Wednesday, October 22, 2008

bye-bye blah-blah brr-brr winter blues

You know the times when kids start bouncing off the walls or start pestering each other because they've been cooped up inside for too long.

Well - we've only had a few chilly days and I can sense this starting to happen - even before winter hits.  Yikes!

When the kids bounce off the walls, I, the mother, start losing all sense and my nerves are shot. Breathe Heather - just breathe and smile!

So, I've been devising a plan in hopes that we'll have a successful winter. 

I thought I'd create a "bye-bye blah-blah brr-brr winter blues" jar (ummm yeah - that name has gotta go!!! I just thought of it when I was half-asleep.)

The jar would have slips of paper of fun indoor activities that might distract from utter zaniness for a moment.

I wanted a lot of them to be things the kids can do on their own so I don't have to supervise extensively, but some would be activities to do together. 

At our house, getting pent-up-energy out is key - especially for the little people called boys - so active indoor activities would be welcome.

I also thought it would be good to have some service ideas or quickie cooking activities or inexpensive crafts in the list.

Wouldn't it be fun if we all contributed to the list of ideas and then I'll put them together in a document and share it on the bloggie for all to download.

If you want to share your thoughts please email me at
happyfam@gmail.com or just comment on this post. I'll put it together next week and post the link.


Maybe I'm the only one who needs something like this, but I'm just not sure what to do during the long winter months with 3 restless tots without watching a bazillion movies.  I came up with a few ideas and found a few others online, but I'm excited to see what creative ideas y'all come up with.  Please share so we don't go bonkers!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

on this post: http://dawlings.blogspot.com/2008/06/bored.html
I put a bunch of things for my kids--some are outside things. But is has been helpful for me and my kiddos. I'd love the compiled list. Great idea.

angela said...

What a great idea! It's not even cold here but my boys have that bonkers time as I get on the computer to house hunt or we are waiting for Micah to wake up from naps, and lots of other times. And we have watched more movies here than I thought I would ever let them watch. So I don't even have many ideas to contribute yet but I'll think on it. Noah likes to play uno and cards, and Kaden will even play it with him once in awhile. Ammon stays happy if they give him a bunch of the green cards (he's obsessed with green, or building towers with the dice. Lately they have a lot of fun making forts and bridges with all of the pillows in the house and the couch cushions (we have to be resourceful because we are not in our own house with all of our stuff). A couple of days ago I let Ammon and kaden play in the kitchen sink full of water and they had fun with that and it separated the 3 older ones so they didn't get so rowdy for awhile at least. I'm glad it drives you crazy sometimes, too. . .they also settle down and are better when I get them involved with making dinner and setting the table, etc, instead of what I usually do, which is try to do it faster and by myself while going crazy with their craziness. Wow, that was way too long, I should have emailed it. . .

Jan said...

What a great idea. I will need some indoor playing tips, now that I am moving to Coldville. I can't think of any ideas right now, because I am taking a break from packing.

Lexie said...

I really need this! I will try to think.......I am not very creative however. I am dreading winter for this very reason. Pent up boy energy! :)

Anonymous said...

My kids find ALL of their toys more fascinating when they play with them in a tent or under a sheet and coffee table! All of a sudden books, Barbies, tea parties, stuffed animals, etc. are like completely new toys. It really opens up their imaginations too.

One other suggestion, come have a playdate with us! That way we can BOTH avoid going nuts. Ooh, nuts...we could bake something too!

Marne said...

We are kind of home-bodies anyway, but it is easy to go crazy. Not so much for me anymore since I only have 2 at home and Logan is in preschool too. Between my church obligations, school, preschool, piano lessons, and other stuff going on we are always leaving and going somewhere.

Trips to the library a few times a week for storytime and activities were always high on our list. I just don't have much time for that anymore, except on Saturdays.

Amy D. said...

I often forget about puzzles and books on tape that are activities that our kids love to do (or did!). This week we played jacks (careful with little ones, though) and UNO. Legos or blocks (and an idea for something to build with them), and clay or playdough might be fun. And how about make a little snack mix (with goldfish, marshmallows and raisins then put in bags)--maybe older kids could pull that one off. Ok, that's all I can think of, but I'm going to watch for your list so I can do this, too :).