It’s been raining incessantly for the past few days here in New England. With schools due to close for the summer in matter of days, I am often left wondering – what’s the best way to engage them during those weepy days where nothing seems to be like fun?
Today’s guest poster has some really crafty ideas perfect for those days. Megan Sullivan is a stay-at-home mother in San Diego, CA. She has two daughters, ages 15 and 8, that keep her very busy. In her free time she volunteers at a local church, jogs, swims, spends time with her family, and writes about her life and her interests. Megan’s proud to say that she’s happily married to her husband of fifteen years, Jack.
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My kids love going to the pool in the summer. I like taking them too; it’s fun to watch their swimming skills progress. A day in the water always leads to a mellow evening at home. Pool time is my number one solution to the chorus of, “I’m boreds” that begins about one week after school lets out.
However, so often in our neck of the woods we’ll get suited up and pack a bag with towels and snacks only to hear a familiar rumble in the distance. My girls will offer that it was certainly just a train, or a truck shutting its gate. But, there’s always a second rumble. And then a third. Thunder. Summer storms are the nemesis of pool play. As the rain pours down we stare at each other thinking: now what?
We could just lounge around re-watching old dvds, but this gets dull fast. Instead, I like to stock up on craft supplies so that our rainy days stay productive and focused. I call them “In Case of Emergency Crafts.” Rained out pool days, surprise play dates, grouchy sibling rivalry days and many other challenges get solved by pulling out a craft for the kids to do together.
Puppet Theatre
The best crafts are those that produce activities well after the glue and glitter dries. Sock puppets and paper bag puppets allow kids to create funny characters and work together to create shows.
I keep a good supply of old holey socks, loose buttons, and discarded paper to provide the base for the puppets. A good supply of feathers, googly eyes, and foam to cut into mustaches or glasses helps puppets develop into individual characters in the hands of creative kids.
My favorite characters so far have be Featherbottom a daffy magician and SparkleSparkle, a spectacled rockstar with a penchant for singing Taylor Swift songs to her audience. The kids love being able to breathe life into their characters and put on a show for their dad when he gets home from work.
Jewelry Factory
We also dabble in the jewelry arts. I invested in some shrinky dink plastic, beads, fishing wire, and clasps. The kids draw or trace pictures onto the plastic and we bake the plastic down into pendants in the oven. We string the fishing wire through the pendant and surround it with pretty beads and finish it off with a clasp.
The kids like to make gifts for their best friends when we make jewelry. We have a good supply of bracelets and necklaces at the ready to hand out for birthdays, the holidays, and just because.
Comic Books
My kids love making up stories, so their absolute favorite craft is writing and drawing their own comic books. We make the project collaborative by each of us drawing and writing a page at a time. We draw pictures for the words the person who passed the page to us wrote. Needless to say, the stories get pretty crazy as they get passed on. It is so much fun and leaves the kids giggling.
We don’t craft on every rainy day, sometimes the kids just play board games or watch a movie while I clean or look for early bird coupons for Black Friday. However, the days we do crack open the “In Case of Emergency Crafts” are the most fun way to spend rainy days at the house. The kids get to emphasize their creativity and stay engaged throughout the day. I highly recommend stocking up on supplies to give you a great option for fun the next time your plans get rained out.
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Some pretty cool ideas, don’t you think? what do you guys do on rainy days during summer vacation?
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