As the days get shorter and winter weather takes a turn for the worse,
children spend more time indoors. Without fresh air and opportunities for
vigorous outdoor play, kids can get that cooped-up, bored, restless feeling
we call "cabin fever." Stuck indoors, too many children spend long hours
watching television or playing video games, neither of which help them
release excess energy or use their time creatively. Here are some ideas for
reducing cabin fever and curing the "I'm bored. There's nothing to do,"
blues.
1. Provide opportunities for vigorous physical activity.
Bundle up children for cold weather and let them play outside for short
periods of time. When that isn't possible, allow them to play actively
indoors. Parents and children can dance or practice aerobics together.
Parents may designate a space in the house where it is ok to wrestle and
roughhouse. Furnish the space with old rugs and cushions and set limits on
how rough kids can get. When you're changing the sheets on a bed (and
you're in no particular rush), take a few minutes to play with your child.
Drape the sheets over furniture and pretend it is a cave to explore.
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Kids of all ages will be
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healthy habits with these fitness and yoga products.
Treasure Hunting
Follow our suggestions for a treasure trove of
entertaining indoor activities that are sure to stretch your children's
limbs as well as their imaginations.
Introducing Fitness Through Playful Activities
Establishing a
fit and healthy lifestyle is vital - for parents and kids. Parents'
Choice offers the following suggestions for products designed to
introduce and encourage physical fitness in young children from infants
to age 6.
2. Drop everything when it snows.
Unless it's bitterly cold outside, let kids play in the snow. They can
build snowmen or snow forts, make snow angels, go sledding and throw
snowballs (at safe targets only, please).
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Decorate a Snowman Kit
Ages: 5 & Up
HearthSong, $29.95
Iguanas in the Snow / Iguanas en la nieve: and Other Winter Poems / y
otros poemas de invierno
Ages: 4 - 8 yrs.
Author: Francisco
X. Alarcon Illustrator: Maya Christina Gonzalez
Children's Book Press, $15.95
3. Look for fun winter sports - outdoors and in.
Ice-skating is a great winter sport, providing lots of challenge and
vigorous exercise. Many rinks are open to the public. Bowling is a terrific
indoor activity that offers friendly, fun-filled competition.
4. Put together a creative arts and crafts kit.
Get a goodsized plastic storage box and fill it with some or all of the
following items:
- Crayons
- Construction paper
- Washable markers
- Felt and fabric remnants
- Pencils/pens
- Ribbon/bric-a-brac
- Scissors
- Yarn or string
- Hole punch
- Beads and buttons
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- White glue/glue stick
- Pipe cleaners
- Tape
- Plastic drinking straws
- Glitter
- Lunch bags
- Tempera paints
- Wiggle eyes
- Paint brushes
- Popsicle sticks
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Bring the kit out when your child is looking for something to do or when
you want to do something interesting with him.
Parents' Choice Picks:
Arts & Crafts
Sculpture, finger-paints, fabric art, digital
art, even doodles are just some of the ways kids explore their artistic
interests. Keep their expressions flowing (and off your living room
walls) with these art supplies, kits, books and more.
The Undiscovered Obvious
Copious quantities of simple items,
particularly when combined with appropriate go-togethers, are
synergistic.
Illustrating a Snowy Scene with Uri Shulevitz
Imitate Uri
Shulevitz’s adaptation of snow piling up on the title’s letters on the
book cover for Snow; the town, and the trees. Create a snowy
transparency that will cover the drawing in just the right places with a
thick layer of falling snow.
Puppetry, the Playful Art
Puppetry has been described as the
"possible art for children." They take to it naturally. If you, the
parent, realize puppetry's potential and know some basic rules, you can
help children do more than just "put on a puppet show"; they can
transform a corner of the living room into an enchanted place.
5. Help children start a hobby.
They may want to build model cars or rockets. They may want to start a
card, comic book, coin or stamp collection. Or they may want to learn a
skill, like playing the guitar or dancing. Hobbies can sustain children's
interest in activities that foster learning, creativity and a sense of
competence.
6. Winter is a good time to see those places you usually don't think
about on warm, sunny days.
Visit the library, local historical sites, a museum, art galleries, a
university and other places of interest. Check out other community
resources like indoor play/amusement centers, craft centers, indoor pools,
school recreation programs and church activities.
