what to do with kids in the winter

[siren of the sea]

well the winter season is almost here. my son isnt one much for going outdoors in the cold so i have a question. what do you do with your kids on the days off from school when weather is bad? he is an only child so it makes it hard. if kids are out he will play but i dont let him go into their homes. we are kinda new to this area and i dont know parents well enough yet. he seems to just want to play games, watch tv, or on the computer. he is 8. what can i do??? i play with him untill he says i play wrong or i have chores or i simply cant do it anymore haha. i think this is a a great way to share ideas and help give our kids some fun on the rainy or cold days. thanks everyone.

[babyprayers]

have a mother son day. plan ahead all the things your going to do. or have a box and each time he comes up with an idea put that idea in the box. then when there is nothing to do , pull out an idea/ it works great for my 8 year old DD

[siren of the sea]

thanks but i need some new ideas of what to do. give me some suggestions. we all need some new idea of games or activities. i just hate doing the same boring things.

[Adevotee]

What about cooking a meal together. Something that would take some time. Maybe even make a dessert to go with it.

[siren of the sea]

yes he is getting more interested in that. plus i dont want him to not know how to cook. he is the biggest couch potatoe and it drives me crazy! he will read but he needs to do more. thanks for your suggestion. little guy needs to get some motivation haha. i suggest this and that and he says "no thank you". such manners, even though is probably is thinking hell no mom haha

[AnnieBrooke]

After-school indoor sports programs?  Go to the local "climbing wall" place and harness up?

[siren of the sea]

oh annie have a story about rock walls. lol .i took him to a park. he climbed a 10 foot or about rock wall. the only way down was a pole. he was afraid but i didnt let him chicken out. finally he came down. he was so determined to get over his fear he went up again. this time more scared. he said he would stay up there till he died. then told me to call the fire depratment. i was beside myself. parents were gathering and he wouldnt do it. i said i would leave (didnt know what else to do at this point) so he waved bye. haha. he said he was going to jump!! crazy kid! finally i got him down. sigh. was a very eventful day i dont want to do again. even though i did ask him yesterday if he would want to go back and try again haha. thanks.

[Wooly25]

