Paper clip chains or rubber band balls
Filling up food prep or cleaning gloves with water and freezing them or floating them in the bathrobe.
Blanket sneak up game. You lay on the couch, they cover themselves in a blanket and have to sneak up on you.
Start a compost bin
Silverware parade while you clean out the utensil drawer
Make sock puppets out of any socks that have lost their pair
posted by CMcG at 7:05 PM on September 13, 2023
Mr. Clean magic erasers for cleaning marks off walls are also a lot of fun.
My daughter likes filling up a pot with ice and then with a lot of supervision, boiling it away on the stove.
Paper clip chains or rubber band balls
Filling up food prep or cleaning gloves with water and freezing them or floating them in the bathrobe.
Blanket sneak up game. You lay on the couch, they cover themselves in a blanket and have to sneak up on you.
Start a compost bin
Silverware parade while you clean out the utensil drawer
Make sock puppets out of any socks that have lost their pair
posted by CMcG at 7:05 PM on September 13, 2023
Best answer: I have an *extremely* busy 4.5 yo.
Around her third birthday, I started to keep a supply of cardboard boxes in varying sizes.
If you don't have any on hand, ask neighbors or see if you can grab some from a store.
Boxes plus craft supplies - stickers, washable markers, poms, googly eyes, anything - can fill up so much time! The small boxes can be houses or beds for dolls. The big boxes can be princess carriages, spaceships, castles, forts, anything. We decorate a big box during scary weather, and fill it with blankets, a flashlight, and stuffed animals so our kid has a little safe spot.
I've also had her clean out and organize my closet, starting at age 2. My busy kid is actually really good at telling me a shirt isn't cute on me, then hurling it down the stairs for the charity shop.
posted by champers at 4:32 AM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Around her third birthday, I started to keep a supply of cardboard boxes in varying sizes.
If you don't have any on hand, ask neighbors or see if you can grab some from a store.
Boxes plus craft supplies - stickers, washable markers, poms, googly eyes, anything - can fill up so much time! The small boxes can be houses or beds for dolls. The big boxes can be princess carriages, spaceships, castles, forts, anything. We decorate a big box during scary weather, and fill it with blankets, a flashlight, and stuffed animals so our kid has a little safe spot.
I've also had her clean out and organize my closet, starting at age 2. My busy kid is actually really good at telling me a shirt isn't cute on me, then hurling it down the stairs for the charity shop.
posted by champers at 4:32 AM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Oh, I have another one! I set up a bunch of "busy bag" type activities to send to a friend with a new baby who had young kids who would need entertaining while she was busy with baby stuff. I made a variety of color matching games: one with paint sample strips from the hardware store (get two identical strips, cut bits from one strip and glue to clothespins, kid puts clothespin on correct color on intact strip), one with silicone cupcake liners and a bunch of pompoms in the same colors as the liners (and big plastic tweezers for the older kid to make it take longer and work fine motor skills), and one with colored popsicle sticks to pair with felt popsicle shapes I just glued together. If you search "busy bags" and your kid's age, you'll find TONS of ideas , and many of them take just a quick trip to Joann Fabrics or Michaels and then few minutes to put together.
posted by SeedStitch at 5:50 AM on September 14, 2023
posted by SeedStitch at 5:50 AM on September 14, 2023
Seconding the "very long bath", my kid loves this.
Do you have a hula hoop? My kid likes to jump through the hoop (held vertical, like a tiger jumping through a hoop in the circus) while I hold it above the couch. If you're lucky, you can squeeze it between the coach cushions to make it stand up on its own.
If you have stairs and a foam mat or something, jumping onto that from the second or third stair could be exciting but still safe enough.
If you have loads of boxes and don't mind spending some time, build a toddler-sized hamster maze.
Would a hammer and nails set (like this) appeal to your kid?
posted by demi-octopus at 6:30 AM on September 14, 2023
Do you have a hula hoop? My kid likes to jump through the hoop (held vertical, like a tiger jumping through a hoop in the circus) while I hold it above the couch. If you're lucky, you can squeeze it between the coach cushions to make it stand up on its own.
If you have stairs and a foam mat or something, jumping onto that from the second or third stair could be exciting but still safe enough.
If you have loads of boxes and don't mind spending some time, build a toddler-sized hamster maze.
Would a hammer and nails set (like this) appeal to your kid?
posted by demi-octopus at 6:30 AM on September 14, 2023
Dump ice into large container. Hand children tongs and measuring cups.
Construction paper chains.
My 4 year old enjoys stringing beads on string. He makes a lot of bracelets.
We do a game where he draws and I have to copy him step by step. He has to describe what I do.
We make a lot of obstacle courses out of random stuff - tennis ground markers make great lily pads for jumping.
posted by melodykramer at 11:59 AM on September 14, 2023
Construction paper chains.
My 4 year old enjoys stringing beads on string. He makes a lot of bracelets.
We do a game where he draws and I have to copy him step by step. He has to describe what I do.
We make a lot of obstacle courses out of random stuff - tennis ground markers make great lily pads for jumping.
posted by melodykramer at 11:59 AM on September 14, 2023
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After interest in the box started to wane, we'd cut windows and a door into the box and flip it over to make it a fort, which made it fun and exciting again. We'd also let the kids decorate with coloring and stickers, which required supervision but kept them happy for much longer than coloring on paper every did.
posted by SeedStitch at 12:52 PM on September 13, 2023 [5 favorites]