As fall arrives and winter sets in it can be very difficult to get the kiddos out for a much-needed break from day-to-day life.
You can re-create many outings in your home and get that well-deserved break, as well as enjoy family bonding moments. Here are a few fun outings you can bring indoors with you.
A Visit to the Zoo
Learn about the many wonderful animals on Earth without leaving the living room.
Collect all the stuffed animals in the house. Talk about each one. What is the animal’s name? What does it eat? What sound does it make? Where does it live? The internet is a great resource for listening to animal sounds, watching animal videos, and even visiting animals through live webcams. Zoo Atlanta offers a Virtual Petting Zoo Tour and Zoo Melbourne introduces many new animal friends digitally.
Top off your adventure with animal crackers or another animal-inspired snack.
Storytime
Enjoy some reading fun!
Share a few favorite books from your childhood with your kids. Magical moments come when reading together.
To create a memorable storytime event pick a theme and find books to go along with it. Print out a coloring page or two and look online for music and movement activities that will complement your chosen topic.
Want to be part of the listening to stories yourself? Invite Grandma or a friend to read a story to you in-person or virtually. Snuggle up with a fuzzy blanket and enjoy. Another quick option is to visit Reading Rainbow online for a digital story or to watch Reading Rainbow episodes on your favorite streaming service. There are also many virtual stories to be found on Youtube.
Check out Storyline Online. I guarantee it will be a family favorite! The site features videos of fun children’s books read by famous actors.
Encourage a love of reading by creating a reading train. Set kitchen chairs in a row, provide the children with age-appropriate books, make train sounds, and then let them explore the reading material.
Make a reading fort!
Art Museum
Create fun art masterpieces and put together an art display. Invite others to view the pieces.
While creating the masterpieces, try exploring new art mediums with your child.
Make marble art. Tape a blank piece of art paper on the bottom of a cardboard box. Add some blobs of colored paint onto the paper, add a few marbles to the box, and roll and roll those marbles to create fun designs.
Rubbings – Teach your child how to make leaf rubbings by scribbling on paper placed over the top of leaves. Try making rubbings of other interesting textures.
Photography – Show a young child how to take pictures using the phone and then watch your new budding photographer as they take pictures of their favorite things at home. Children especially enjoy taking selfies of themselves as they explore how their faces work.
Swim Time
When the pool isn’t an option, you can still have lots of swimming fun in your own bathtub.
Practice swimming skills like blowing bubbles, kicking, arm movements, and submerging the face all in the comforts of your own bathroom. Imagination is your friend when helping a young child learn new skills. Pretend there is a shark coming and kick it away, go diving to see the many little colored fish in the water, talk to the fish by blowing bubbles, and catch the fish with swimming arm movements. Enthusiastically demonstrating each of the activities will encourage a willingness to try in your child.
Add extra fun to bathtime with bath toys. Large lego blocks make for fun bathtime play. Measuring cups, glasses, spoons, and other kitchen utensils are perfect for cooking play or pouring practice. Add a bit of food coloring to shaving cream to create easy-to-clean bath paints which are perfect for creative bath play using fingers or a paintbrush.
The Take-Away
With a bit of imagination and thought you can create all sorts of fun outings for your children within the comforts of your own home. Enjoy escaping the daily routine and experiencing adventures together.
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