This is just some stuff I looked up, do with it what you want.  Some are kinda close to the same things, but there are tons more ideas just google (Things to do on a Rainy day).  I would do like the other lady said and put them in a box that way you are suprised to and so you don't end up thinking "well...I don't really want to do that.. your kinda trapped, and you'll end up having just as much fun as him."  P.S. I don't have kids yet (but I did grow up with three sisters and a brother), but if you need any ideas on things I am pretty creative, so just ask and I might be able to come up with some ideas for things that you want to do just don't know how or where to start.
1. Have an indoor picnic.
Throw a blanket on the floor and break out the sandwiches and cheese.
2. Make a bird feeder.
Materials needed: plastic milk jug, yarn, scissors, birdseed
Get an empty milk jug and cut it all the way around, about 2-3 inches from the bottom.
Discard the top piece in a recycling bin.
Take the bottom piece and punch holes in each of the 4 sides with the scissors.
Cut 4 long strands of yarn--at least 3 feet long.
Tie and knot one strand through each hole.
Knot all 4 strands together about 1 foot from the top.
Tie the top of the strands to a tree limb to hang the feeder from a tree.
Fill with birdseed.
3. Make a fort out of the kitchen table.
Cover the table with a sheet and get out the flashlights.
4. Blow bubbles
5. Dance
6. Play hide and go seek
7. Play I Spy
8. Play jacks
9. Play Marco Polo
10. Paint
11. Make and fly paper airplanes
12. Plan a trip somewhere and research what you could do there
13. Train a pet to do something new
14. Act out a play or story
15. Do one of the projects you put off until summer
16. Read Aloud (my personal favorite)
17. Scavenger hunt
18. Tie-dye T-shirts (or Daddy's underwear!)
19. Do a paid job (Ask mom for a list)
20. Fill a large plastic bin with different shaped dry pastas dry beans rice whatever you can buy least expensively. Give them cups and "sand" toys and you have a winter alternative to the sandbox. (Spread a sheet under the bin they will get it everywhere then you can just gather up the sheet and dump it back in the bin.)
21. Books on tape and stuff like that from the library.
22. Camp in the house. One of our tents can be set up without the stakes so we have camp outs in the living room and make smores in the microwave. You can always drape a blanket over a table.
23. Make a tower from paper cups as tall as you can. Then remove the bottom piece and watch it tumble.
24. Subscribe or go to Family Fun's website. They always have a ton of creative ideas to try!
25. Invite some friends over
26. Learn something new together.... A foreign language, an instrument, how to sew, candle making, jewelry making, typing, etc.....
27. Ask a question and find the answer
28. Go to McDonald's playland and get a soda for the morning.
29. Movie night - a special night a week where we rent a kid-friendly movie and eat popcorn.  
30. Make a teepee
31. Let them sort your spools of thread or stick pins into your pin cushion (if you think he wouldn't hurt himself).
32. Write on a white board we all like that!
33. Make your own word search puzzles
34. Make a book of favorite animals, trees, bugs, etc.
35. Kids' Aerobics Video.
36. Play basketball with the Little Tikes basketball hoop.
37. Line up cans etc and get a ball and bowl
38. Go to the local appliance store and get large refrigerator boxes etc and make big forts (similar to McDonald's playland...okay use your imagination). The kids can have hours of fun running through them turning off the lights and using flashlights getting dad to play monster and even sleeping in them. You can also decorate them with paint or turn them into cars etc. My kids love to "invent" stuff out of them. I have even seen playhouses made that include curtains wallpaper etc. Check your local library for "The Great Big Box Book" by Flo Ann Hedley Norvell.
40. Chin up bar we put it in one of the boy's rooms. This also helps to get out energy.
41. Set up an obstacle course in the living room or the basement using chairs with pillows over them (kids crawled under) different things to make circles they could step in with different feet a jump rope and a mini-trampoline.
42. Play racquetball in the garage or cellar (as long as you don't mind ball marks all over your walls)
43. Have an indoor "snowball" fight. Divide; give each one a stack of newspapers yell go and they have to wad up the sheets of newspaper into "snowballs" and throw them. Great fun! Last part is seeing who can gather the most balls into a trash bag!
44. Jump on a mini trampoline
45. Clean out a drawer
46. Clean the house fold laundry do dishes vacuum the rug... Mend
47. Help a child re-organize or decorate his/her room
48. Let them sort your canned goods or jello boxes.
49. Plan a treasure hunt
50.Do a craft
60. Use large dry beans (limas etc.) and school glue and let him glue beans onto heavy paper or old folders. (You could dribble out a line of glue in the shape of something fun--a car for example--and then let him press the beans onto it.)
Save boxes and containers then give them a roll of foil and duct tape and let them create.
61. Make & send a card to someone who needs encouragement
62. Start a new collection of something (besides dust :o)
63. Color
64. Draw a picture together - take turns adding details
65. Grab a pencil a notebook and practice drawing as a family
66. Have him draw a picture and tell a story about it (you write down the story) and send it to Grandma.
67. Start early to plan homemade gift ideas for Christmas!
68. If he can cut give him some old magazines glue sticks paper and let him cut out pictures and glue them to paper.
69. Work on family photo album together
70. Perform an experiment
71. Play with the globe
72. Make play dough
73. Make puppets
74. Sew
75. Rubber Stamp
76. Bake or cook
77. Bake cookies and invite a neighbor over to help eat them
78. If you have a fireplace do a hotdog roast and make s'mores.
79. Play board & card games!
80. Make up your own game
81. Charades
82. Play ‘How many things can you remember to do?’: Give them a list of activities and make the list longer each time. For example hop to the door knock on it 2 times crawl under the dining room table and do the crab walk back to me. If they successfully complete this then I name 5 things the next time.
83. Bake some goodies to take to your community's firemen or policemen & attach a card telling them how much you appreciate their work to keep us safe
84. Make a treat or meal for someone going through a hard time
85. Write a letter to a relative/friend
86. Play dress up
87. Put a blanket on the floor and pretend you are on boat fishing etc...
88. Play post office
89. Playing 'restaurant': make the menus set the table take orders serve (& clean up)
90. Play school: you are the student & kids take turns being the teacher
91. Play store
92. Have a tea party
93. Sing
94. Worship the Lord sing dance play instruments to God
95. Tell a story (can't use a book).
96. Listen to a story on tape (we love Adventure in Odyssey!)
97. Play cars
98. Give them a wide roll of masking tape and let them go to town making "roads" for Matchbox cars.  
99. Legos are a major attraction and my kids spend hours creating cars etc...
100. Puzzles are contagious. Just start one on the table and they won't be able to keep away from it!
101. Learn to do tricks with a yo yo
102. Fill the tub or sink w/water & float boats
103. Long playtime in the bath (I use the baby monitor so I can keep an ear out for any trouble he may have or for if he needs me).
104. "Washing" dishes at the sink--get a big pan of soapy water some plastic bowls and cups and let him stand on a chair and play. This would keep some of my kids busy for 45 minutes or so.
105. Make a family "newspaper" of recent events or happenings


