Indoor Activities!!!!

[gkids09]

Need some suggestions...

Considering it has rained and rained and rained for the past like 2 weeks, and we've only been able to go outside one day in those 2 weeks, I need some ideas!!

It has rained OVER 3 inches in the past 36 hours. It's crazy. The river stage has been raised again, and everything around is flooding, with more rain coming. In other words, we're NOT going to be able to go outside anytime soon.

The kids hate being inside all day every day, and so do I! We need some new gross motor activities to do inside, because they have been EXTRA wild.

We have tried exercise videos, music videos, music CDs, that sort of thing...Any other ideas?

[jen2651]

we have been busy with 'castaletics' as they call it. Jumping jacks, push ups (wow, good for a laugh), pop ups (start crouched down, then push up position, then crouch, then jump up), we do standing broad jump and mark our lines on the kitchen floor, we get the wiggles out.

I know...i'm hoping more people respond. I am out of ideas!

[DaycareMama]

This is obviously space permitting but if you have room maybe you can bring in a small climber. Over the winter and first wet part of spring I bring in one like the little tikes cube with a slide.

[kimmi]

We play alot of games during activity hour. one of them is hot apples! the kids sit in a circle and the kids hand a ball (apple) to each other and they go around the circle with it with music. when the music stops whoever has the ball becomes an apple and goes into a pretend pot. Then we continue on until only one child is left. That child (and I) get to make pretend applesauce out of all the apples (kids). They all love this game, even my one year olds! I love playing games like this with them.

[Cat Herder]

Like PP said, a climber for Winter/Early Spring is part of my normal rotation.
It is the rainy season and I live on the river.

8 Hula Hoops spaced on the floor make a great Hop Scotch game.

Bedsheets, a dining table and a row of chairs (flipped over) make a great fort and exploring tunnels.

Jumping Jack "Dancing" is always a hit with kids. Mine like to do that to "Move it like this" by the Baja Men.

A game of "hot potato", "duck duck goose", "monkey in the middle", "musical chairs" or "red rover" is still a blast.

Popping Bubbles cures most any bad morning, IMHO. I use the wedding ones indoors, less mess.

Packing bubble sheets on the floor make for a great "Stomping Dance".

Well, that is a start anyway...

[gkids09]

we have been busy with 'castaletics' as they call it. Jumping jacks, push ups (wow, good for a laugh), pop ups (start crouched down, then push up position, then crouch, then jump up), we do standing broad jump and mark our lines on the kitchen floor, we get the wiggles out.

I know...i'm hoping more people respond. I am out of ideas!

haha, I like those ideas!! I haven't ever done pop ups with them. I am sure they'd LOVE that!! We like the one where you sit sort of criss cross applesauce, but put your feet together bottom to bottom. I then tell them to bend over and see if their feet stink. :: They all lean over and bust out laughing, but they are also stretching, so it's good for all of us. Thank you!!

This is obviously space permitting but if you have room maybe you can bring in a small climber. Over the winter and first wet part of spring I bring in one like the little tikes cube with a slide.

I would LOVE to do this..But all my climbers are outside in the rain. If it's not pouring down tomorrow when I get there (don't live where my daycare is), I will get one under the shed and see if it'll dry out quickly!! They'd have lots of fun with it, probably moreso than when it's outside!! Thanks!

We play alot of games during activity hour. one of them is hot apples! the kids sit in a circle and the kids hand a ball (apple) to each other and they go around the circle with it with music. when the music stops whoever has the ball becomes an apple and goes into a pretend pot. Then we continue on until only one child is left. That child (and I) get to make pretend applesauce out of all the apples (kids). They all love this game, even my one year olds! I love playing games like this with them.

Thank you!! This sounds like a fun game. Some of mine would probably get MAD because they weren't able to play when they have to go to the pot. I will definitely try it though, probably tomorrow!!

Like PP said, a climber for Winter/Early Spring is part of my normal rotation.
It is the rainy season and I live on the river.

8 Hula Hoops spaced on the floor make a great Hop Scotch game.

Bedsheets, a dining table and a row of chairs (flipped over) make a great fort and exploring tunnels.

Jumping Jack "Dancing" is always a hit with kids. Mine like to do that to "Move it like this" by the Baja Men.

A game of "hot potato", "duck duck goose", "monkey in the middle", "musical chairs" or "red rover" is still a blast.

Popping Bubbles cures most any bad morning, IMHO. I use the wedding ones indoors, less mess.

Packing bubble sheets on the floor make for a great "Stomping Dance".

