Google The Unplanned Homeschooler: Entertaining the kids when you're snowed in at home

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Entertaining the kids when you're snowed in at home

The schools around here have been out quite a bit lately for snow days. Last week, we got so much slippery precipitation, we stood out in the front yard and watched a truck try to make it up our hill and slide back down three times before the driver gave up. And we live in the middle of town!

These snowy days are either dreaded or beloved by most families, depending on your point of view. Whether they are an unexpected day off to be celebrated or an unwanted challenge, snow days are definitely a change in the routine for those who live in typically warmer climates.

If your kids are stuck at home, indoors, because it is either too cold, too icy or too wet to be outside, you might be at a loss as to how to keep them entertained. As a homeschooler, I’m lucky. We tend to just do extra school work on bad weather days so we can take off when it’s nice outside.

But we do still get bored when it's too cold and wet to do much more than set foot outside, so I have a few tricks up my sleeve for entertaining the kids when we are confined indoors and tired of working on school.


Create an exciting meal


My kids love to help out in the kitchen, especially if I am cooking something really tasty. A snow day is the perfect time to get in the kitchen together and make a meal that takes a lot of steps. During our snowy days last week, the kids helped me roll out pizza dough and assemble homemade calzones, each with a custom blend of ingredients, and then my youngest pinched them closed with her little fingers.

Make a really big piece of art


Last year I found rolls of brown packing paper at the dollar store, each about 20 feet long and as wide as a roll of wrapping paper. These, when spread across the floor, make an excellent canvas for a room-sized mural. Kids can use paints or markers to tell a story as they fill in the humongous blank page with drawings of their own. This is so much more fun than a coloring book.

Go camping in the living room


You can set up a small tent, or build one from sheets and furniture, then pile in all the pillows you can find to make a cozy nest in the living room. Eat hot dogs and smores for dinner, and turn out the lights and tell ghost stories by the glow of a flashlight. Put on some glow bracelets and make your own light show, or bring in stuffed animals and pretend they are woodland creatures who have wandered up to visit your camp.

Have some fun on YouTube


What’s more fun than cuddling up on the couch and watching TV together on a cold day? If you’re anything like our family, your answer might be watching YouTube instead! We love to watch crazy homemade videos, sing along with our favorite Minecraft song parodies or karaoke versions of old 80s tunes, and even listen to audio books on YouTube while snacking on a big bowl of popcorn. Next time you’re snowed in, check out YouTube for some interesting ways to pass the time.

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