Parents' Choice Picks:
Combine Learning & Fun at Art Museums
“Mommy, I’m tired.
When are we going?” These are familiar words to parents who take their
children to an art museum without a plan to make the visit fun and
interesting. Here are games you can play on your next museum visit.
Museums: Six Ways to Go
As with all trips of exploration and
discovery, a museum trip will be more successful if you have done a
little advance planning. Here are six suggestions for a happy
excursion.
7. Check out the local library or your own bookshelf for reading
adventures.
Many children's libraries host a variety of craft, science, reading and
play activities. Kids can often enroll in reading enrichment programs and
receive stickers, prizes or certificates for reading a number of books.
Look for books at the library or at home that offer armchair
adventures.
Parents' Choice Picks:
The Adventure Begins with the Turn of a Page
Even the shortest
excursions can lead to big adventures for little ones.
Broadway Bound Books
By reading aloud, children develop their
reading, language, and vocabulary skills and learn to express emotion as
they portray the roles of characters in a book. This experience is
further enhanced when they adapt one of their favorite stories into a
play.
8. Unleash your child's inner composer.
Children and music go together like peanut butter and jelly. Children can
take their natural enthusiasm for music one step further by actively
participating and making their very own music, becoming composers
themselves. Creating original music is not only empowering, it can be a
wonderful springboard into a world of creativity promoting self-expression,
problem solving, good communication skills, teamwork, and an appreciation
for the arts. Make homemade instruments with pots and pans, plastic cups,
thimbles and washboards, rubber bands, whistles, and other music makers you
can find around the house.
Parents' Choice Picks:
Unleash Your Child's Inner Composer
Here are ten suggestions to
help your children unleash their inner composer.
Kitchen Concerto
You may not realize it, but your kitchen is an
orchestra waiting to happen. Pots, pans, eggbeaters, graters, forks and
mugs are just a few of the items bursting with symphonic potential.

Scat Like That - A Musical Word Odyssey
Music and literacy go
hand in hand. Rhythm, rhyme, meter, melody and wordplay are easily melded
together in songs that are tons of fun, while almost secretly encouraging
reading skills such as phonemic awareness, pronunciation, vocalization
and listening.
Found Sound
Create a composition of interesting sounds you
collect in your everyday life.
Soundscapes
Choose a story to tell in sounds. Create your own
soundscape with instruments and objects, clapping hands, and weird
voices.
9. Turn off the television and use the time for family games and
activities.
Play board games together or put together family photo albums. Share your
family's history and your own childhood experiences with your children.
Parents' Choice Picks:
Family Games for Family Fun
If you're looking for family fun,
playing a game is a fine start. Our selections offer games of memory,
matching, strategy, scavenging -- and old fashioned giggling.
What's Write for the Family
Photographs capture moments. Video
records excerpts of life. But written words express a depth of thought
that no electronic media can surpass. Writing requires us to choose our
words carefully, to provide a unique perspective, and to scribble the
contents of our imaginations and our memories.
Preserving Your Family History
There are many ways to share
your family history including making a family scrapbook, recording family
stories, and cooking favorite family recipes together. We hope that the
following ideas will help you to preserve some of your family traditions,
and perhaps set some new ones in motion.
10. Let children participate in household tasks of their choice.
Children who never seemed anxious to do household chores before may be
willing to help out when they have nothing better to do. Cooking with kids
is a great family activity. Teach kids how to bake and decorate a cake.
Spend a chilly, rainy Saturday afternoon preparing meals together. You'll
not only have fun doing something constructive, you'll find that the
workweek is less hectic because of the meals you prepared in advance.
Parents' Choice Picks:
In the Kitchen with Kids
Kids love to watch and help their
parents cook and bake. Cooking together is not only a great way to spend
time with your kids, but can serve as an ideal opportunity to teach kids
valuable skills and lessons about health and nutrition.
Your family doesn't have to be stricken with the winter doldrums. A little
imagination and a lot of flexibility are all that's needed to pass the time
until spring. By encouraging children to pursue creative alternatives to
television and expecting a degree of indoor activity and messiness, parents
can reduce their children's cabin fever.
Article reprinted from the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk
County Parent Page, written by Tim Jahn, Human Development
Specialist.