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Indoor Fun
Hunting for Dinosaurs
This game can be played indoors or outdoors, but we usually save it for a rainy day. Give a child a large basket and have her gather all of her plastic toy dinosaurs. Once she is convinced that she has them all, count them according to size (e.g., 11 large, 8 medium and 7 small). Then send the child into another room, close the door and have ...(read more)
Indoor Hopscotch
This is a twist on the traditional hopscotch for little ones learning their ABC's and 123's. First start by making squares or rectangles with letters and numbers on them. Then lay them out all over the floor. Have your child start at one end of the room and see if they can cross the room jumping from square to square. They must identify the letter or ...(read more)
Balloon Ball
Find a fairly large, open area of the house where your child won't be in danger of running into anything. Blow up a balloon and show your child how to hit the balloon into the air with his/her hands. Try to hit the balloon back and forth, counting each successful hit. Or, simply hit the balloon to your child and challenge her to catch it...counting out loud ...(read more)
Crawling to the ABCs
Go to an educational store or other store that sells alphabet stencils. Then place the alphabet stencils on a tile floor in your home. Place them randomly so that the child will learn the letters individually. Then cover the stencils with clear contact paper. Watch as your baby discovers the fun of crawling over the letters. As they approach or crawl over a letter you ...(read more)
Going on a Bear Hunt
With your kids, sing the old summer camp song 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt.' (If you can't remember the words, you can find them here www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/teddy/bearhunt.html). Afterwards go back through the song and discuss (depending on the age of your children) each environment they go through on the bear hunt (grass, tree, river, cave). Then explain that they will color and create each location using construction paper and ...(read more)
Fun with Balloons
Blow up different sized balloons for some indoor fun. Some large, medium and small are ideal. Throw some long, skinny ones into the mix, too. Put on some music and try to keep those balloons aloft. Do they behave differently depending on their size? Stop the music and see who can land in the funniest pose with their balloons. You can also have kids ...(read more)
Playing Elevator
Spread a towel on the ground for your 'elevator.' Step in and push the pretend button to travel to different floors. Describe each step: 'The door is opening' (show with your hands). 'We're getting on the elevator' (step on the towel). 'We're pushing two' (push button). 'We're going up' (look up), etc. Get off at different floors and describe what you see at ...(read more)
Indoor Tennis
My son invented a great new indoor game when he found a splatter screen in the kitchen and started hitting one of his stuffed fabric balls...indoor tennis! Splatter screens are wire mesh covers with a plastic handle that are made to keep grease from popping out of the pan when frying food. They are very light weight and easy for a toddler to wield without damaging home furnishings. ...(read more)
Pillow Mazes
Collect all the pillows and couch cushions you have and pile them in one room. Create mazes with them and have a blast tumbling around the room.(read more)
Homemade Ring Toss
Next time you're stuck in the house, try this fun game with everyday items. Cut the center out of a paper plate to make a ring, and help your child try to toss it onto a half-empty water bottle. Not only will you have fun, but you'll help your kiddo work on hand-eye coordination and spatial reasoning.(read more)
Indoor Boat Ride
While on a bed with your child/children, pretend you are on a sailing boat. Locate marine life (jumping dolphins, sharks, whales) and search for land. Have your child create a story about why you are on the boat and where you are going, even what you will see when you arrive. Occasionally, jump off for a swim around the bed to cool off. This activity will ...(read more)
Kitchen Bowling
Another indoor, rainy day activity. Raid your recycling bin for a bunch of plastic bottles. Stand them up on the floor in a group. Then have your players stand a distance away, and take turns rolling a ball towards the 'pins.' You can give each child three tries, and score according to how many bottles they tip over. Tennis balls work well.(read more)
One for the Money...