  

[nalla]

Those are some awesome idea's! My kids get SO bored in the winter and weekends. Especialy Christmas break which is 2 weeks long. I'm going to have to print that out and try them out. My kids would love to do those things. It sucks cause when they are bored (my 9 and 7 year old) always end up fighting and it drives me crazy! My mom says it's payback from when my sister and I used to fight like crazy. LOL!

[AnnieBrooke]

That list is a great find!  Good work!  I'm printing it too.

[siren of the sea]

wow you all have covered all areas. if he still says he is bored well i guess ill have to say too bad haha. thanks ladies!

[emma10]

It's a nice list but I think you could probably put a little more energy into 2 things that would help your overall problem (which seems to me to be not just finding a list of stuff but finding a lifestyle where ds gets more active/independent and you get more involved):

a. find more friends (for you and him/easier said than done, I know).  I am assuming he goes to school?  Get involved with school something, anything--the moms are the way to get to know the other kids. Volunteer at an event, at the library, to go on a field trip, etc. Public libraries also usually have kids room with kid-activities where parents and kids meet or crafts or events. Boyscouts give you a chance to meet people too. Or a nature center or local museum.  Choir or iceskating lessons or community theatre or joining a little sports team or the "Y" gets you in contact. I think part of the problem is you are not connected to your community yet. I live in a teeny town (30,000) in the middle of nowhere, with a 6 month winter (N. Michigan) and it was really hard in the beginning (they were 2 and 4, had never seen snow, born in CA).  

Kids their age don't live in our neighborhood and even now I have to push mine (9 and 11) and put them in activities (we do aikido kids class, DD does girlscouts & singing, DS does local theatre and D&D, DD used to do dance class too) or they would never leave the house. For instance, today, the Girlscouts go to a local crafts store and they have a little ornament-making session. On Halloween, one of the aikido kids (we don't really "know" her that well but she invited the class) had a halloween party.  I put both in skiing class (cut-rate kids class) too to help them get over their dislike of the cold--now they love it. Before that they'd only go out if I took them to a sledding hill.For a while too til they're like 10 YOU have to call the friends and make the playdates. But you need to start now when they're younger so they get the habit. I have found they echo my enthusiasm or distaste though so I think at some point you got to get out there too and ski around or sled or build a snowman. I'm lucky my DH is a nut and will play with them for hours too outside.

b. Put some limits on the viewing/playing hours; make them earn it. We made 2 hours outdoor time = 1 hour playtime (video). And reading too, 1 hr=1hr. With a maximum per week playing time (only DS has this 'problem') of 7 hours total (which he never ever reaches). Once they start doing other stuff they forget about the games . Since we don't have cable and there's no TV up here without it, we don't have that problem (not for everyone I'm sure but we love it, do have videos). Your DS is 8 years old now, you're looking at serious lifelong habits here if you don't get him on a less tube-heavy couch-potato schedule--I think 8 is really a transition point from childhood to youngsterhood if you know what I mean.  Best of luck!

