Indoor boredom busters

I love taking the kids out regardless of the weather. Still, we all know for one reason or another, there are days where it just becomes too difficult to have them anywhere but in an indoor open space under our supervision while we get things done. I have some reliable boredom busters at my disposal for such times

1. Baking- Kids love making things and baking is such a great way to introduce them to measuring and some aspect of  chemistry. Baking also has the added bebefit of killing two birds with one stone,m; food gets made and if it’s a chilly day it warms your home up.
2. An indoor ball pit- I bought five hundred of these balls and filled up our old outdoor crib with them. You can also find a cheap inflatable pool and use that.
3. Drawing contests- My husband hosts these whenever our twelve year old cousin comes over. It preys on kids’ natural competitive edge and keeps them busy without a screen.
4. Have them put on a show- encourage the kids to get ready and put on a show for you or company after a meal. I used to love doing this when I was younger and I constantly used it as a tactic when I was a babysitter. 
5. Building- I love legos.  There’s also a ton of building activities you can come up with if you search on Pinterest. If your kids are older and you have another willing relative to build with them, you can even do model cars or start a bigger project.
6. Sewing- When I finally learned to sew, I was in heaven. I adored making clothes for my dolls and thought I had really won the lotto since I wouldn’t need to buy clothes for my them. I could just make them instead. It occupied me for hours (or what seemed like it) as I sat quietly sewing. My aunt was a genius for teaching me. When I was older, I moved on to making clothes for my sister, my friends and me. Just make sure you get the age appropriate kid friendly needles and materials if your kids are still small. I didn’t have those around when I was 7 and would occasionally drop the needle and freak out the entire family until I found it because no one wanted to stop on it. It would be extra disastrous if you have any kids going through that phase where they put things in their mouth.
7. Board Games- There are just so many games that are great for helping kids learn. Monopoly can help them learn more about money and calculating, especially if you’re patient enough to let them be the bankers. Scrabble is wonderful for spelling and vocabulary. Any form of trivia will do wonders for their fact building and you can even try to tailor the trivia game to whatever they are currently studying.
8. Spa day- Kids like imitating us and doing things that seem exclusive to adults. If you don’t mine being their guinea pig and  just want to listen to a podcast or audio book, you can get some hair and makeup  especially for kids and let them try to pamper you. You can also get one of those beauty dolls that they can do this too instead and get your work done. If your back ever hurts though and your kids are still small enough, I think its not the worst idea to let them walk on your back while you lay on a padded area or bed where they wont get hurt if they lose their balance falling off of you. They think it’s fun and you get a an instant free back massage.

Those are my top activities. I might be adding making our own gummy bears to that list soon. We have yet to do it but the kids love gummy bears so I think it will be worthwhile.   Let me know if you’ve tried any of these or have any to add.