Surviving Winter: Story Time at the Library

image source

I think a huge secret to making it through the winter months and still being sane, happy, and even a bit improved is to get a change of scenery every so often. One way to do this is story time at your local library. How awesome is the local library? All that free stuff? 

Every library does story time differently. For some, it is a "come one, come all" thing where you just show up and get some stories read. My library requires you sign up ahead of time, but they do really neat things for the children with fun crafts, handouts, and treats. 

And not all storytimes are at the library. We have a non-profit center close to our home that focuses on the history of the American West. They do a free storytime weekly that is full of stories, games, crafts, and food, and it is come one, come all, no sign ups required. Learn about the resources you have around you by asking moms with older children, reading the papers, and checking websites. 

Storytime offers a love of reading along with a social outing that is low-pressure. This is a great winter, rainy day, or hot day activity!

Surviving Winter: Extra Book Reading

Part of combatting winter crazies is keeping the mind engaged. When you are stuck inside for longer hours than usual, reading extra books is a fun way to pass the time and engage the mind. Try adding an extra story session to your day at some point--maybe after breakfast or lunch or just before nap time. Chase the winter blues away with a pile of books.

Surviving Winter: Baking

My idea behind surviving through the winter months (with sanity, happiness, and fun) cooped up in the house is to find things that will keep my children so they don't feel the need to pull out every toy and game we own and to prevent bickering that can happen when people are bored. We have structured  days, but you need some free play. 

Baking is something that all three of my children love to do. The measuring, pouring, mixing...not only is there a lot to learn while baking (math, fine motor, life skills), there is a lot of time to talk. It is a great moment to bond and get to know your children a bit better. Plus, you get food made at the same time! Yum!

So do some baking this winter. Your tummy and your child will thank you for it.

Surviving Winter: Television Time (and other Technology)

Side note: Remember when TVs looked like that? How quickly things change these days.

Okay, television and technology (computers, video games, computer games, etc.) are a couple of options at your disposal for keeping some peace during the winter. 

We definitely watch more television in the winter than in the summer. I pretty much don't turn the TV on for the kids at all if it is nice weather outside. My kids all didn't start watching TV in life until January after they turned 1. For all three, that was 20 months, 21 months, and 22 months old. So in the winter, we use it some. 

I start slowly each January. I don't immediately go to TV each day for 30-60 minutes. I might do one day a week. By the end of the winter, it seems we are watching TV almost daily for 30-60 minutes. TV is great for filling some time....

...but it also defeats some of your purposes for surviving winter. It stops kids from moving around, which they don't need in the winter. They need activities to get them moving. 

It also gets addictive and leads to sleep and behavior problems if too much screen time happens daily.

So use with caution. If you start to use it and notice behavior issues and/or sleep issues, you probably have the TV on too much. Use it as a special activity to do, but not as your life for the winter months. 

Also, don't think the television is necessary at all to get through difficult weather months. Last year, we had moved and didn't have it for about six months. When it isn't an option, the kids use their imagination. They don't think of TV because it isn't part of life. They think of other things to do. 

So in your TV use, I say be wise and mindful. 

A tip for preventing TV time from completely absorbing your children is to have other things for them to do while they watch TV. Maybe color, maybe play with toys (my toddlers always want to play with toys while watching TV), maybe jumping on the mini-tramp while watching ("You are free to watch TV so long as you are jumping on the trampoline" :) ). So you can make it more than just sitting and staring.

By the way, I plan for this to be my last Surviving Winter post for this winter season because I plan for winter to be over soon. Hopefully winter will obey :) 

I do have a full list of ideas ready for next winter, so be excited...but enjoy the nice weather first. 

Surviving Winter: Dress Up and Imaginative Play

Dress up and imaginative play are fun any time of year, but they are a great way to pass the time while stuck inside. Dress up and have fun!

Acquiring dress up clothes does not need to be expensive--though I do think in most cases it will take you time to build it up. One way to get inexpensive dress-up clothes is to shop the sales right after Halloween. Even pre-sales--a lot of Halloween costumes will be cheaper than it is to buy "dress-up" clothes.

