The Survival Guide for Rookie Moms

I live in Vancouver, British Columbia.  Most of you across Canada probably think, oh, Vancouver, what does she have to complain about, the weather is so mild out there.  However, because we are used to mild weather as soon as a cold snap hits we don’t know what to do with ourselves and we barricade ourselves up in our houses until that nasty white stuff melts.  And, just for the record, we actually have seen quite a lot of the white stuff so far this winter here in Vancouver!

So, as a mom of two young children with a ton of energy and willingness to play….I often struggle with how to keep their spirits up while being locked inside the house all day.  After wracking my brain, texting all my mommy friends and doing a Google search of “ideas for inside play” I have come up with a pretty impressive list (if I do say so myself) of ways to keep the kiddies happy while playing inside:

1)      Baking: What child doesn’t love to lick a chocolate covered spoon or sprinkle a newly baked cookie?  Baking is a great activity for all ages and can really fill up the time.  You don’t even have to resort to baking unhealthy food to keep the kids happy.  I think any child would lick a spoon that has oatmeal raisin batter on it….or blueberry bran on it.  As long as they think are involved in the process of making it.

2)      Hide and Seek:  Now, this one can get tricky depending on how old your children are.  Some of the older children can find really hard spots to hide which leaves the younger ones looking for hours and even though it might give mommy time to sip her tea in peace….it may become frustrating for the younger kids.  So, you may have to set boundaries on where hiding can take place….for instance I would rule out the attic

3)      Crafts: Now, I don’t mean just breaking out the crayons and some blank pieces of paper.  I mean go onto Crayola.com and get some ideas for some unique craft projects.  My daughter could spend hours building paper animals or paper flowers if she has some instructions and the right tools.  You may have to do some planning around this one and head to the local dollar store for the tools.

4)      Board game: Sounds so obvious right.  However, I know in our household we tend to overlook the board games as it does seem so obvious.  Recently I have found some super fun board games (Apples to Apples, Candyland and Snakes and Ladders) that have kept the kids busy for hours!

5)      Dress Up:  Yes, even if you have boys, dress up can be fun.  For instance my son has a batman costume, a buzz light-year costume and a homemade Luke Skywalker costume.  I think that the home made costumes are the most fun and can really ignite the imagination!

If you have exhausted all of the above and your kids are still looking for something to do you should check out the Play and Learn Family Activities section of the Fisher Price website. They list a ton of great indoor activity ideas for you and your children of all ages.

I wish you all a fun and happy winter and look forward to providing you with some ideas on playing with kids during the spring time

“Disclosure: I am a Fisher-Price Mom and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.”

Filed under: Parenting Tagged: | Activites with Kids, board games, cold weather activites, crafts for kids, Fisher Price, games for kids, inside activities for kids, Motherhood, Parenting