For the snowy, rainy, hot, sick, don't feel like getting out day can actually be fun!! These indoor activities have worked for my kids and me. I learned different activities from books, classes, my own creativity, other moms and some from my kids! I hope you find something that works for you and your kids. With that said, enjoy your "uh oh, its an indoor day"!

SOOOO, after we get bored of the books and videos there are a number of great things to do! Make a list of your child's favorite activities, put it on the frig and make reference to it now and then. When your in one of those "in your own corner moments" (look in the moms section) you forget about simple, fun things.

Here is a list of quick indoor activities:

• Play doh (keep Nicholas occupied for a while, plus we would make shapes and animals, educational also)
• Coloring
• Painting. Ever put a ball, any small ball like a golf ball, in a small card board box, squirt a little paint and move the ball around to make a drawing? Learned that in class, Nicholas loved it! Plus, stores have sponges that can be dipped in paint that make very creative things. Who knew? PS, wear old clothes.
• Making crafts, www.orientaltrading.com has great stuff!
• Bubbles (Gymboree in my opinion has the best, long lasting bubbles, www.Gymboree.com
• I bought a book on activities for toddler, just like for babies, there are books completely devoted toward a thousand activities for toddlers. Great to keep on hand.
• Make - Believe (M-B) play. Have you ever just got on the floor and pretended to be an animal? It is the craziest thing, something so simple that I had to READ to figure out! One of those "Lightening Strike" moments (in the moms section) or "duh" moments. My son gets the biggest kick out of playing animals or what would the animals be doing game. Singing animal songs and just being crazy can wear off a little steam and be fun in the process. Anything M-B play, dress up, tea, car racing, animals, dolls, or whatever. It's the simplest, yet hardest thing to do, go brain dead. You really don't have to think, just play, but it's the hardest thing for me to do.
• Ever fill a small, plastic bin (like for storage and things) with water? Well, fill it a couple of inches with water, put small spoons, cups and plastic toys and the kids have fun. Nicholas has a ball at his classes with this game. Don't forget the towels ladies, it can get wet, but hey, water dries. You can also fill a bin with rice, small pasta pieces, foam or anything that can be filled and dumped. For more fun, color the water! Oh, if you happened to do this outside, DON'T LEAVE IT OUT!! Guess what rain does to a bin full of rice or pasta! I had a "duh" moment.
• An indoor day can be productive as well. There are websites designed for teachers like www.teachersparadise.com and have FANTASTIC products. My garage was converted into an extra room when I bought my house. We use this room as the "play, destroy" room. I hung the alphabet, dancing crayons of every color, every shape and number up to 50! Posters, puzzles, games, flash cards, educational toys, you name it, they have it. You don't have to be a teacher to purchase either. Try one of these websites and use 30 min to a 1hour of learning the alphabet, new shapes, colors or what have you. My kids would point to what was posted on the wall OVER AND OVER again. Patience is a virtue and it did pay off. Nicholas's first word was circle.
• Puzzles are another favorite of my kids. Websites now have the jumbo puzzle pieces which make it easier for kids to handle, learn and not loose the pieces. The teacher websites such as www.teachersparadise.com should have these as well or any major kids' store like www.babiesrus.com, www.target.com, www.walmart.com, www.toysrus.com, www.amazon.com, www.cbomc.com. Got a great website for puzzles, email me!
• Make puppets and puppet shows. This can also go under the craft ideas.
• Playing instruments or having a music class is great fun. There is a website called www.musictogether.com where you can purchase CDs, books, instruments, and songs. It is FABULOUS!!! My kids listened to the CDs while trying to go to sleep, in the car, in the bath tub was the best and just during the day. They have interactive and catchy songs (you WILL find yourself singing these) that kids LOVE. We bought a couple instruments and played along to the music. Can't buy instruments, make your own. Pots and pans with wood spoons make great drums along with upside down trash cans. Fill an empty bottle with beans or rice or pasta, instant maraca. The point is to GET CREATIVE; just about ANYTHING can be used to make an instrument. Help me out here mamas, got an idea, drop it in the comment section.
• Hide and Seek, one of my son's favorite.
• Get an early start on cooking. There are plenty of classes for kids and moms for cooking, but you don't need a class, just a little patience!
• If your toddler is old enough, and watches the Playhouse Disney or www.disneydirect.com Nickjr or www.nick.com or www.pbs.com and www.HITentertainment.com stations, they have great websites for interactive play, games, puzzles and coloring. Kids love to see their favorite characters and solve puzzles, see if this is something you and your child can do together.
• Mirror play. Nicholas and Maddie LOVE to look and talk with themselves in front of the mirror. These two kiss themselves on the mirror, sing songs, laugh, tell stories and just stand there. It is so funny. Kids like to see themselves, well, mine do.
• My son likes to organize and build things. AND WATCH OUT if something IS NOT facing the right way or falls down, or moves out of place. He organizes his dolls, blocks, toys, play horses, trains, trucks, IT DOESN'T MATTER. Building towers and organizing is a way kids learn patience, balance, categories, sharing, taking turns and solving problems. Take the time to play along and show them new ways to build and organize.
• Wrestling. My husband's a BIG advocate for this and he comes up with the craziest things. I guess there was a Rocky (with Sly Stallone) where he wrestles Hulk Hogan (please tell me you know who I am talking about, I'm only 29) Where Hulk Hogan picks up Rocky and throws him at Adrian. Rocky yells, "Yo, Adrian!! Catch me!!" Tommy does the same thing with Nicholas and throws him on the bed or couch. They can do this for at least an hour, not my thing, but it's funny to watch. Tommy remembers all of these catch phrases from movies and repeats them with the kids. Never a dull moment
• Last but not least, "just be" time. Like I said earlier, it is the hardest thing to do, go brain dead and play. Ever just laid on the floor with the kids with no TV on, no radio on, no toys around, just you, the floor and the kids? I call it "just being" time where you are not doing anything, just being. My two love it. We kiss, play, roll on the floor and are crazy. Those are my "lightening strike" moments where I actually "Get it", get what it means to be a mom in that moment. Nothing is better than the sound of a child's hearty laugh, I try to have as many as I can.