The crafty among you can sew and make dress up items.

Never underestimate the power of a simple accessory. Brayden often uses a sword, a hat, and a bag when playing pretend. He uses simple accessories more than he does a full-out costume. Hats, jewelry, bags, scarves...accessories.

You can give your kids things you were going to get rid of. One great example is purses. Rather than tossing or donating all of your old purses, save one or two for your kids. One of Brayden's favorite clothing dress-up items is a khaki vest my mother-in-law was getting rid of. I knew he would love it for his safari adventures.

We have a large rubbermaid tote that holds all of our dress up clothes. They are easy to access and easy for kids to clean up.

So encourage your children to play dress up and take themselves mentally to a different place full of exciting adventures!

Surviving Winter: Winter Sports

Now that my kids are getting a little older, I decided it was time for us to pick up on winter sports. We live in an area where it is cold weather for nearly half of the year some years. Even in a warm year, you have at least three months where you don't want to be going outside much--and those don't come around very often (those warm years).

I decided we need to A) Do something that required some physical activity and B) Do more than "survive" winter--we need to "thrive" through winter! Enjoy it! Have things to look forward to! A winter hobby that made us excited to see winter come.

There are a lot of winter sports: snow shoeing, cross country skiing, snowmobiling, snowboarding, skiing, and ice skating name a few. We decided to go with ice skating this year. We signed up for lessons for Brayden (5) and Kaitlyn (3). McKenna will be able to start lessons when she is 3. They both had a great time. I don't feel bad about Brayden not taking lessons until he was 5 because he caught on quickly. Kaitlyn was timid and slow about it, but I don't feel bad about her starting at 3, either. She was able to pass level one, though I do think we will put her in level one again the next time she takes the class just so she can get a really solid foundation under her before moving on.

So my point here is, find something your family can do during less than ideal weather that you can look forward to. Thrive--no matter what time of year!

By the way, I got thinking that since this is an indoor rink, ice skating will be a great summer activity, too! It will be fun to go cool off! We do also have outdoor rinks here in the winter--so this will be a relatively easy and inexpensive winter sport to pursue as a young family.

Homemade Highways

During the summer, we do a lot of learning with sidewalk chalk outside.  During the winter, I turn to painter's tape.  I love painter's tape!

This activity is really just a fun way to add a little variety to your day, especially these long winter days.  I set up a highway system on the kitchen floor using painter’s tape.  This took me about 5-10 minutes. This is even something your little ones can help with. J later made 2 requests that were easy to add on.  1. A garage to park some cars (my version is on the bottom right side of the pic) 2. Destination states (he’s VERY into states and geography. I definitely accomodated him on this one since it’s educational too.  I let him choose the states and just cut them out of construction paper and taped them down to the end of each roadway.)

Add buildings and bridges with Legos or blocks, stop signs, railroad crossings, etc.  It could be as simple or extravagant as you want.  This picture is fairly basic, since it was honestly meant to keep J busy and focused in the kitchen while my husband and I moved furniture for new floors (woohoo!).


I'll admit, painter’s tape is not cheap.  While you really only use a small amount of the roll, I tend to leave these up for awhile to get lots of use.  I also reuse the tape to make other things later (letters, shapes, numbers,…). One reader adapted this idea by placing tape on a blanket that she could then put away any time she wanted.  Since the tape isn't permanent, you can change the road map easily or remove them completely for cleaning. 

Surviving Winter: Go Outside Anyway

During the winter, if weather permits, you basically need to just go outside anyway. Don't let snow stop you from doing things. Take the picture above for example. Snow everywhere, and yet swinging is still fun. Don't think the only things you can do in snow are sledding, building snowmen, snow angels, snow sculptures, or snow forts, etc.

There will also be times the weather changes for you for a day or two and you can do something like go for a walk! This year was literally the first time I have taken a child of mine on a walk in January. The winter before Kaitlyn was born, it would have been possible, but I have this mental block in my head for certain temperatures so Brayden and I never went for a cold winter walk. After a long, cold winter last year, I decided this year I would take advantage of any glimpse of nice weather I could get. 

