Snow Day Box

The kids are enjoying another day at home. (Well not ED. The stomach bug has made a recurrence. Ugh.) The snow and ice that hit Texas and Arkansas has made its way to the east coast. Now that it has turned to ice, melting at the moment but likely to refreeze tonight, I fear the kids may not have school tomorrow as well.

It is days like these I pull out our Snow Day Box and let the kids pick an activity. The box is filled with craft projects gathered from the Dollar Store, the dollar aisle at Target or $1 crafts from Michael's. You get the idea, CHEAP.

Many times these activities don't take very long, but long enough to break up the monotony. Long enough to take their minds off of the blank TV. Long enough to make them realize our house is filled with toys, their toys.

I'm always amazed how a $1 craft, which entertains the kids for 5 to 15 minutes, can completely change the mood of the kids. Where before they were dragging themselves around complaining that "there is nothing to do", after the activity they found new focus and have new ideas for appropriate play (appropriate, meaning not running inside the house, screaming like banshees.) And they stopped asking about the TV or Wii, at least for another 30 minutes.

As I type this they are painting sun catchers. A little more then a dollar, but not by much thanks to a Michael's coupon. Most likely I will be scrapping paint off my table for several weeks days this afternoon. However, like the MasterCard commercial, the price of a little paint on the table is nothing compared to entertained children, priceless.

For a LOT more great ideas (when I posted I was #210) head over to Rocks in My Dryer