Rain, rain, rain and more rain and storm!
What’s going on with this winter’s weather here?? So miserable and it’s putting me off going outside, even driving. Apart from my working days (= my daughter’s nursery days), I simply stay at home mostly. Therefore it’s a challenge for me to keep my two year old daughter’s mind and body active for all day without outdoor play. Otherwise she cries, becomes clingy or worse.
Due to the nature of my work, people say things like, “Has she played with clay with you?” “You do lots of arty fun at home, don’t you?” Embarrassingly I have not. I get stressed when I think about mess afterwards. Those wonderful mums who bake with kids at home, do creative stuff at home, I admire them. Me, instead, laziness comes before creative mind. Bad mum.
Nevertheless, I still do have a duty to turn a crying child into a happy one as much as possible. So I then put a very quick & easy creative-ish hat on at times. The latest hit was a centipede made out of a clingfilm tube. She loved him instantly and walks him all around the house. Although she seems to prefer climbing on me, doing a slide or horse riding. I suppose she still likes to have that sort of closeness. Mum’s energy will continue to decline.
How do you spend a rainy day with a child? x m
Although I have now mostly suggestions for a rainy day with 7-yr olds, let me go back in time a bit... First of all, don't feel "obligated" to come up with something crafty whatsoever, simply because you are a professional artist! The centipede looks great by the way :-)
ReplyDeleteI saved lots of old paper toilet rolls, plastic cups, shampoo canisters etc to sort and play with. Anything with sorting and in-and-out-the-box was a great hit here. Simple things like tearing up old newspapers just because you can (oops, gets messy but not sticky!). Helping around the house, with sorting socks or carrying 'important stuff'. Drawing with (eco-friendly, non toxic) crayons. Making a tent out of a laundry rack and some big towels/sheets. Loooots of Duplo / wooden brick building. And - how could I forget - the play kitchen and shop. Cooking and 'doing groceries' was the best!
Have a great winter!! love from Amsterdam,
Roos
Thank you for your advice, Roos. Tearing newspaper - yes! (Worst one she does is unrolling toilet paper!) The play kitchen is a kind of our dream, still debating whether we spend or not... x
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