It warmed up to the high 40s, which a few years ago would not have been walking weather in January in my opinion. But the day was sunny with no wind, so I dressed my girls up and we went for a walk! The sun shining on me felt so good, and I felt this renewed energy! I was ready for anything that day! I also ran into other moms out with their kids who had the same idea I had: get out while you can. 

So if you are like me and get a mental block in the winter, try to step out of it. Play with your outside toys when you can. Go for those walks. Fresh air and sunshine are so good for you physically and mentally. 

Spring time is approaching (faster for some than others). I suggest you decide now that you will be flexible and get out on any nice day you can. Just be ready to spontaneously put things off to get that outside play in when that nice enough day comes along.

For those of you surviving rainy seasons, think of ways to get out and play in the rain. Get appropriate gear so you can be comfortable and have fun outside! Outside play does not have to be reserved for 60-80 degree weather. 

Snowbox

In light of the blizzard that just blew across the entire country and the ridiculously cold temperatures we're all experiencing, I thought I'd first share a great way to enjoy the snow AND the warmth of the indoors.

While I currently live in the north, I am a southerner at heart.  One thing I learned after moving is that it takes a lot of time dressing a toddler for snow!  Do I dress him up first or get dressed myself?  Once we got dressed (probably overdressed!), how is he supposed to play with those crazy mittens on!  Bottom line, it is just too cold and windy outside.

Something clicked in my brain one day, why not bring the snow inside!  A snowbox solved all my problems.  I just bring the blow up pool inside and fill it up with snow. Easy to set up, easy to clean up.  Add some shovels and dump trucks and J is in heaven.  He could enjoy the snow and the blessings of a heated home at the same time (and mom can too)!  We dug, dumped, built a miniature hill for his rubber ducky to sled down, built a snowman, a snow wall (that of course was crashed a couple dozen times), and of course he loved letting a snowball melt in his mouth.  J didn't want to get in the "snowbox" and I didn't push it.  He had plenty of fun working from the outside in.  I was also surprised at how long the snow lasts inside too. When it hits the icy stage, it just made it easier to build with.  Set it up near a door and it's easy to refill with fresh snow. 

You know it's a success, when they continually ask for more snow in the pool.

22 months

22 months

21 months

Surviving Winter: Snow Sculptures

Anything you can do to get your kids outside during the winter is great. Having some fun ideas for them to do will get them moving so they are warm and get that exercise in. I have already shared the ideas of building a snowman and sledding. Last year, Raegan shared the fun idea of Snow Painting.

Another great idea is to build snow sculptures. You could do shapes for the children who are not as coordinated. As children get older, you can do more complicated items. Above you can see the couch we made--kind of. If you didn't realize, they are sitting on a couch :).

Surviving Winter: Sledding

Another great way to get exercise during the winter and also enjoy the snow is to go sledding. You are outside. You have to walk up the hill again if you want to go down it again. Great exercise, and great fun!

Surviving Winter: Once There Was a Snowman

Making a snowman is a great winter activity. It gets you outside and can really be a great workout. Last weekend, we spent two hours making this beauty--which is indeed over 6 feet tall. 

The process is simple--so long as you have snow that will stick to itself. You just start a little snowball and start rolling it. You can actually make a snowman with a small amount of snow (inch-wise) if you have the square footage to do it. Or acreage. After we were done, the kids were tired and my arms hurt.Great winter fun!

 You also might enjoy licking your giant snowball. That can be fun, too :)

Surviving Winter: The Easel

The easel is one of those sweet blessing from heaven. This thing keeps my children happy for hours, upon hours, upon hours (not in a row, just in general). Our easel is from IKEA--it was 20-30 dollars. Amazing. It can have paper, has a white board, and has a chalkboard. That means writing with markers, crayons, chalk, paint, pencils, pens, etc. We like it so much we got the Melissa & Doug Easel Accessory Set for Christmas. It is about as much as our easel was alone, but well worth it if you don't have the supplies. And those paint cups are fabulous. Oh, and by the way, the Melissa & Doug Deluxe Standing Easel is only $43 and has a tray on both sides of the easel, so that is a nice feature. It is very, very well rated.


