Kelly1730 Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 I am watching my 9 and 7yo grandsons this summer. Along with my twin sons who will be 11 in July. I have this lovely schedule all worked out, mostly consisting of time spent outdoors. Tomorrow is our first day and the forecast is for a lot of rain! Obviously, I can't send them outside (not opposed to the front porch if the rain's not coming in). My own two boys would spend this time playing legos and drawing but the dgs aren't so interested in that. Any suggestions for what I can plan to keep the boys occupied for an entire day spent inside? My sanity in agreeing to do this is coming into question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oasis Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 (edited) Do you use Pinterest? I'm currently at work (and they block the site), but I know it has a lot of great "rainy day" ideas! Something that keeps my ds6 busy is lots of big boxes to create robots, and he also loves sheet forts (created by throwing a large sheet over a table.) Another thing which keeps the kids busy for a long time is a treasure hunt. You could have one of the oldest kids create it, and they'll probably play it several times! Cut up strips of paper, and write various locations on them (such as couch, fridge, table, microwave.) Start by hiding one of the strips of paper somewhere (such as the silverware drawer.) If the strip of paper in the silverware drawer has "fridge" written on it, hide the next strip of paper somewhere on the fridge, and so on. I normally make the microwave the last hiding place, and hide a small prize inside, such as play-doh, stickers, small stuffed animal, etc. Good luck! Edited June 11, 2012 by oasis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Why can't the kids play out in the rain? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Playing in the rain is one of my nearly 8 year old's favorite things to do! Pinterest is a great place to check. Some ideas for things to do: Painting in the rain Balloon ninjas Spy training Give them a scavenger hunt around your house Baking a cake or cookies- let them do the actual pouring and mixing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anoncalhan Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Pinterest is a great site for ideas. My children 6.5 and 8 also love playing in the rain. They wait for it to rain hard and the water to be gushing in the street gutters and get their sleds out and ride the water down. They also sail boats and other toys in the water. But if you would rather them be inside you could: -Have them make their own glow sticks using mountain dew baking soda and peroxide. -Make it a movie day rent movies make treats put blankets and pillows on floor and enjoy. -Indoor obstacle course or if they are like my boys and obsessed with army you could do an indoor boot camp or outdoor in the rain. -Make a fort out of blankets and dining room table. -Get a big box from an appliance store and let them make it into whatever they want (space ship, fort, car........)and decorate it. -Get cheap pool noodles cut them length wise in half and use them to have marble races. -Art projects -teach them how to make friendship braclets. -Let them help you bake cookies. -Draw on windows with dry erase markers. -make a target and shoot marshmallows at it. And here's what you need to do to make marshmallow shooter: 1. Cut the bottom part off of your plastic cup. I found it worked best to double up the cups and I cut off the bottom third. See how there's two cups nestled together? 2. Tie a knot at the end of your balloon and cut off about 1/2" from the other end. 3. Now stretch the balloon over the end of the cup. I found it worked best to put the balloon on the top part of the cup where the lip is, otherwise the cup would bend too much when I put the balloon on. Perhaps if you have a sturdier cup, you wouldn't need to use two cups together and you could put the balloon on the cut end (like in the original), but our way worked really well for us. (UPDATE: A commenter said she used a empty yogurt container and it worked well ~ good idea since some brands tend to be pretty sturdy, plus you're recycling!) That's it! Now it's time to do some launching! Just put your marshmallow inside the cup on the knotted center, then aim the cup away from you, pull back on the outer knot and launch away! - Treasure Hunt. -Build rockets. Hope at least one of those helps good luck.:lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2myboys Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 familyfun.com has great ideas too. Best of luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfgivas Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 :grouphug: its a gift, even if it won't always feel like it. ;) the summer may be a lot more fun for everyone if you get them into a "grandma's house" schedule. so fwiw, i'd plan a snack for 10am, and lunch for noon. in the morning, i'd get out things for them to play with, whether or not i think they'd like them. maybe, we'd start bread rising. we'd make soup to go with the bread for lunch. (if they don't know how to use a knife, you could teach them a la montessori. i'd read aloud to them during snack. then if its warm enough, i'd send them out to play in the rain for a few minutes after snack, and then in to a warm shower/bath. happy horizontal hour after lunch, every day. they can read/color/sleep, but must be happy and horizontal and no electronics. then they could write in their journals. (if they don't have journals, maybe you could go to a book store and they could each choose one. at those ages, my dc both still liked ones where they could draw a picture and write a few sentences beneath it. then a puzzle or board games, and some kind of art thing.... then about 4pm if you want, they could have video/computer time for an hour.... or one could, while you do something one on one with the other, then switch? wish i were there; it sounds fun. we're about to do a two week school intensive, covering a month's work to recover from performances.... :grouphug::grouphug: ann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeline05 Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Great ideas here! (I LOVE Pinterest too!) Thanks for all the creativity! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly1730 Posted June 12, 2012 Author Share Posted June 12, 2012 spy activities and nerf wars are good for the dgs ages. I wouldn't feel though, that you have to keep them entertained - they should know how to entertain themselves by now. I'd stock a box with material they can build creations with, have some appropriate library books and craft supplies and let them figure out what they want to do when it's not reading time or meal helper time. Id also pick one thing to be your thing to teach and do with them - maybe a card game, maybe a board game, maybe cooking. If they're scouts or 4hers, they might pick a project and do it at your home. If it turns out to be really rainy this summer, maybe you could sent up a shelter over a picnic table that they could for their home base outside. My own two boys are very good at entertaining themselves, reading, legos, drawing etc. The grandsons are a product of ps and daycare. They must have guidance in productive pursuits or it turns into a free for all. If they were able to be outside, it would be better. Thankfully, the weather should be better tomorrow and we can have our outdoor activities. Hopefully, by the end of the summer the grandsons will be better able to find productive things to so on their own. Thanks for all the suggestions!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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