If you have an indoor activity that you think other moms would like to hear about, feel free to write them in the comment section. If we like them, we will post them in the activities section along with your name (if you want).

Sarah wrote me and suggested a great toddler indoor activity! A good indoor toddler activity is to build forts. Use blankets, couch cushions, pillows, pillow cases, or whatever you have use chairs or the dining room table as a stable place to drape a blanket over barricade pillows around it, grab flashlights and climb inside. You can make shadow puppets and teach your toddler how to do it. This is so fun, and then when you are done they can help fold blankets and put all the pillows back.

Thanks Sara

Tina wrote in for some great cooking ideas with your toddler. My two year old helps me bake a cake. He loves helping me mix the ingredients and then after I'm done blending, he loves to blend as well so I give him a spoon and he loves to mix it. It makes he seem that he's a big boy and he enjoys mixing. The same with the Jello, he'll put the pack in the bowl and I'll let him add the cold water and mix then I say ok it's my turn and I add the hot water and I mix. The same with the macaroni and cheese but you must be very careful for it's on the stove, I make sure it's off and not hot when he wants to stir the ingredients together. After eating, baking, cooking, Adam helps me do the dishes; I'll wash them with soap and rinse them, then I'll give it to him and say it's time to rinse again and then he'll put them on the rack.

Another game that Adam loves to play is: piling pillows up on his bed and then jumping on top of them, then knocks it down and rebuild and does the same thing. Adam also loves to help me vacuum, clean/dust for example when he seems me dusting with a rag, I give him a wet bounty and he starts to clean; He'll say Adam do it and when I ask him are you done he'll say no and keep saying no until he sees me finished. He loves playing with his blocks, he'll stack them up as high as possible without falling and then he loves to knock them down and rebuild but differently and knock them down again.

Thanks Tina!

Lisa emailed me with some GREAT indoor activities for the kids!
"Another great indoor activity is to play "store". My daughter, Hannah, loves to take her play food or real (empty) boxes of food and set up a store. This helps with grouping skills and either Hannah will be the shopper or I am. It gives me a chance to discuss money, nutrition, counting, letters, etc. She will usually be the cashier, this allows her to feel that she is in a position of power and she learns courteous behavior, counting and numerous other skills. Another indoor activity that can be really fun is what we call, name it. Hannah will pick out an item around the house and then we will try to spell it and write it on an index card. Then I will tape it to the object. Later we will take them all down and try to connect the word with the object. Last but not least, Hannah loves to play the game of memory with photos of loved ones. It's so easy, so inexpensive and really helpful for the egos of grandparents that live far away. They love it when Hannah will feel so at ease with them, even though she hasn't seen them in a while."

Thanks Lisa!