Back when my children were little, we did lots of arts and crafts together. It was especially hard to keep three busy bodies occupied during the winter months, when it was cold and rainy for days at a time. I tried to keep supplies on hand for them to use creatively. I can remember once when my son was about four years old, he asked me at lunch if the seeds on his hamburger bun would grow hamburger buns. I told him, yes, of course they would.
We went outside and put some dirt in a flower pot, and came back inside and carefully planted the seeds and watered them. Than night, after he went to bed, I put a stick with branches on it into the pot, and stuck hamburger buns on the ends of all the branches. When he got up the next day, his eyes were so wide, and he was sooo proud of himself for “growing” the hamburger buns.
While I haven’t tried that trick as a grandmother, I try to keep things on hand to keep the grandkids busy when they come to visit, especially when it is cold and rainy outside. It’s not always easy to keep them occupied. I never know what they’ll be interested in doing from one time to the next. One thing I have found, though, that keeps them all occupied for a little while, no matter what their age, is art and craft projects. Even the oldest of them likes to make things.
One of our favorite projects one year was making a scrapbook of their visit. I had taken pictures at every place we went, and saved all the tickets and brochures from places we went. On the last day of their visit, when it was raining outside, we needed an activity to keep them from getting bored. I printed out the pictures we had taken, and we spent the entire day gluing them on construction paper. The older kids could write a paragraph or so about the zoo, or the movie we went to see, or the pony farm we visited. They went home with a great memory book of their visit with me.
Babbabox Puppet People
If you’re like me, and need some help figuring out what kind of supplies to keep on hand, especially when it is cold and rainy outside, Babbaco’s Babbabox is full of wonderful ideas.
The BabbaBox makes an absolute perfect solution for those indoor blues! If it is too cold, too dark, too grey to play outside, create an incredibly warm, rich world by playing pretend with your child. We all know that we can go a little stir crazy looking for great activities in the post-holiday winter slow down, and the “My Awesome Adventures” BabbaBox provides the perfect antidote!
Babbabox Storytelling
With a subscription to Babbabox, you’ll get all the supplies you need in one box to make all sorts of craft projects. The box is delivered right to your mailbox. This means that you don’t have to run out to the store to get glue and crayons when you hear that your grandkids are coming. It also means you won’t forget an essential item to get the project done! The boxes are geared towards ages 3-7, but that doesn’t mean Granny won’t have fun with it too!
You can find all sorts of good ideas for arts and crafts to do with kids on Babbco’s website. And, when you sign up for BabbaCo’s super fun Newsletter and you are entered to win a great prize package:
Annual Membership to the BabbaBox ($240 value)
$50 Gift Card from ShutterflyAdditionally, BabbaCo is running a very special “Cure to the Indoor Blues” offer right now:
33% ($10) Off the 1st month of a new Monthly or Annual Subscription!
Just use the Coupon Code: FEB33 at checkout.
Full disclosure: this article is financially supported by BabbaCo
Henrietta says
Our kids have always enjoyed arts & crafts as well, they’re a fun way to spend time together!
Rob says
My youngest does crafts ALL of the time so this would be perfect for her. Thanks for sharing.
Rachel says
what a great idea! I signed up for the newsletter 🙂
TerriAnn @ Cookies & Clogs says
The biggest pain is just getting the supplies together. Love that everything is included, including the ideas 🙂
baby deals says
I’m SO not creative, so I appreciate anything that just gives me instructions and what I need to pass along to my kids. This is great!
Tiff @ Babes and Kids says
This is such a great idea, especially for those days that you have to stay inside!