If you are a parent in New York City, you’re bracing for a long day indoors today. Since it’s not good for a child’s developing brain to spend the day in front of the TV, here are some fun activities that you can do with your preschooler.
Make Play Dough
Play dough is super simple to make gives your child tactile and visual stimulation. You can let them sculpt it into whatever their imagination creates, or add more structure by asking them to make certain shapes or even animals in different colors. You can also use cookie cutters to make basic shapes that they decorate.
The only ingredients you need for play dough are flour, salt, water, coloring, and cream of tartar or vegetable oil.
Here’s a tutorial for a version that does not require cream of tartar:
If you prefer not to expose your children to commercial food coloring you can make some colors with natural dyes from things like frozen blueberries, beets, hibiscus tea, red juices, and turmeric. Read more here.
Hold a Dance-A-Thon
Getting your child moving is important for their brain development and especially if the weather makes it hard to venture outside, moving vigorously inside will help them use up excess energy. Crank up on your favorite, kid-friendly tunes and show your child how much fun it is to groove.
To make the dancing more engaging and challenging, ask your child to show you what moves he or she can do and suggest they touch their toes, jump really high (neighbors below permitting), do the splits, do star jumps, and show you how long they can stand on one leg (try both legs because sometimes one is much easier than the other).
You can also help them do headstands and handstands.
If the other parent will be home later, you can have your child prepare a small show to entertain them.