When your kids need to expend a little energy but going outside may not be an option, remove the pillows from your couch and place them directly in front of the couch. Then explain that the child can climb up and jump onto the cushions. We often count "One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to GO!" and the kids love jumping ...(read more)
Bathtub Painting
Mix the same amounts of Dr. Bronner's or similar soap and corn starch. Divide in several containers and add food coloring. Paint the tub with a brush or fingers! (read more)
Indoor Ice Skating
For those long cold winter days when you can't get outside for some physical activity, pretend you are indoor ice skating. Have your child wear his socks and show him how to slide across the floor (any smooth surface..not carpet!). You can play follow the leader by adding in some spinning & jumps.(read more)
Indoor Sledding
Take a laundry basket or a big cardboard box . Put your toddler inside and drag them around the house for some indoor sledding.(read more)
Cardboard Box Creations
Use a large cardboard box, big enough that your kid can crawl into it (stove or refrigerator boxes work great) and create your own playhouse, fort, car, truck, whatever he or she would like! Just cut windows and doors and decorate the outside of the box with markers or crayons. (read more)
Squirrel at the Picnic
Lay out a blanket and five things that you would take to a picnic -- for example, a basket, napkins, plates, bottle of water, food container. Sit with your child on the blanket and look at the items. Then tell your child to close their eyes and take one item away. Once they open their eyes see if he/she can tell which item was taken by the "squirrel at the ...(read more)
Picnicking Indoors
For those long winter days when you can't get outside, your toddler will love having an indoor picnic. Have your child help you pack up a basket full of food. Together, you can then lay out a tablecloth or a sheet on the floor and put out plates and silverware. Then sit down and enjoy a wonderful picnic together. For extra fun, imagine all of the ...(read more)
Sink or Swim?
Fill a small tub with water and ask your child if they think an object will sink or float. Then have them place (or toss depending on how messy you want to be) in the water. What happens next?(read more)
All-Season Snowman
Make an indoor snowman any time of year using stackable boxes and household items for clothes and eyes, nose and mouth! Use your preschooler's creativity, but some suggestions are vanilla wafers for eyes, raisins for mouth, and a cracker for a nose. (read more)
Mural Mania
By just using big pieces of chart paper or butcher paper, drawing becomes a new, exciting activity. Pick a theme- a park, city block, or zoo and create a mural on a huge sheet of paper. Lasts for hours- brainstorm all the things that could go in the mural first and then start creating.(read more)
Indoor Jump Rope
Here's a clever way to re-purpose your jump rope or even a long piece of yarn. Stretch your jump rope, or other long string, on the floor and use it as a "tightrope"; your child can walk backwards, forwards, eyes closed, etc. For an added "circus" touch, give your child a broomstick to use as a balance. You could also use the jump rope as an obstacle, ...(read more)
Indoor Snowball Fight
If it's too cold to play outside on a wintry day, and you and the kids are feeling cooped up, try this fun activity. Roll up a bunch of white tube socks to create "snowballs." Tell the kids it's time for an "indoor snowball fight" and let them burn off all that pent up energy! Be sure to put away the lamps first...(read more)
Pom-Pom Fireworks
Purchase some craft pom-poms in different sizes and colors from the craft store. Find a basket that can hold all of the pom-poms that you can keep on a shelf or in a drawer. When your kids are getting antsy and need to get some energy out, bring out the basket and tell them its time for some fireworks! Grab a handful and toss them in the ...(read more)
Heel, Toe Races
When it's dreary out, my kids and I have heel toe races down the hallway. Walk down the hallway on your heels as fast as you can then turn around and walk back on your toes. Your kids will crack up watching you walk on your heels. It's great fun and stretches out the Achilles which helps kids who tend to walk only on their toes.(read more)
I Spy
Based on the I Spy video game, write a clue about items for your kids to find. For example, "I spy a burger, an apple, a beet. Find the 12 items that you can eat." And then have 12 items from the play kitchen hidden around the room. I've used matchbox cars, dinosaurs and easter eggs but anything works. You can make this a learning game ...(read more)
Shoe Hunt
My kids love to try on and wear my husband's and my shoes, so we made a game out of it. Get several pairs of shoes and put them in pile, then have the kids race to the stack and try to put on a matching pair. When they tire of that pair, they can go back to the stack and find another pair. For those whose ...(read more)
Go Fish!
Create a fishing pond for your toddler. With your child, cut out several paper fish from construction paper and attach a paper clip to each fish. Then tie a string to one of end of the fishing pole (yardstick or other rod) and a magnet to the other end of the string. Your child can lay out the fish on the floor and go fishing by trying ...(read more)
Off to the Races (Indoors)!
Create an obstacle course with masking tape on the floor around various things inside your house. For example, you can have your kids crawl through big cardboard boxes, climb onto the couch, crawl to the end of the couch and then jump down onto a stack of pillows, then race over to a spot for stacking a set of blocks into a tower, and so on.(read more)
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5 Things to Have in Your Dress-Up Bin, and How to Help Your Preschooler Choose a Halloween Costume
We love thinking about our little ones' wild and ever-churning imaginations and Halloween together. The holiday seems made-to-order for the preschooler mind (not to mention the preschooler sweet tooth). Dressing up on Halloween night, and for all the Halloween parties and parades that tend to
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