Surviving Snow Days

I am on day three of snow days this week, and another is coming tomorrow.  I haven’t left my house in three full days.  I am beginning to believe that no one knows any other words than “mama” at varying levels of volume.  Although I may be closer and closer to starting to drink wine at noon, there are some activities that I have been doing with my boys that have helped beat some winter blues.

Art Activities

First, art activities.  We made snowflakes.  I taped off snowflakes on a small canvas and let them paint over it.  My youngest, at 10 months, painted his in a Ziploc bag.  Completely mess-free!  My oldest, at 2, used a paintbrush; however, finger paints would be just as fun!  We have art smocks, but an old t-shirt of mom or dad’s, and there is easy clean up for the older ones, too!  We also “skated” (painted) on tin foil, added some glitter, and printed off some ice skating bears to make ice rinks!  Pinterest is full of ideas – these were simple ones I could think of.

Sensory Bins

The second time-consuming activity I made is sensory bins.  These are easy to make, and you more than likely have the items at home.  I grabbed a big Tupperware container and dumped items into it.  Super simple.  I have made one with beans, rice, puff balls, or cereal.  I dyed the rice with vinegar and food coloring. Beware, this made the container smell very much of vinegar, which really just bothered me, not anyone else.  I put serving spoons, measuring cups, plastic animals, and cups in the tubs, and it was a huge hit!  I do recommend putting a towel under the Tupperware for items like beans and rice, for easy clean up – I definitely had a vacuum around for the rice time, but I also got at least 30 minutes of uninterrupted independent play time!

Play-Doh

Finally, we made some homemade Play–Doh this week.  I used the following recipe: 

1 cup flour

1 cup water

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1/3 cup of salt

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

food coloring

I added all the ingredients to a saucepan, heated them over medium heat, and stirred occasionally.  As it got thick, I removed it from the pan and cooled it on wax paper.  It cooled quickly, and my son loved it.  I have not ventured into store-bought Play-Doh (frankly, I think it smells yucky, and feels yucky), but my son LOVED it.  We didn’t have “traditional” Play-Doh toys either, so we used plastic animals, a toy hammer and saw, and cookie cutters.  Thank you to the polar vortex; all of the animals were given hats and coats made of Play-Doh.  It stores well in a Ziploc bag for many days, and if any dries out, you simply add some more water or vegetable oil and it goes back to normal!  There are also lots of different Play-Doh recipes on Pinterest, both with and without cooking.  Thankfully, it was homemade, and when I gave some to my 10-month-old to try to use, I did not have to fully freak out when he tried to eat it.  

Stay strong, Mamas.  We are getting close.  The plan is to spend as much time outside as humanly possible this weekend.  35s and higher – we are getting close! Spring is right around the corner!

Original post Karlie on 1/31/19