Snow day!

It’s a snow day here in Ottawa today. The buses have been cancelled and while the schools are still open, we’ve decided to let the boys stay home. I usually ship ‘em off as even in the most treacherous conditions I think they’re better off for a few hours at school than at home, but by a fluke of scheduling both Beloved and I were home anyway, so we let them stay home for a treat.

Now that the kids are older, they’re better at entertaining themselves even on a long day at home. They like to play board games, and we’ve always got a craft of some sort on the go. And of course, there are the ubiquitous video games.

Snow days are such a break from routine that it’s fun to find something unique to do. Just a few days ago, I blogged a few more of my favourite indoor activities, including bead crafts and scavenger hunts. If you’re feeling like comfort food, how about baking up some rainbow cupcakes? Or maybe just whipping up a batch of home-made playdoh?

It’s pretty easy to pass the day with older kids, but sometimes not so much with babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Conveniently, my friends at Fisher-Price just shared this awesome new tool for inspiring playtime with your kids. I remember how hard it was coming up with ideas on how to play with a baby, especially when Tristan was a newborn, but there are dozens – maybe even hundreds – of great suggestions here on games to play with kids from newborn to school age.

From the simple idea of tummy talking for babies under 3 mos to the classic “red light, green light” for toddlers to storybook theatre for older kids, there are tonnes of great ideas. I like how each game also has information about which learning skill you’re stimulating and even some basic safety cautions. Wouldn’t this be a great tool for a young babysitter looking for ways to interact with kids as well? I really wish I’d had access to this when I was a new mom!

As I’m writing this post, I’m remembering how long those early days could seem, home with a baby who couldn’t entertain himself with Super Mario Bros or endless episodes of Max and Ruby. Isn’t it funny how while you’re in them, it seems like those days will never end and suddenly you realize that they’re long behind you?

If you could make one suggestion to help another parent pass a long winter day at home with the kids, what would it be?

(Disclosure: I am part of the Fisher-Price Play Panel and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.)

Related posts (automatically generated):

1. Fisher-Price Holiday Gift Guide: Ages 2 to 5 A while back, I posted my thoughts on some great gift ideas for the six-years-and-older demographic based on my experiences this year with Fisher-Price Canada. I’m a little later than I wanted to be with this follow-up, but I hope it’s helpful for your holiday buying! If I were to...
2. Fisher-Price Holiday Gift Guide Part 1: Ages 6 and up It’s only in the last year of blogging with Fisher-Price that I realized how many of the toys and product lines we already love come from them. One of my concerns when I first started blogging with the PlayPanel was that the big boys might feel excluded, as in my...
3. Pretend play expands a child’s world When I first started blogging for Fisher-Price, only my littlest boy was invited to the launch photo shoot. I got the impression that maybe there was going to be a big focus on baby and toddler toys during the playpanel campaign, and wondered if maybe some of the toys would...
4. Keeping kids entertained on the go – and a giveaway from Fisher-Price! We’re packing up the car again this weekend, heading down to visit family in southern Ontario. It’s been quite a while since our last road trip, and I cant’ wait to hit the road. I don’t know whether car trips are getting easier now that the boys are getting older,...
5. Fisher-Price photo shoot sneak peek We finally received a preview of the photo shoot with Fisher-Price in Toronto a couple weeks back. Wanna sneak peek? These are a couple of the group shots: Lucas is squeezing me in a hug, not snoozing! In this one, he’s actually got one hand on each side of my...