any good inside activity ideas?

[memory maker]

Hi we are stuck inside because it is so bitter cold here. Does anyone have any great ideas or links to sites that have good ideas to do with my 4 year old DS? He bounces off the wall and we are trying to start cutting out tv because it causes problems for him. Thanks

[siddie]

There are tons of things to do, however, most of them require that you play along with them! My ds is going to be 4 in two weeks and he really LOVES to help out in the house. He enjoys folding laundry, vacuuming, mopping floors, washing windows, gardening, cooking. Anything with a spray bottle full of water is a big hit. All of this housework usually ends up making more messes but I am told that if you let them learn to do these things as play, they will still enjoy doing the real housework as adults. Reading is always fun, we go to the library once a week. Sometimes we play with blocks and marbles or with his brio building set. Making homemade playdough is lots of fun but his all-time favorite activity is painting. I have the big tempera paint bottles with an easel and fat brushes. Get the small scissors and let him cut pictures out of magazines or help you clip coupons. I do find that he moves from activity to activity very quickly and it is a lot of work to set up and clean up after him. I'm hoping to get some other ideas here too. Visiting a Montessori or Waldorf preschool class is a good way to find other things to do. Dress up together or put on puppet show. I am with you on decreasing the tv watching, although I do use it in the mornings to get me through a few chores and a shower.

[ekblad9]

Lots of board games around here! A big hit is the Yoga Garden Game. My kids LOVE yoga and this game is really fun. We also enjoy blowing bubbles, having indoor picnics, painting with cut apples, making our own bread, and reading, reading, reading! Good luck!

[joyfulheart]

My ds was getting a little cabin fever and I went out and purchased 2 yards of spandex! He's a very active kid and we have been having a blast. I'll place it along his stomach and sit behind him and ask him to run away and of course he springs right back to me. Or he'll just run in place as I pull the spandex from behind him as he tries to break free. Or I'll wrap him tightly in it and he breaks out. We run around the house using it as a "net" to catch each other. I'll roll him up on the floor with it and we'll pretend he's a burrito. We drape it over chairs for a tent...okay, you probably get the idea. Who knew a piece of stretchy fabric could be such a fun and such a good physical outlet for a kid! It calms him right down.
Joyful

[ekblad9]

:LOL Wow! What a great idea! My kids would love that!

[Queen Gwen]

I read somewhere that having them lie on their stomachs while drawing is good, because it bends bodies a different way and relieves some physical stress. This was from a book from our library entitled something like Things For Kids to Do in Small Places (it was catalogued under seatwork - creative work...you might ask a children's librarian to help you find stuff like this).

I've also read one family's experience that sit-n-spins are helpful. I always figured my kids would get dizzy/ careen into the furniture/ end up with major head injuries so I never tried it.

We also have one of those rebounder things that's like a tiny trampoline, and invested in a gym mat to practice cartwheels, handstands, etc.

If we weren't snowed in I'd go get some spandex....

Gail