Hey Supermoms! I am Kelsey from Poofy Cheeks and today I am sharing a super tip on rainy day activities! As kids my brother, sister and I spent many weekends during the summer at my grandma and grandpa’s house in Lake Mills, WI. Most of the time we were riding our bikes, swimming or searching for toads to cart around in our wagons. We lived to play outside, but then there would be rainy days that kept us inside. My grandma’s solution for a rainy day was a pack of construction paper. She would pull out the paper, scissors, crayons and glue sticks and we would be occupied all afternoon.
Now as a mom of two rambunctious boys I always keep a pack of construction paper on hand too. My boys are filled with tons of energy, and when we can’t go outside and play I need a way to keep them busy indoors.
My two boys are four and five-and-a-half years old so I let them use safety scissors, but I still do the majority of the cutting for them. With the help of a glue stick they make construction paper collages and paper chains. When they use up the glue stick or get bored with that I introduce a piece of chalk, crayons and markers. I find that by giving them new items here and there, instead of everything at the beginning, it keeps them interested longer.
For the older kids challenge them to create a scene or shapes with their paper. My grandma used to ask us to create a page for each season or create pictures of everyone to use as their placemat with dinner that evening.
When my boys just have way too much, pent-up energy, I create a hopscotch with construction paper and washi tape. I tell them to pretend they are outside at a playground and give them 15 minutes to jump, hop and use their outside voices. I usually do this right before it is time to put their baby sister down for a nap so I can convince them to stay busy doing a quiet activity next.
There are so many possibilities with construction paper, when it comes to the price, you just can not beat it! Not only do my boys have fun using the paper, they learn while using it too. When they create things with it they refer to the paper by color and their fine motor skills are being put to the test as they cut and glue pieces. If you don’t already have a stack of construction paper on hand, I dare you to grab one for the next rainy day, and see what your kiddos create!
Kelsey lives in Central Florida with her husband and three kids. She is constantly blogging about her recipes, crafts and creations over at Poofy Cheeks. Some of her favorite posts include her fabric button bobby pins, banana split pie recipe and her craft room reveal.
