It's official. Spring (ahem... Florida summer) has started. That means that our average temperature each day seems to hover somewhere between the Sahara Desert at midday and surface of the sun. I'm not complaining. Trust me. I am a warm weather fiend. I thrive on hot temperatures and wouldn't trade them for those freezing temps that so many of our northern friends deal with so much of the year.
That being said, I'm not as big a fan of the Florida rainstorm. It comes on unexpectantly (except for the fact that in the true summer you can almost set a watch by it sometimes) and can either hang around for hours or (more commonly) about 20 minutes before it disappears like it never existed. The plus to a Florida rain is that most of the time it is gone fairly quickly. The downfall is... that crazy weather makes our humidity crank up to 1000%.
I figured that this year was the year to start coming up with a few activities for those days that the rain shows up and decides that it wants to remain around all day or stop and start every 15 minutes just to make you think that you actually have a chance of being outside.... but you don't. Kenzie is getting older and while she can keep herself occupied for quite a while on her own, I like to make sure that her imagination is getting a good work out. I also wanted a few activities that let me play with her since so much of my time now is spent dealing with Will or at least splitting my attention between the two of them. We sometimes have time in the afternoon to hang out together while Will is napping, but that isn't consistent and I miss those moments of just the two of us sometimes.
It seems like the past week or so has brought on a few rainy mornings/afternoons/days... so we brought out a few new activities to keep us busy and give us something to do other than watching tv. Granted, if I could get this kid to curl up in front of a movie with me, I would do it. She will watch a movie... but Little Ms. Independent would much rather do it from the comfort of her Daddy's chair without anyone else sitting in it with her. Where's the point in that? I would rather save her screen time for those moments when I want to try to get dinner done or fold a load of laundry. Oh well...
Our first rainy day activity was planting our plants. This is actually a gift that Kenzie was given for her birthday last year but we are big on taking some of the toys and presents she gets and putting them away initially. Then we are able to randomly bring out new toys/activities throughout the year. That seems to be a hit around here. When old toys get boring, new ones keep her entertained. So, this has been in her closet for months at this point and I thought it would be fun to finally break it out.
Kenzie had a blast using her trowel to break up the soil and she did pretty well with pushing the seeds into the soil. We put the plants in our bathroom window and now we just hope that they grow.
The next time a rainy day rolled around we decided to break out the boxes. I remember using large boxes as a kid to make forts, cars, etc. My cousin and I used to spend hours playing in those boxes. About a month ago, we had something shipped from Target and it came in a ridiculously large box. It was way larger than necessary, but as soon as I saw it... I remembered those moments from my childhood and thought it would make an awesome toy for Kenzie. I wasn't sure what we would make out of it, but I figured she would like it. A few days earlier we watched one of the rockets launch from the coast and Kenzie has been obsessed ever since. As I looked at that box more, an idea was born. That box would be our rocket ship. So, when another rainy day came around we set out to build a rocket ship. Kenzie had a blast telling me to put in windows and a door. Then she helped decorate it with markers and stickers. She spent the better part of an hour after that getting things prepared for her first trip to the moon. She would say "One more thing" and run out of the box, locate a toy that apparently is necessary for the trip to the moon, and bring it back to the rocket ship. Once Kenzie landed on the moon (after a blast off countdown that started at 1 and ended at 12) we talked about walking on the moon without gravity and went for a "moonwalk" in the kitchen and down the hall. I think she enjoyed herself. =) By the way... apparently plastic utensils, fake desserts, a tea pot, broom, and mop are all needed for a trip to the moon. Priorities, people!
I can't wait for more rainy days to see what we can come up with. What rainy day activities are common in your house? I welcome any new and fun ideas to keep a toddler busy. If it can be done with an infant in tow... plus one for you! Please... share!
That being said, I'm not as big a fan of the Florida rainstorm. It comes on unexpectantly (except for the fact that in the true summer you can almost set a watch by it sometimes) and can either hang around for hours or (more commonly) about 20 minutes before it disappears like it never existed. The plus to a Florida rain is that most of the time it is gone fairly quickly. The downfall is... that crazy weather makes our humidity crank up to 1000%.
I figured that this year was the year to start coming up with a few activities for those days that the rain shows up and decides that it wants to remain around all day or stop and start every 15 minutes just to make you think that you actually have a chance of being outside.... but you don't. Kenzie is getting older and while she can keep herself occupied for quite a while on her own, I like to make sure that her imagination is getting a good work out. I also wanted a few activities that let me play with her since so much of my time now is spent dealing with Will or at least splitting my attention between the two of them. We sometimes have time in the afternoon to hang out together while Will is napping, but that isn't consistent and I miss those moments of just the two of us sometimes.
It seems like the past week or so has brought on a few rainy mornings/afternoons/days... so we brought out a few new activities to keep us busy and give us something to do other than watching tv. Granted, if I could get this kid to curl up in front of a movie with me, I would do it. She will watch a movie... but Little Ms. Independent would much rather do it from the comfort of her Daddy's chair without anyone else sitting in it with her. Where's the point in that? I would rather save her screen time for those moments when I want to try to get dinner done or fold a load of laundry. Oh well...
Our first rainy day activity was planting our plants. This is actually a gift that Kenzie was given for her birthday last year but we are big on taking some of the toys and presents she gets and putting them away initially. Then we are able to randomly bring out new toys/activities throughout the year. That seems to be a hit around here. When old toys get boring, new ones keep her entertained. So, this has been in her closet for months at this point and I thought it would be fun to finally break it out.
Kenzie had a blast using her trowel to break up the soil and she did pretty well with pushing the seeds into the soil. We put the plants in our bathroom window and now we just hope that they grow.
The next time a rainy day rolled around we decided to break out the boxes. I remember using large boxes as a kid to make forts, cars, etc. My cousin and I used to spend hours playing in those boxes. About a month ago, we had something shipped from Target and it came in a ridiculously large box. It was way larger than necessary, but as soon as I saw it... I remembered those moments from my childhood and thought it would make an awesome toy for Kenzie. I wasn't sure what we would make out of it, but I figured she would like it. A few days earlier we watched one of the rockets launch from the coast and Kenzie has been obsessed ever since. As I looked at that box more, an idea was born. That box would be our rocket ship. So, when another rainy day came around we set out to build a rocket ship. Kenzie had a blast telling me to put in windows and a door. Then she helped decorate it with markers and stickers. She spent the better part of an hour after that getting things prepared for her first trip to the moon. She would say "One more thing" and run out of the box, locate a toy that apparently is necessary for the trip to the moon, and bring it back to the rocket ship. Once Kenzie landed on the moon (after a blast off countdown that started at 1 and ended at 12) we talked about walking on the moon without gravity and went for a "moonwalk" in the kitchen and down the hall. I think she enjoyed herself. =) By the way... apparently plastic utensils, fake desserts, a tea pot, broom, and mop are all needed for a trip to the moon. Priorities, people!
I can't wait for more rainy days to see what we can come up with. What rainy day activities are common in your house? I welcome any new and fun ideas to keep a toddler busy. If it can be done with an infant in tow... plus one for you! Please... share!
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