Anyway, this is a great activity to have for indoor play. I highly recommend it. It is great for creative art projects and gross motor as well as fine motor control.

Surviving Winter: Dancing

One of the major problems with being stuck in the house is a lack of exercise. Exercise is good for the body, but also good for the brain. Okay, the brain is part of the body...but you get what I mean. So an important element to surviving winter is getting exercise in. A great and easy way to do that is with dancing.

There are many ways to get dancing into your day.

The simplest and most basic way to do this is by turning music on and dancing with your child. Back when it was just Brayden and me at home, this is what we did. I did everything from children's music, to modern tunes with a beat, to big band swing music. We just danced and danced. We of course still do this today, and it is even more fun with a group of children :)

Another fun element you can add in is dress up. You can see in the picture that my girls love to wear tutus to dance in.

Many children's CDs have songs that you can play that offer some guidance for how to dance. Examples are The Hokey Pokey, The Ants Go Marching, and If You're Happy And You Know It.

You can also get DVDs that are interactive about dance. The only ones I have that I can speak to are the Prima Princessa Ballet DVDs. I reviewed one on my babywise blog last year and liked it so much I ordered one for Kaitlyn for Christmas.

Another idea is to take dance lessons. You could either do a parent/child dance class or a class just for your child.

A final idea from me is the many interactive dance video games. A good one is Just Dance Kids. These really provide good exercise and are a lot of fun.

Do you have any fun ways you dance with your children? Any great DVDs? CDs? Video games? Please share!

Playing Just Dance at a friend's house

Surviving Winter: Bath Play

Last summer, we ran a popular series on simple summer fun ideas. I live in a very wintery climate and have had questions both from friends here and from readers on one of my other blogs on how to entertain children during a long winter. So I will be doing a Surviving Winter series this winter! Hurray for surviving winter!

We can easily have snow on the ground from October until May. Last "winter," we ditched the snow around the end of March/beginning of April, but it literally rained and rained and rained until Father's Day (which is odd for us because we live in a desert climate). So we can get a little house-bound and need to come up with ideas for keeping our children (and therefore ourselves) sane.

First up...Bath Play!

At my house, bath time has ALWAYS been just another playtime. This is true year round. A couple of months ago, my neighbor asked me for ideas to keep her almost four year old occupied in the day. He is the fourth child in their family, and his older brothers are all at school. I listed off things I do with Kaitlyn, and playing in the tub stuck out to her. She started doing that with her son each day and says he LOVES it. He loves to play in the tub and will stay occupied for a long time.

My kids also love the bath. The bathtub is one giant water play activity. You can easily get at least 30 minutes out of a bath. Oftentimes, I have to force my kids out after an hour! 

So what do you play with in the tub? Anything you would use with water play and more. We have several posts on water play on this blog. Here are some ideas:

• Bubbles
• Spoons/measuring spoons
• Cups of various sizes
• Pitchers
• Measuring cups
• Washcloth (my kids like to wipe the walls)
• Squirt bottle
• Goggles 
• Paint brushes
• Tub Painting

There are also a whole lot of bath toys out there!

• Bath Letters are great for adding some fun letter learning to bath time
• I have written a Toy Review on Bath Toys
• I have also written a Best Toys For Children on bath toys, and it includes care guidelines of bath toys

And what about you? What will you do during this loooong bath play each day? Here are a few ideas:

• Play with the kids
• Sneak extra learning in there (like with the alphabet letters--"What sound does A say?"
• Sit and quietly read a book. This is very relaxing! It is nice and warm and humid! 
• Clean the bathroom
• Call a friend if you can still focus on the kids
• Take pictures--enjoy these sweet moments
• Get ready for the day
• Sit and do nothing! How fun does that sound?