Well, that is a start anyway...

I have TONS of wedding bubbles left over from my own wedding. I am definitely going to get them out tomorrow!! Great idea!! I donated all my bubble wrap to flood victims who were packing their stuff up to move, but will be getting more soon! My dcks love to stomp on it too! Thanks.

Keep them coming!! My dcks (and I) will LOVE you all for this!

[kimmi]

Heres another one we like to play. We all stand in a circle with one child in the middle and we all sing this song:

Can you do what I do, I do, I do
can you do what I do, JUST LIKE ME!

Then the child in the middle does something (like jump up and down or pats their head or whatever they want to do) and all the rest around the circle has to do the same thing. Then its the next childs turn. They love this game as well.

Another one we do, is I picked up a toy bowling pins and balls for $5 at walmart and we go bowling once a week. Go online and print off a scoreboard and keep score (i only let them roll once each turn though) and the highest at the end of 10 rounds gets a special little treat with their snack at snack time. They love it!


I love this website also TONS of ideas: http://www.makinglearningfun.com/the...Directory.html

I also printed off this picnic basket game and lamentated the cards and found a basket laying around the house and a blanket for them to sit on. They love this game: http://www.makinglearningfun.com/the...GoingCards.htm

[SunflowerMama]

I just ordered one of these for the kids. My plan is to have it inside when the weather is yucky and take it outside on nice days.

It can be drapped with sheets, etc. and the kids can pretend it's anything....store, cave, bed, castle, puppet stage, restaurant, etc. You can get a canopy to increase the height and can be used as one structure or 2.

I think it'll be great for inside play!

http://www.threesisterstoys.com/p-67-waldorf-playstands-by-little-colorado.aspx

[Jenjo]

Have some fun summer time themes inside. Example a beach theme. Get some beach balls, make lemonade, lay out a blue blanket or tarp for the ocean. They could put chairs around it and pretend they are playing in the ocean or it could be a lake and they are going fishing, you could have a picnic at the beach aka a indoor picnic by the blue tarp. Get a box to be a boat that they could sit in. You could have a pirate day, maybe an indoor olympics day.

Let them build a hut with table and chairs. One of our favorite things to do on an inside day is to jump into a pile of blankets. Let them help clean. I give the kids a wet paper towel or a clorox wipe and I let them help clean the walls, dolls, big toys etc. They love to do this every once in a while. It can keep them busy and engaged for a while.

Give them some bread dough and let them make their own rolls, or make edible playdough, or some other simple snack.

Good Luck It is never easy to be stuck in doors.

[Blackcat31]

We use masking tape or blue painters tape and put lines, squares, dots, circles and x's all over the floor and then we walk the line or hop from square to square or walk backwards, hop on one foot, walk like a duck, try to fit as many kids as possible into one circle or....whatever comes to mind.

For some reason the kids ask for this activity atleast once per week.

[Lilbutterflie]

When it's rainy, we like to

build forts
play in some play tunnels
dance to music
do art projects
playdough (with a shower curtain on the floor to catch the playdough crumbs)
bring the sensory table inside
enjoy a rainy day G rated movie with some popcorn
do a pajama day
play on the computer (starfall.com is their favorite website and they just came out with lots of new stuff)

[WImom]

We had that the last two weeks and have finally went outside today and yesterday. We did:

Parachute (I have a 6' foot one so it's not too big)
obstical course
lots of playdoh
foldable slide

[gkids09]

Wow!! I'm loving all of these awesome ideas!! I will definitely be doing more tomorrow!! Today, I honestly felt like total crap. So I did a "game" with them that I didn't really have to teach them to do. I basically have no voice because of my throat, so it was much easier to demonstrate this one.

I have a huge stash of coffee filters and cotton balls for art projects, and TONS of clothespins.

I gave each kid (11 of them today) a coffee filter, two cotton balls, and a clothespin. Then, I showed them how to pinch it together and move their cotton balls from the floor to the coffee filter and back out again.

I let them practice for a while, since some seemed to never have seen a clothespin before. My one year old tried to eat the coffee filter, but besides that, it worked great!! They had so much fun!!

Anyway, after they practiced, I lined up two rows of five coffee filters with one cotton ball by each one. I let them go to at a time and race to see who could get their cotton balls in their coffee filters first. It's really strange how fun such simple things can be.

I can't wait for tomorrow. I'm finally feeling better this afternoon, so I'm going to venture out and try yall's ideas tomorrow!! They will love you, and so will I!

THANK YOU!!!