Keeping Little Ones Entertained in the Winter Months
1.Take your children out for a walk.Wrap up warm, take a bag of goodies ie banana,raisins in a bag for a kids treat, drink for the children baby wipes in case they fall and you need to wipe muddy knees. It keeps you fit, don't take a toddler age 3 in a pram let them walk too if they can, they only get lazy by saying im tired carry me, don't give up, find a bench have a treat then back home. You will feel refreshed, children will be tried and sleep earlier don't let them nap as soon as they come in give them tea early if you have to,give them bath then, bedtime watch!!! you get a well earned rest, children will be shattered and drop off to sleep much easier too.
2.Go for a walk in the woods or muddy fields, take wellingtons a rain coat, brolley if need be wrap up according to weather types ie hats scarves and gloves, throw stones in a brook if you have one let children spalsh in puddles for a real treat, take a camera and spot wildlife, when they get home let them draw a picture of the trees,animals, etc what they have seen on the trip out.Give them blue tac to stick on their bedroom door or a fridge with magnets.
3.Get out your old clothes from your wardrobes let the children have a go at making new styles to fit themselves ie cut trousers down, let them stick with selotape or sew if they are older children and have a fashion parade give a prize to the "best dresser upper".
4.Bike ride let the children use thier bikes at the weekend before it goes dark,avoid in slippery weather such as ice as it can cause accidents even with small bikes too. let them wash down their bikes afterwards by giving them a large sponge a bucket of soapy water, they can drain their bike on old newspapers to soak up the wet. they have fun plus a clean bike in the process too.
5.Visit a park or bird sanctuary in the cold weather take bread crumbs and wild bird seed for ducks,when children come home let them have a go at making their own bird table with help or old yogurt pots with string in melt some lard in a pan for them to avoid hot accidents if they are young children and let them pour bird seed in the pots. when cold let the children hang them outside for the birds as a feeder.refill as necessary.
6.If you cannot afford one get a very large cardboard box the type for moving houses in from a family friend,neighbour or even the local supermarket when the snow arrives tie thick string through so the children can make their own sledge hold on tight to the string and watch weeee great ,give it ago your self and use on a slight hill for lots of fun sliding down the hill in the snow.
7.Instead of the usual snowman building let the children make animals instead such as cats, dogs, rabbits for a change. All the other neighbours will be eager to noisy what's going on.
8. start to collect glue,glitter,pompons etc the type which tesco sell for making creative pictures for children, buy an economy pack of envelopes and let the children make their own christmas cards for their friends, it will keep them amused, you will have a quiet time whilst they work plus the children will be proud to make them for their very best friends, plus they will also be individual and not have many of the same one being swapped around school by their other friends.
9.Get the older children involved in cleaning an eldery persons garden for them,the older person will get a to see a friendly face especially in the colder months too, let the children try it for other people too with adult supervision, they can also make warm scones, cakes etc and give them out to the neighbours, you will be surprised how much the children will love helping the older people, especially as many do not have any families.They could also offer to take mince pies around for them at christmas time to spread some cherry chear to everyone too.
10.If you celebrate Christmas On christmas eve give the Very older children a pound each to let them peel vegetables for the big christmas dinner bash on christmas day, you can put your feet up, so you dont do all the hard work yourself,kids learn new skills, they can even make the triffle too.
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