[siren of the sea]

well we dont have a seditary lifestyle. we walk to the park, we play in the yard, to go the mountains to hike. i was looking for ideas for the occational times we get bored. i do not let him sit in front of the tv all day i guess i worded that wrong. i thank you for your ideas. we go to the library or local planetarium. we visit places that you make ceramics. you made me sound like a lazy mother and i guess that was my fault for making it sound like that. there are days however we dont leave for rain, money, or just want to be home and that was my reason for asking really. thanks everyone for your responses. 8 years is quite the transition, they arent little but not old enough to do certain things alone. (my city is half a million) . he is a highly intelligent boy that requires myself to learn in the process haha. well ladies there have been some great ideas.

[who_dis]

Assume list of ideas!

Maybe write down some that you think he will like the best, and put them on little pieces of paper.  He can draw a piece of paper randomly (I'm thinking you should put them in a hat or bag) if he is bored, and he will get to do whatever it says!

[siren of the sea]

that is a great idea!!!! you are so much more than a cable installer!

[siren of the sea]

i just noticed your sentance that stated i could get more involved. i take offense to that. i am very involved in my sons life and i am a great mother. i dont do playdates with other mothers and kids because i dont like those "fake" mothers that act as if they are better than others im sure YOU  know what i mean. really the other ideas given were much better than saying put them in ski classes or building snowmen. not connected to my community? what is that? if you read what i said it was referring to what i do when we are stuck in the house. i dont feel the need to show myself off or to make friends with everyone. sounds like bree from desperate housewives. yes i watch that trashy show and i love it. you sound like you need others to help you with your kids by all the activities outside the home. good luck to YOU.

[sk2006a]

i think sailors wife was looking for advice for INDOOR activities on days when they want to stay in from the elements.  it can be a challenge when you're at home with an only child to find fun things to do and keep them challenged which don't involve the computer and television.  besides, mom has first dibs on the computer lol

[Morgan277]

I totally agree.  how hard it is to find things to do in the winter!  I am home iwth my 3 year old daughter each day and some days i just want to run b/c honestly I can NOT play another game or color!  The library is a life saver.  Not only do we join the programs but we just go there for an hour or 2 picking out books, doing puzzles, and playing on the computer.  being away from home helps.  new environment.  I live in NY and we have this place called Wood Kingdom- its an inside playground and for 8 bucks you can have your kid play for 1 1/2 hours.  pretty cool.  Not sure if you have soething like that around.  Very hard to be ACTIVE in teh winter so if more movies go on than the usual so be it.  the play dates thing is a great idea too b/c if your child has some friends to come over or go to their house, that is great for him (to socialize) and you(gives you a break from entertaining).
good luck!

[nickle14]

just because shes looking for indoor ideas, doesnt meant her kid is on a "tube-heavy couch-potato schedule"  

that was kind of bitchy for you to say.

[sk2006a]

wow - i haven't seen your name in awhile.  how have you been?

[who_dis]

I especially love the "tie dye daddy's underwear" idea.  Great surprise gift for daddy!  Tie-dye all his underpants.  Then make him matching socks.

[mslkpage]

I am well, thank you! I've been busy collecting coins and recycling aluminum. Looks like I've got some reading to catch up on!!

[sk2006a]

don't forgot to stock up on tin foil - we may be needing it soon :)

[nickle14]

i havent been doing any thing exciting like recycling...just popping in to say hello.