Rainy Day Rescue

It's that time of year again... school is nearly finished, and soon the kids will be home for a few weeks.  Personally, I'm looking forward to days at the pool, trips to the park, and organized activities with other moms like the zoo and local blueberry patch.  Yes, I'm looking forward to a slightly relaxed routine and creating some fun memories with my family.

I have also learned that it's very wise to have some tentative plans and activities ready to go in case the weather doesn't cooperate.  If it turns out to be a rain-filled day -- or in case it gets too hot -- having some structured indoor activities can preserve everybody's sanity.  Here are a few of my suggestions:

• Get a jump on holiday gifts!  Use the recipe for Salt Craft Dough.  Have your kids make some home-made ornaments that they can give to grandparents and other family members.
• Help them create a scrapbook!  Now would be a fun time to take some of the pictures you've taken during some of those fun outings and create scrapbook pages.  I know that much of this can be done digitally, but it can be fun for you kids to do some cutting, pasting, and -- most importantly -- journaling.  Give them a chance to tell the story from their perspective.  Keep a supply of papers, stickers, and adhesives around so that it won't take a trip to the store to get started.
• Make watching a movie an event.  Pop some popcorn, bring out the pillows and blankets, and pick out a favorite movie.  Make the time to enjoy the movie with your kids and resist the temptation to catch up on household chores.
• Nothing warms up a nasty, rainy day like baking something together in the kitchen.  Brownies, cupcakes, or a batch of cookies can be fun... and a great way to keep up on math skills!
• If you've got the time, create a theme dinner!  How about a luau?  Decorate the kitchen or dining room, pick up some inexpensive grass skirts at the local party store, and serve something fun for dinner.  A fun dessert - make ice cream sundaes or banana splits and serve them in hollowed-out pineapple halves.

Whatever you choose to do to make a rainy day fun, keep track of the memories with pictures and notes.  And if you have another idea, be sure to share it with our other readers!

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