Rainy Days and Mondays

When the Little Man was younger, we used to use a rainy day box to help make being stuck inside less painful. Our box contained dress up stuff, coloring books, crayons and craft supplies.


 Some of our favorite craft supplies are:
yarn
colored foam sheets
felt
pipe cleaners
jingle bells
construction paper
glue
googly eyes
feathers

Now that my son is a little bit older, we have more projects to keep us busy.

One of the recent favorites are edible necklaces. In fact, we love making these so much, we made them for his birthday party this past year.

Candy necklace time!

To make a bracelet or necklace (or both!) you need:

Yarn

Life savers

Peach or orange rings

Scissors to cut the string

Thread the yarn and add the life savers and gummy rings. Tie off and wear…and nibble!

Another thing we've made to entertain ourselves on a rainy day are maracas.

Its super easy, but make sure you have the tylenol nearby, because they can get loud.
Take a pipe cleaner and thread it around the hook on the jingle bell.
 
 

 
Another stand by that is good for several hours of fun is play do. We don't always have store bought on hand, but we do have the supplies to make our own.

plain white flour – 1 cup

salt – ½ cup

cream of tartar – 2 tsp (you can substitute 2 tbsp of baking soda)

water – 1 cup

cooking oil – 1 tsp (if you use baking soda, add 1 tbsp of oil instead of 1 tsp)

food coloring

Mix all the ingredients together with a fork in a mixing bowl until the mixture is smooth and one solid color

Pour the mixture into a pan and bring to a boil over medium heat.

Stir until smooth and then until playdough bunches up to form a ball

Take it out of the pan and allow the playdough to cool

Knead for a few minutes and store in an airtight container

Tornado in Dupree, SD May 2011

We have also made tornadoes in a jar (which is where we like them, rather than on the ground!)

The best directions I have found are from here: http://eo.ucar.edu/kids/dangerwx/tornado4.htm
What you will need:

8 oz. jar with lid

Water

Vinegar

Clear liquid dish soap

A pinch of glitter

Make it happen!

Fill the jar 3/4 full of water.

Put in one teaspoon of vinegar and one teaspoon of dish soap.

Sprinkle in a small amount of glitter.

Close the lid and twist the jar to swirl the water and see a vortex like a tornado form in the center of the jar.