I'm Bored!!!

Today is a sunny snow day and playtime outside is a priority. But what do you do when you are back inside and the winter crankies start up again?

Winter is the perfect time to build literacy skills -- whether you are playing inside or out. This month we'll show you some web sites that give you ideas for simple minute-to-minute activiites to keep your toddlers busy.( Of course, make one activity a stop at the library. Just picking out a few themed picture books will give you inspiration for all kinds of projects and discussions. Stop in at a storytime, AM or PM, and get the week rolling. Many parents say that their preschoolers "prepare" for next week's storytime theme by gathering up show and tells and talking about "what may happen." )

The Rainbow Resource Room has many activities for parents that use only what you have at home -- or nothing at all! My favorite winter outdoor idea is to take a "Silly Walk" that gets you counting. ( Take a walk with your child. Make up some silly steps to do together. Examples: Take two large steps and three tiny steps counting 1,2 - 1,2,3 - 1,2, etc., as you go.) You've just combined exercise with reading (patterning) and math practice -- and probably worked up an appetite for hot chocolate.

Preschool Playbook has got you covered with "Hot chocolate Anyone?" Here is what you need:
zipper sandwich bags
packaged hot chocolate mix
mini-marshmallows (or shapes)
stir sticks
optional: Hershey Kisses

Work with your preschooler assembling the ingredients for a couple bags to drink after playtime and a couple bags to share. Use large measuring cups or spoons to measure the mix -- let them do the measuring. Count the mini marshmallows and split them into equal piles. Fill bags in an assembly line (patterning again.)

Include the poem if you like:

Here's a little Snowman Soup
Complete with stirring stick.
Add hot water and sip it slow.
It's sure to do the trick.

Two of our favorite wintertime books at the library are The Hat and The Mitten by Jan Brett. Did you know Jan Brett has a website filled with coloring sheets and activities you can make at home? Read her Honey. . .Honey . . .Lion! and then go to the Honey. . .Honey . . .Lion! rythm band project to make some fun and noisy instruments. You don't have to worry if you don't have a printer -- draw and color your own patterns--then shake shake shake your crankies away. Are you stuck at home and can't get out to the library for new stories? You can make y0ur own. Pick out pictures from old magazines (cut these out when you are out of sight if you have a very young child who hasn't yet learned when it is OK and when it is not!) Lay them out on colorful paper and construct a story. Tell your own tale then ask your toddler for a different version. Or, start the tale and ask "What do you think happened then?" Just scramble the pictures for a new story tomorrow. (Laminate the pictures for a great short mealtime activity.)
Remember--Spring is just around the corner.