Things you can do with your kids whenit's too cold to go outside and you have to stay home!!!

1. Movies! Don't just stick the kids in front of the tube though...get creative! Bring tons of pillows and blankets and spread out in the TV room or blow up an air mattress for a lazy day. Dark out all the windows and pretend you are in the movie theatre. Get creative with your little ones. Have them help you with the set up. Have them help with snack too....popcorn in buckets, snacks from a concession stand, drinks with straws, anything goes!
2. Blow up balloons. Kids of all ages love these things and they are so cheap. Start with just one or two and see what they do. Sometimes thats all you need to keep them entertained for an hour. Add more if you need. Who wouldn't want to run around the house chasing and grabbing 20 brightly colored balloons! If they need it to be a game, make it one. Have them grab balloons and try to stuff them into pillowcases. What about passing balloons between their legs. How about kicking them all to one room in the house as fast at they can? Maybe even have a stomping part to break the balloons and pick up the pieces when you are all done.
3. Crafts! Drawong, painting, playdough, or even paper mache ( look on line for recipe) staying inside is the perfect reason to go outside your comfort zone and do some crafts you never would have done...bird feeders with pinecones and peanut butter or stringing popcorn or fruit loops, finger painting with pudding. Buy one of those heavy duty plastic tableclothes that have fabric on the back and can simply be wiped down. Put it on your table or just on the floor for an instant surface to get creative.
4. Clean! Seriously! You can make anything fun if you find a new way of doing it! Get big paint brushes and let the kids paint the kitchen floor with nothing but water. Only rule- when they are done, they have to stand back ( or even sit on the counters) while you quickly mop! Give the kids a spray bottle with nothing but water and GO TO IT! Toilets, sinks, fronts of cabinets- a kid with a roll of paper towels or perhaps a brightly colored cloth and they are good to go! Time to clean the fridge? Have your littles ones help you take every single thing OUT of the fridge and put them on the floor wiping off jars and bottles while you wipe out the fridge. Then put it all back ( do this project before you mop the floor). Perhaps you can give your kid a scrub brush while they are taking a bath. Do the real scrub down later but quirt alittle body wash on the walls and tell them to go to town!
5. Wrap up random things around the house in blankets and pretend they are presents. Help the kids unwrap
6. Take that idea one step furthur and have a wrapped up day- perhaps in March as we "wrap up" winter and get ready for spring. The night before when they sleep, wrap stuff up! Their toys, shoes, even sippy cups and snacks. Help them unwrap their day and discover all their old toys and everyday stuff again in a new way!
7. Tke the wrapping up idea even furthur and think themes and education at the same time. Wrap up some play food in green or brown paper or blankets or something. Get out a watering can and something to represent the Sun ( a big pillow maybe) and show how when they water the food in the ground and the sun shines, plants will grow and our food with come to life so we can eat it and grow ourselves!
8. Begin your summer garden inside by starting some seeds!
9. Take a bath! They aren't used to taking a bath at 10AM or 3PM! Take out old bath toys and replace them with something new for the day- pool toys from summer, cups and measuring spoons from the kitchen, anything! Make extra bubbles!!!!! Even tell them to put on their swimsuits. If they promise to take a real bath after the super fun one, use food coloring to change the water and bath bubbles a different color. Let them decide when they want out. Sit in their with them with a book or magazine and let them get creative!
10. Playdates!!!! THose playsdates at the parks and pools are precious when the weather is nice but mandatory for the winter! Host one at your house or get others to go with you someplace- anyplace. Adult interaction is key for moms to survive winter too!
11. Swim at Best Western. Get your pool toys and googles and have some fun! Anyone can swim! $5 a person! What a special treat that would be after school one day.
12. Oasis- Indoor playground at First Christian Chruch Champaign- bring a lunch and spend lots of time there. Send out a TMG e-mail before you go asking others to join you!
13. The mall! The play area by JC Penny's is great for toddlers. And the rider toys that cost money are still fun to pretend on even without the money! The food court is a great place to pack a lunch or snack and settle in. A promise of one carousel ride for $1 is all you'll need!
14. Cook/Bake! Make food for dinner and have your kids help with the prep. Let them wash the veggies in the sink. Make cookies or other sweet treats for family and friends. Talk about measurements and bowl sizes and ingredients.
15. Schedule a complete kid-made meal for dinner one night and make a big deal about it to the rest of the family. This could be a week-long project if you involve the planning, shopping, making placemats or nametags or centerpieces. Get creative!
16. Board games! We all grew up with board games and the kids need to know that there are still amazing games to play that do not plug in or take batteries. Don't just play the new games. Show them some of the older ones taht are amazing- Battleship, Mastermind, Chutes and Ladders, and good ol' WAR
17. Kid friendly sing along or dance along exercise tapes! Get the whole family moving together!
18. Play hide and seek.
19. Instead of playing hide and seek with you, have each person take a turn hiding a stuffed animal and looking for it high and low
20. Hide jelly beans all around the house and have the kids go looking for them

Whatever you do, have fun doing it! The winter months can be hard- for you and your kids. All you may want to do is let them play by yourself but giving them your undivided attention for 20-30 minutes will make their day and also give them enough self esteem and confidence to play on their own when you really need them to! Enjoy!