Winter weather has many families indoors these days. Parents are busy and looking for creative ways to keep their kids entertained. After all, they can’t endlessly be available to entertain their children. We spoke with Emily Andrews, our early childhood development specialist, to get some ideas to support families with their seemingly endless mission to keep their children engaged indoors.

There are so many ways to be creative when staying inside due to the cold or when you just need to keep your children busy while you work from home or even just while you make dinner. There are so many things you can do with what you already have! There is a lot of re-purposing, a lot of new ways to use old materials, especially if you can be thoughtful about putting things out of sight for a bit. What’s old is new again.

Here are some things to consider when needing to keep your child busy and playing independently while you work or need to do other things around the house. 

Lean into open ended materials

Use, invest in, and focus on open ended play materials. What are open ended materials? They are items that can be used creatively that don’t have a pre-prescribed way to be used. Think wooden blocks, bottle caps, rubber bands, a large bin of loose LEGO bricks (as opposed to a Lego kit with instructions). Open ended materials can be used however your child wants to use them. The less suggestive they are the more open ended they are. They will keep children busy longer, foster creativity, are more easily repurposed, and don’t need adult facilitation.

Prep helps

A little bit of preparation on your part can go a long way in making a play idea appealing. In fact, best not to suggest a play idea at all, just put it out and allow your child to discover it on their own. You can collect containers, fun little trays, shiny silver bowls, acrylic drawer organizers, and/or plastic containers to make old toys feel new and exciting again. Make the prep part of your own routine so you always have a little something in the works for when you need to fire off an email or make a meal.

Know your own child 

It’s not about being inspired by cool activities you see on Instagram. It is best to think about your own child, what does YOUR kid love to do already? Simply extend that, rebrand it, and add layers to it. If your child loves dinosaurs but has grown bored of the dinosaurs in the basket in their playroom, bring them to the shower, turn it on, and give them 20 minutes of dino and shaving cream fun.

Avoid prefab kits or if you get a kit, take it apart and use it for parts

Take the beads string and charms, stick them in your own tackle box full of beads and toss the box and instructions. Then, put that awesome tacklebox out on the kitchen counter with some string and scissors: A beautiful invitation to create without pressure to “get it right” creating the model on the box.

Parents often buy these lovely little ready to go activities in boxes and books thinking their child will love them. More often than not they last five minutes and then collect dust in a stack on the counter. 

Instead of…TRY!

Instead of handwriting workbooks filled with boring letters and word tracing repetition… 

• Try a comic book bar with a stapler, pencils, tape, and some comic books for inspiration.

Instead of coloring books and markers…

• Try a Valentine making station with glue and collage materials, colored pencils, and stickers.

Instead of math and connect the dot activity books put out whatever you have in bulk… 

• Chop sticks, paper clips, rubber bands, twist ties, crayons, etc. Ask for their help getting to 100: Suggest using groups and bunching them or give them paper to make tally marks to give it purpose.

Instead of saying “Go read a book”... 

• Pop into the library on your way home from work and get a book or two that you know they will love. Put the book out in a place that will feel cozy with something to accompany it: A snack and a blanket, a fort and flashlight, new slippers and pajamas. Or stick it in a basket in your bathroom where you are always getting ready and they are always nagging you for attention.

Instead of a bakery playdough kit…

• Take the playdough containers out of the box, add them to a bin of other playdough things you may have, put that bin next to a bin of real cookie cutters from your kitchen, and see what happens.

Maybe you are tired and your creative juices are running low. Try open ended play at home and watch the fun grow. No need to shop!

Open ended play materials you likely already have in your home:

• Tin foil for jewelry making
• The shower! Seriously, it is the best. Put them in there with anything: Bath crayons, shaving cream, a container of plastic toys, a spray bottle, plastic toys, you name it.
• Couch cushions, pillows, and blankets for forts.
• Bowls of water, medicine droppers, turkey basters, and food coloring
• Corn starch, water, and cookie sheets (this one is messy so be ready for that)
• Paper towel rolls, tape, and marbles to enjoy some home-made marble run explorations
• Tea light candles and any building materials like blocks, or Magna Tiles or LEGO bricks. Dim the lights!
• Jars and lids, grains, and scoops
• Envelopes and rubber stamps or address labels
• Real bandaids and baby dolls
• Electric pencil sharpener and cups of old pencils
• Any collections you have that you have long since forgotten about (sea shells, sea glass) with a bowl of water, a tooth brush, and a stack of wash clothes
• Thumb tacks, cardboard, and rubber bands.

You get the idea! 

You do have to think ahead to put little play plans together but what takes you 5 minutes will buy you as much as an hour later! Remember, don’t pitch it to your child. Just put it out and let them discover it! Enjoy!