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By Deborah Dove
The weather outside is frightful, but with the following games, crafts and activities, you’ll find that spending time inside can be delightful.
1. Play a Card Game
Spoons (for 3-9 players) - From a regular deck of cards, pull four sets of cards of a kind (four queens, four twos, etc.) for each player and shuffle. So if four people are playing, you will have 16 cards, or four sets of four cards. Place a number of spoons totaling one fewer than the number of players in the center of the table. The dealer deals all of the cards to the players. The dealer begins by discarding one card to the player on his left, who then discards one card to the player on his left, drawing and discarding as quickly as possible. No player may have more than 5 cards or fewer than 4 cards at any given moment. Each player is trying to make their four cards into a set of four of a kind (four queens, four twos, etc.) by drawing new cards and discarding unused ones. A player should keep the four cards that are most likely to produce a matching set. The first player to get four of a kind grabs a spoon from the center. The other players then try to grab a spoon, leaving one player empty handed. The player without a spoon loses the round. For added fun, substitute putting a finger on your nose or sticking out your tongue for grabbing spoons. The last player to put their finger on their nose or stick out their tongue is out.
2. Make a snowflake
Cut a pipe cleaner into 3 equal lengths. Arrange the pieces in a crisscross pattern—one vertical, and the other two forming an "X" on top. Twist the pieces together in the middle to join them together and spread out the ends evenly. This is the base skeleton of your snowflake shape. Tie string around the tip of one of the pipe cleaner spokes, and then connect it to the next spoke. Continue tying the string around the tip of each pipe cleaner spoke until you’ve gone all the way around, forming a hexagon shape. Tie another length of string to the tip of one of the spokes (this will allow the snowflake to dangle in the solution in the jar). Fill a wide-mouth jar with boiling water. Add Borax to the boiling water, one tablespoonful at a time (use three tablespoonfuls per cup of water), stirring gently to dissolve. If you’d like, add one or two drops of blue food coloring to give the snowflakes a bluish tint. Slowly lower the pipe cleaner snowflake into the water, suspending it in the mixture. Tie the loose end of the string to a pencil across the top of the open end of the jar so that the snowflake can dangle. Let the jar rest overnight. In the morning, shiny crystals will have formed on the pipe cleaners and string —an indoor snowflake!
3. Take a Bath
You can’t go to the pool, but little ones will enjoy warm water fun in the tub with bubbles and bath tub paint you can make in a jiffy. Fill muffin cups with a dollop of shaving cream. Add a couple of drops of food coloring to each section. Mix gently with a spoon. Let kids play in the tub with the "paints"—decorating themselves and the tub interior.
4. Make a Snack
Head to the kitchen and make these tasty cinnamon rolls together, then enjoy with a cup of hot cocoa by the fire. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Separate 2 (8 oz. each) rolls of refrigerated crescent roll dough into 8 rectangles, pressing down perforations. Spread each triangle with softened margarine (you’ll need 1/4 - 1/2 cup of margarine). Combine 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 cup of raisins. Sprinkle mixture over dough rectangles. Starting at the short end, roll up each rectangle. Cut each roll into five slices and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees (F) for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown. Make a glaze by combining 1 cup of powdered sugar with 1/4 cup milk or juice (apple or orange). Drizzle glaze over warm rolls.
5. Play a game on the computer
Check out www.miniclips.com for enough free online games to keep your child busy all winter. There are seasonal games, action games, sports games, platform games, puzzle games, multi player games and more.
6. Make a comic strip
You will need a pad of paper and something to draw with. At the bottom of the pad, starting from the left, draw a stick figure, a box car, cartoon dog, or anything you want to put into motion. On the next page, draw the figure again with a slightly different pose and positioned a little bit to the right of the figure on the previous page. Repeat this process on each page until you reach the right side of the pad. Now fan the pages with your thumb to watch your character move across the page!
7. Play Sardines
In this variation on hide and seek, one person is the hider and everyone else is a seeker. The hider hides while the seekers look for him or her. However, when a seeker finds the hider, instead of pointing him out, he joins him in the hiding place. Soon, everyone is all stuffed in one place, like a box of sardines! The first person to find the hider gets to hide next.
8. Make jewelry out of colored pasta
Place a handful of dry, uncooked pasta, such as ziti, elbow macaroni or farfalle, into a plastic zipper baggie. Add a tablespoon of white vinegar and 2-3 drops of food coloring. Close the baggie and have the kids shake the bag until the pasta is completely colored. Spread out onto a paper plate or paper towel and allow to dry. Use several baggies to create different colors. Once the pasta is dry, kids can use yarn to string together pieces to make necklaces and bracelets. |
