Easy Activities to Help with Cabin Fever

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While winter has over-extended its stay, but your kids do not need to go “stir crazy”!  Here are some easy activities that can be done with ages 3 years and older. The best news is that most of the supplies can be found in your home or can be purchased for a very cheap price!

Kool-Aid Playdough

Ingredients:
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1 pkg unsweetened Kool-aid packet
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Directions:
Step 1:  In a bowl, mix flour, salt, and kool-aid
Step 2: Stir in water (ADULTS should do this step!)
Step 3: Stir in oil
Step 4: Mix with a spoon and let it cool for a couple minutes
Step 5:  Knead with hands for about 5 minutes (you may need to sprinkle a little more flour if mixture is sticking to hands)

The playdough will take on the color of the flavor you chose and will smell like it too!  It can be stored  in a plastic baggy for months.

Popsicle Stick Craft Ideas

These sticks are sold in large boxes so you are able to make multiple items…the finished product also makes for great gifts!
Here are some ideas of what can be created:

• Picture frame
• Jewelry box
• Pencil holder
• Keepsake box
• Bird house

Ingredients:

  • Box of popsicle sticks (there are two sizes, thinner and thicker sticks)
  • Glue (Elmer’s glue can be used, but a tacky glue is recommended)
  • Misc. decorations: crayon, marker, paint, glitter, felt, cardboard, construction paper, etc.

Directions:

Step 1: Decorate sticks with misc. supplies.  If using paint or glitter, let sticks dry.
Step 2: Use a dime-size of glue on each end of the sticks when building your creation.
Step 3: Let the creations dry over night.     

Building Beans

Ingredients:

  • Large dried beans
  • Bowl of water
  • Strainer
  • Wooden toothpicks

 Directions

Step 1: Soak the beans overnight in the bowl of water.
Step 2: Strain the water off the beans.
Step 3: Stick a toothpick in one bean.
Step 4: Continue sticking beans and toothpicks together to make a structure.
Step 5: When finished, let the bean structure dry overnight.

Here are some other items that you can try:

  • Build a structure with marshmallows and toothpicks
  • Build a structure with soaked dry peas and toothpicks
  • Build a structure with fresh peas and toothpicks

Sun-catchers

Ingredients:

  • White Glue
  • Food coloring
  • Toothpicks
  • Plastic lids (Lids from tubs of yogurt, hummus, sour cream etc.)
  • Hole Punch
  • String

Directions:

Step One: Pour a generous amount of glue into one of your plastic lids and swish it around to cover the entire inner surface.

Step Two: Put one or two drops of each color of food coloring around the glue.

Step Three: Take a toothpick to swirl the colors around in the glue. Stop swirling before the colors get too combined or the final result will be muddy and brown. This is an exercise in restraint!

Step Four: Let dry. As the colors settle they will continue to expand and create a tie-dye effect. Depending on how much glue you used, the sun-catcher will take one to three days to fully dry. You will know it’s ready when the edges start to peel off the lid.

Step Five: When fully dry, peel the sun-catcher off the lid, punch a hole through the top, add a string, and hang in a sunny spot.