Hey Mama Hey! School is closed AGAIN. Yep, here in Chicago we are in a Polar Vortex. I am no Al Roker so I have no idea what exactly this means, but I will tell you this: IT’S COLD!!! Like COLD Cold. So yesterday if you were in the house with your littles you might have had a cute movie and pajama day. Sat around enjoying each other’s company…..But Today….Girl, those kids are going to need something to do!
My approach to snow days are to get ahead of the situation. If you wait until you kiddo is bored…you have waited too late. By then they are going to want a quick fix, which will probably be the TV. (*More about watching this later)
ObieQ is 2yo but my solutions works for any age. Stations. Stations are the key to keeping your child busy and you being able to chill. I use our living room and set up 8 stations:
Yesterday ABC7 News came to our home and filmed ObieQ enjoying his snow day and the way I use stations to keep myself sane.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE SEGMENT
Snow Day Stations
- Train set: We have the Brio Train Set, ObieQ received it for Christmas and it’s durable, has tons of different configurations and keeps him occupied.
- Sensory station: This changes per ObieQ needs. Right now we are focusing on sorting objects. I used a toy that has a bunch of different colored pegs. He works on stacking the pegs by colors.
- Cars/Parking Garage: Just like you I have Amazon Prime boxes being delivered all the time. Q has turned one of those boxes into a parking garage. This houses most of his cars and trucks.
- Books: Gather books and make it a theme. Today I choose Valentines Day and Disney books. We read books based on our favorite movies, Moana and Coco.
- Crafts: I keep a small bin full of supplies like googley eyes and Pom poms. Today I raided my bathroom for cotton balls and we made a snowman. Keep it simple.
- Build & Create: This is one of the only activities that requires me to be hands on the entire time.
- Coloring on his art easel: I printed out free coloring sheets and leave him to color…WITHOUT BREATHING OVER HIS SHOULDER. This is a major key.
- Ball Toss: If you are from Chicago, you remember Bozo buckets. This is a paired down version. I place washi tape on the floor. ObieQ has to stand behind and toss a small ball into one of the 4 cups I set up.
I hope these stations inspire you to create your own. Remember to keep it simple and use what you already have. The key is to mix things you can do together and lots of independent play. This way you can get tasks done all while randomly shouting “You’re doing amazing, Honey!”
All of these stations work for me and I do believe there is a version that will work for your house, HOWEVER….if you find yourself turning on the TV so you can get things done…That is fine. Allow yourself grace. There are times you need 30mins of Paw Patrol to get on top of things!
Happy Snow Day and share with me some of your favorite ways to get through the day!