Keeping Your Child Entertained on Cold Winter Days

When it’s cold outside , it’s a little harder to keep your child entertained – but who wants to take their children out to play in this brutally cold weather?!?!  Here are a few options to keep everyone happy and warm!

1)  Music and Books: Right in your living room, have a dance party with your child!  Music is the only activity that engages all parts of the brain. Children love to jump and imitate your dance moves!

Engage your inner performer by using your own imagination (using different voices) to animate the characters in your child’s book!

2)  Arts & Crafts:  Use stickers, chalk or washable markers to have your child’s inner Picasso shine! Getting creative is important for development, but, doesn’t have to be messy by avoiding crayons and paint.

3)  Sensory Bins:  Grab bins, bottles, containers or sealed plastic bags and fill them with objects around the house:  toys, uncooked pasta, balls, blocks, sea shells or anything that is of course, child-friendly.  The possibilities are numerous!  It’s a fun way to learn and appeals to a child’s senses.  And they can help your child in various skills:  fine motor, counting, matching and is visually stimulated.

4.)  Yoga:  For something a little more physical – pop in a Kids Yoga DVD or go to Youtube and make it a family affair – some basic yoga mats will do the trick!

5.)  Jump Rope:  Get that cardio up in a fun way!  Jumping rope is a favorite among kids and boxers in training alike!