4 Ways to Keep Kids Entertained Inside This Winter

Whether it’s a school holiday, snow day, or sick day, if you have little ones at home, there is a good chance you will you need to find some fun activities to keep the boredom blues away. Thankfully, you don’t have to spend a lot of money or have a fully stocked craft area to maximize the fun—nor do you have be a creative expert to keep the kids entertained at home. If you play your cards right, you might even be able to sneak in some extra learning and family bonding time!

It’s that time of year again, when we hear those dreaded four letter words: cold and snow. While the kids hope for snow days away from school, our inner parent starts to panic with dread at the prospect of being cooped up in the house with kids telling you every 5 minutes that they’re bored. Luckly, you won’t here too much of that with these four ideas for keeping the wintertime boredom blues away while the family is stuck inside due to incliment weather.

To help keep boredom at bay, try the following ideas and fun ways to entertain kids this winter:
    

Get In the Kitchen

Take advantage of the time at home with the kids and teach them how to cook. Learning to cook teaches valuable life skills while also providing math, reading, science, and health lessons. Have your sons and daughters help read the recipes. Teach them how to read measurements and carefully follow the recipe. Explain how heat can change a solid to a liquid and talk about the science that goes into cooking and baking by making your own homemade ice cream without a fancy maching. Discuss the nutritional benefits that different ingredients provide and what constitutes a healthy meal. But, don’t forget to make it fun for them! Start by making a sweet treat to draw them in—like a delicious batch of hot chocolate to warm up on a chilly day—and build your way toward simple items they’ll be able to prepare on their own before you can blink an eye like the Elvis Sandwich from Peanut Butter & Co. Or put together a batch of homemade mac and cheese for family dinner. Once you have them hooked in the kitchen, they’ll want to come back for more cooking fun.
    

Engage DIY Talents

Not only are at-home arts and crafts fun, they are great for developing fine motor skills, sparking creativity, and bolstering self-confidence. What better reasons to make some art to brighten the day. Work together to build a simple birdfeeder to keep our feathered friends fed and happy during the winter. Hang them outside your window and watch the birds together. Or if that’s too ambitious, paint rocks. Big ones, little ones, whatever your child finds in the yard or neighborhood can become a piece of art. Display them in your fairy gardens, make patterns with them, or make story stones to guide your imagination during story time. If you need more crafty fun, you can always decorate mugs with permanent markers, make toys for the beloved family cat or dog, tie-dye with food coloring, or whip up some homemade slime. Be creative and let the kids use their imagination.