During Winter and Spring, I know there are going to be many days when we are cooped up indoors, thanks to the cold or the rain. With four kids, cabin fever can set in very quickly! An arsenal of indoor play ideas is essential for this mama's survival!
Every parent knows that kids get bored very easily. My kids definitely have favorite indoor activities that they always turn to, but after days of bad weather, they quickly tire of those activities. I'm constantly brainstorming new ideas that will continue to keep my little tribe entertained!
When it comes to indoor play ideas, I have two rules: It must be inexpensive, and preparation must be quick and easy! It rained today, so I figured it was a good time to share five of our favorite unique indoor play ideas that help us survive all those cold and rainy days:
{SHOWER CURTAIN ART}
This is a fun idea that we have been doing for many years! The only supplies needed are a cheap plastic shower curtain (you can buy one for under $2 at Walmart) and dry erase markers.
Spread the shower curtain out on the floor, give the kids some dry erase markers, and let them decorate it!
This activity always keeps them busy for a long while! When they are done, simply wipe off the shower curtain with a wet wash cloth, allow to air dry, then fold up and store away for the next use. This is also a fun idea for a coloring table at a party. We also keep one on our art table at all times, and my kids decorate it with permanent marker while they are creating!
{ROAD ON THE WALL}
I originally found road wall decals on Amazon, but I recently found some in the Target Dollar Spot. I don't know what the appeal is, but for some reason, the kids seem to love to push their cars on the wall track!
I do replace them every few weeks, and I move the wall track from room to room to encourage play in other areas of our home. These wall decals also work great on the floor, or stuck to a table top!
{CHALKBOARD TOWNS}
Purchase an inexpensive roll of chalkboard paper and a box of chalk, and your kids will have hours of fun!
Roll it out on the table for Tic Tac Toe, Hangman and drawing, or roll it out on the floor and tape it down with painter's tape. Kids love drawing towns and landscapes! Bonus points if you have chalkboard blocks to put in the "town!"
{DRY ERASE WALL ART}
Similar to the road decals, dry erase blank canvas decals can provide hours of fun! Find them online, or, if you're lucky, you will be able to find some in the Target Dollar Spot!
Simply peel and stick to the wall, and let the kids decorate them with dry erase markers. They wipe clean after every use. My kids LOVE drawing and writing on these! They're also great for practicing writing letters, numbers and sight words!
{PAINTER'S TAPE MAZES, ROADS, & HOPSCOTCH}
One roll of painters tape = hours of fun!
Peel off strips of tape and stick it to your floor to create mazes, roads or hopscotch boards! Today, we made a road and a parking garage.
After the kids are done playing, have them peel it off the floor to create a tape ball. They have so much fun peeling and sticking that they don't even realize they're cleaning up all by themselves! #winning
These are just a few of the indoor play ideas that I always have on hand for cold or rainy days! It definitely helps to be prepared!
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Justine at Full Hands, Full Heart
I love all of these ideas! Target's Dollar Spot gets me every time. I need to look for these items next time I go. My kids would love them!
ReplyDeleteThe Target Dollar Spot is my downfall! But I sure do love it!
DeleteAbsolutely genius. You are the queen of fun kids activities girl. I love all of them, even the car ones :).
ReplyDeleteThank you! As you could see, my girls are big fans of the car ones, too!
DeleteThese are all such great ideas!! I am totally going to do some of these!!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I hope your kiddos have fun!
DeleteFun! I bought some road themed tape for making roads on the floor. I haven't opened it yet though!
ReplyDeleteWe had some that I bought on Amazon but we went through it really fast! It's definitely fun, though!
DeletePinning to my Education board! Great ideas.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lisa!
DeleteWhat great ideas!! I love the shower curtain idea!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Erica! That has always been one of their favorites!
DeleteSuch great ideas!We're going in to rainy season and I can't wait to give these a shot!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Erin! I hope your kids enjoy!
DeleteThese are all such great ideas!! The shower curtain - brilliant! I don't know why I've never thought of that!
ReplyDeleteI honestly can't even remember how I learned about it, but it was years ago when Dylan and Lexie were little. It's such a fun, cheap activity!
DeleteThese are such awesome ideas! And most are super cost effective which is even better! I use painters tape in myclassroom ALL the time.
ReplyDeleteYes! Inexpensive is important. I'd love to hear some of your ideas on how you use painter's tape, too!
DeleteThe shower curtain is fantastic! I have been thinking about what to use for our paint markers. Thanks for hosting the link up!
ReplyDeleteMy kids have used them on the shower curtain that covers our art table. Give it a shot!
DeleteThese are such great and creative ideas! I can't wait to try them with my kids!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nicole!
DeleteWhat great ideas! That shower curtain idea is genius!!! I will be trying this!!
ReplyDeleteI love that shower curtain liner idea!!
ReplyDeleteUm, these are the coolest ideas ever! I never would have thought of any of them!
ReplyDeleteGENIOUS!!! I'm totally trying he shower curtain art!
ReplyDeleteI need to get better at getting big rolls of paper out for the boys to draw on. Great ideas!
ReplyDelete