Stuck Inside in the Summer - What we Did with our Rainy, Sniffly Week

We are getting over the dreaded summer time cold going on in our home. I don't know if you have ever been stuck in a small home for multiple days, with a three year old that truly believes he can climb the walls if he tries hard enough. It's not fun.

This child just can't sit through Finding Nemo, he doesn't have the focus or energy to do reading or writing practice but he has to do something. Not just something, but he expects at least three things, all well planned and back to back. This is a big part of the reason that I have two tricks up my sleeve.

First, I have a rotating stash of books and toys. I highly recommend not showing your kids all your cards at once. No matter how massive or minuscule your toy collection is, don't have them all out at once. A three year old sees too many choices and they will often expect you to guide the play and entertainment. I already have a child that doesn't want to play on his own. Therefore, I am constantly trying to find the secret amount and type of toys that encourage independent play.

Having a child with this personality, I have found that is great to have a couple of toys that only come out on sick or rainy days. Because these days need a bit of motivation to get through, I often try to make these games, puzzles and moderately messy art projects. Art projects that involve paint (but not glitter, glitter is evil) make my son feel like he's gotten some sensory input and gives him a sense that we've done a special activity that works his brain in a new way.

In the summer, I stockpile Mother Goose Time projects, games and activities. We were excited to have received a complementary box this month in exchange for our experience with the program. Whether on purpose or because or our busy, outdoor schedule, I sometimes find myself a few days behind our curriculum box during the summer. This really comes in handy when a monsoon decides to hit Chicago and my child is sick in the same week. For a half hour on Monday evening, I reviewed the skill chart I get ever month, and opened 5-6 daily activity bags from my Mother Goose Time box. I did the small amount of prep required, and stacked the projects on my old cookie sheet and set out the games on his work table. Over the two days that we were shut-ins we completed six days of school work. Both days we did a painting project and at the end, my son did what he enjoys best; he covered himself with blue paint. Why blue paint? I don't know. Blue paint has toddler mind control powers and I've accepted it.

 Mother Goose Time camping themed dominoes and pulled out a great puzzle game called Creative Color Cubes. I picked this up on Amazon for around $16. I love this game because much like the Mother Goose Time projects, you can scale it down to the level of a two and a half year old, and make it trickier as they get older. You create patterns and three dimensional shapes. If my son gets overwhelmed by the big picture, I can cover ever line but the one we are working on, so that he can focus on the puzzle more easily.

After the Smurf transformation, we spend a half hour in a warm tub, trying to get blue out of his nails and helping him to decongest with essential oils at the same time. After bath, we read books and played some

By the time we read, got messy, pulled out a fresh game and bathed, we made it through the majority of our stay at home sick days without a fight. I hope your family avoid the dreaded summer cold, but in case you find yourselves stuck inside hopefully these tips help see you through to sunny beach days.