PRACTICAL PARENTING â—½ HOME
Rainy Day
by Marcy Lytle
It’s that time of year when spring rains start to fall, and you might find yourselves indoors with nutty kids and feel as though you’re losing your mind because they can’t get outdoors and get out that energy! They’re not interested in their Christmas toys, they’re crying that they’re bored, and you don’t want them on their tablets or phones or watching TV…so head to the Dollar Store for a rainy day stash you can keep on hand!
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Balloons – Blow up about 10 balloons and let the kids loose in the garage or play room or open space to toss them and jump up and down for a bit, just to get some movement going. Join in with them. String some twine across the room and let them play balloon volleyball!
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Colorforms – Yes, Dollar Tree has these and they will keep the younger kids occupied! There is a scene on each side of the insert and lots of little stickers to move about and pretend play. The dog and cat scene is the cutest!
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New books – There are always some little books to pick up to have on hand. The older kids can read to the younger ones, which would be a great connection activity for them all.
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Puzzle or Coloring books – There are Sudoku and crossword puzzle books for those interested, there are coloring books for markers or crayons, so have a group of all three and let the kids pick one for an hour of quiet time.
Play Dough Sets – These are $5 but they’re super cute and include some sort of manipulative and a few tubs of Play Dough. Again, this is a great one for the older kids to play with the younger ones, as they help them with the forming of the dough.
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Plastic sea creatures – Pick out a bag of little plastic sea creatures in the toy section and fill a bathroom sink partway with water. Let the kids pour in the creatures and play. Have an older kid supervise with a towel in hand. Or place a plastic tub on a towel in the kitchen and give rules about splashing.
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Silly faces books – These are sticker books with several pages of faces that need eyes, mouths, hats and accessories. They’re super fun, and funny! The kids will surely enjoy some laughter while playing. Just tear out a face for each kid, divide up the stickers and let them create!
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Flash Cards – There are all sorts of flash cards, from ABC’s to sounds animals make, and even just animal cards. The kids could draw an animal and then play charades by acting them out! A great way to spend an afternoon of fun. I also saw a card deck that’s a memory game.
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While you’re in the store, grab some red and white paper popcorn bags and pop a huge bowl of popcorn. Go ahead and allow one hour of TV time if you wish (you pick the show so no arguing ensues) and let them make their own popcorn bags with scoops you picked up from the store, as well. They can grab their water bottles and a blanket (you can get tiny pillows or blankets as a surprise at the store, too!) and watch the show “at the movies” and have a blast.
