Snow days and sick days

When you are all set to stand up and live, but life makes you sit back down, don’t get frustrated. Make lemonade!

Here I was, ready to take my own advice, as per my previous blog post, and get up, get out of the house, live my life with zest and vigour. And then. . . we had three snow days (meaning school was cancelled and normal life essentially stopped) in the past two weeks, and the littles in my family both caught a cold. Enter real life, exit well meant intentions.

But I’m really glad I had all these plans, because I didn’t just let the tv take over. Of course we did watch plenty of tv, but I was armed with some ideas of indoor activities that also spark creativity.

1) Cook or bake with your kids

It’s a win, win situation. You need something to eat. You need something to do. Plus you can feel really great about doing something that allows you to bond, and that’s educational. Sure, cleanup can be a drag, but let’s face it, I can make a pretty big mess on my own, even without the help of my girls. So why not enjoy the cleanup too? Have them help you with dishes. What kid doesn’t love playing with water?

2) Do some crafts

Work on creativity by putting out a box of supplies and letting them do the designing. Some basic things you can include are construction paper, scissors, glue (my girls adore glitter glue), stickers, ribbon, cardboard, stamps, markers, crayons, stencils. It’s another great way to bond with your little one, especially if you resist the urge to interfere with what they create. They may surprise you!

3) Play together

Yep, a box of Legos kept us going for hours. It activates all kinds of creativity processes in the brain when you let them design their own imaginary world with imaginary characters. And you’d be surprised at the kind of dialog they come up with. But don’t be surprised if you hear your own words and tone of voice mirrored there. It can be scary! But to look at the positive, I’ve found its actually a really great way to analyze myself and see if there aren’t any changes I want to make in the way I speak to my kids.

4)  Play in the snow!

And of course, every respectable snow day includes a romp in the fresh snow. Sunlight during the day helps regulate sleep mechanisms, so it’s no wonder they fall asleep much better when they’ve been outside during the day. Not to mention the fresh air, the physical activity, and the infinite possibilities for creative play on that bare white canvas of a back yard.

And yes, we really did make lemonade. What do you like to do on a snow day or a sick day? Let us know in the comments. And as always, please like, share and spread the word.