You are going to have the kids home for spring break but you have no idea what to do! You are having to cut on your expenses and would like to find cheap or free activities to do with the little ones. Well, chill out. I will give you a few activities that won't break the bank and will give you a break this spring break! What kids really enjoy are simple, different and silly ideas!
Indoor Picnic - This is a hit! Make snack time fun! Set a picnic blanket, regular blanket or even a table cloth like I do on the floor at your leaving room or playroom. Serve your goodies in the middle with the kids sitting around. I serve only dry snacks and cartoon juice (no open cups) to avoid spills. When snack is over, remove everything, close the fabric and shake it outside. The birds will thank you for the crumbles!
Silly Billy Dress up Party -The game is: Everyone has to change clothes but no one can wear one's own clothes, so mommy can put on daddy's shirt and shoes, with little girl's pink bow and jewelry, little boy's backpack and two belts tied together! What are you gonna wear?
Gardening - Perfect timing! It is time to plant flowers and herbs, trim, pick up weeds... Tip: use a laundry stool to sit on when planting. It will put you in the right height to work on flower beds or pots without compromising your knees!
Cardboard house - If you go one night to Walmart or Target and ask if they have an extra large empty box, most likely you will get one! Well with a sharp knife cut a door one one side and make windows on the other three. The kids can decorate the walls inside with their artwork, stickers or make paper "curtains". Let them use a bath mat as their rug! Then get that magazine you haven't had time to read yet and relax! With smaller boxes you can make houses or beds for dolls and animals.
Artwork - Get down and dirty with your kids! I mean down on your knees and dirty with paint! Put on clothes you won't mind getting stained. Go outdoors and set a few disposable plates or cups filled with acrylic paint. About four different colors is enough, plus white and black. Use big pieces of paper or canvases if you can, each one gets one media (you do your own, so you are not trying to "guide" them much - remember, whatever they do it is beautiful!) or use a very large one everyone paint together. To paint use not only your fingers but your whole hands if you want. You will be surprised what a beautiful artwork you got to hang in the playroom or your kids' bedrooms!
Masks: You can make masks out of paper plates, paper bags or foam visors.
Paper work - Make a kite (it is wind season here in Texas!), fold airplanes, boats, hats, tear strips of pastel color craft paper and save it in a bag to use as filler for Easter baskets or make bunny ears and attach to tiara (you can cover a plastic tiara with ribbon all the way around it!)
Nature Trail Hunt: If you are not lucky enough to have a trail nearby your backyard or local park is plenty! Paint an egg cartoon as seen left, and go on a hunt with a magnifying glasses looking for treasures and souvenir to fill up all the colored "bowls"! How fun! If you are not able to fill out all the cups, talk about it with the kids: "What in nature has that color at another time of the year? Is there any flower that color we can't find here but we have seen before?"...
Baking and cooking - Kids love helping in the kitchen simply because that's what moms do! And they tend to eat better when involved into the cooking process. So, let them choose what they want to do (but you give the options). Let them help with preparation according to their age. While younger ones will be happy just sprinkling cheese for example, older ones will love to mix or even chop! Cooking Ideas: cookies, of course; the usual muffins but even if you use pre-mixed, let them pick if they want to add nuts, dried fruit/raisins, banana slices or apple pieces to their cups; crescent rolls filled with raisins, cheese stick, turkey & cheese; celery filled with cream cheese and nuts or raisins or herbs; pizza: buy ready made dough, on a lazy susan place several bowls with different ingredients (I chop different veggies because my kids...well are my kids!, mini pepperoni, chpped turkey breast and olives), if kids are old enough let them spread the tomato sauce, but even the younger ones like to rotate the bowls and make their pizza their own! The picture bellow is from a play date in my house where the adults ate pizzas prepared by a 2 year old girls and two 4 year old boys! And they were all delicious!! Everything omelets: open your fridge and chop whatever can be cooked in 3-5 minutes and let them sprinkle the pieces while you take care of the pan; sliced bread pizzas are also easy and fast (a slice of bread, cheese, 1 or 2 slices of tomato and oregano); or slicing fruit with an apple slicer but be creative, we also use ours to slice pears, peaches and nectarines, or slicing bananas you can use in a recipe or simply sprinkle with powdered chocolate or chocolate sprinkle and enjoy! Here other tools kids love to use: strawberry slicer, egg slicer, melon baller (which you can use for watermelon, papaya and cantaloupe), avocado slicer, veggie peeler and milk frother (we use also to make salad dressings and beat eggs).
Library: Don't forget to check what's going on at the local library where you live!
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