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Rainy-day activities
It's raining, it's storming, the kids are going batty.
Here are four fab things to do:
• Go out. Head to Chuck E. Cheese (just don't forget your headache-busting pills). There are games suitable for children as young as 2. Entry is free. Most games require one token at 25 cents a turn. Go bowling, window-shopping at the mall or to an arcade such as Boomers.
• Get baking. Dig the frozen bananas out of the freezer and make banana bread. Or whip up a batch of cookies. Recipes for peanut butter, chocolate chip and sugar cookies.
• Bond. Create a wacky story. One person starts a sentence, the next person finishes fills in a verb or adjective; the next person completes the sentence. Break out the board games, such as Apples to Apples.
• Break the rules. Hand one of the kids a can of whipped cream and send him/her off to start a food fight in the bathroom or on the patio.
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Comments
Put those kids that do not behave in front of a book, no computer, no phone.... THey will learn, I did.
Posted by: rafael | May 30, 2009 2:32 PM
Keep a supply of quality books on hand. Since we are becoming a nation of non-readers, let's change that one step at a time.
Posted by: me, myself, and I | June 6, 2009 10:09 AM
Me, Myself and I : What an excellent suggestions, this could be another "bonding" activity.
Posted by: Joy | June 6, 2009 10:14 AM
Are you kidding me? There is nothing "fab" about Chukee Cheese. The food there has no nutrition. The games are mindless. A child is only wasting their childhood and you are wasting your money.
What about sending your child on to the patio in the rain with whipped cream? What kind of idiot would do that? The cream would wash away before it could be any fun at all.
Was there any thought put into this list? I would hate to see the report card of this person's child.
Try interacting with your child! Try Puppet theater. Children use creativity to design puppets, tell imaginative stories, play music, and sing songs.
Try chess, develop logic and thinking skills.
Try interactive games like scrabble or wheel of fortune to develop language skills.
Kids needs parents to interact with them. That's called "Parenting"!
Posted by: Jim | June 6, 2009 10:32 AM
Jim: Your suggestions to stage a puppet theater, play chess or games such as Scrabble are great suggestions. I just hope that as part of your "parenting" you aren't passing on the hateful language of referring to people as "idiots."
Posted by: Joy | June 6, 2009 10:40 AM
All of your thoughts are wonderful, except I don't think my 2 year old would enjoy chess or be able to read his own book...I read to him, but if any of you are really parents than you know that a 2 year old's attention might last for one whole book if you're lucky, then he's back to bouncing off the walls...that one book might take me 5-10 minutes to read...what do you suggest I do with the other 15 hrs. and 55 minutes of "awake time" on a rainy day???
Just a thought...there is a place called A Latte Fun...right now there is only 1 in Palm Beach Gardens, but a 2nd in Coral Springs is set to open in July 09.
It's indoors with a HUGE play and make believe area, plus there is a cafe' and nice fluffy couches for parents.
It's $10 for the day ($8 for siblings) and it's so totally worth it...my kids can literally spend 5-6 hours there!!
Now to all of you who are so pretentious and self rightous, shut up and get real...kids NEED to expend energy and trust me, chess doesn't cut it...it's 2009, not 1909!!!
Posted by: Michelle | June 30, 2009 12:24 PM
I just learned about A Latte Fun and it sounds like a great option for rainy days. There's a local in Palm Beach Gardens and one opening in Coral Springs soon.
Posted by: Joy | June 30, 2009 2:17 PM