February Snowy Day Indoor Sports
Playing Outdoor Sports Inside When There's No School
Make two outdoor activities "do-able" indoors.
What do you do when it is snowing horizontally - literally - and the kids are home from school? The first snow day is usually fun, since it's the first one. The second snow day is OK, as long as they can go outside and play. But when you get to the fourth or more snow day for the season, WHAT can you do to keep the kids from being bored? And how do you keep your sanity?
There are several easy things to do when the February snow and wind cancels school - again. They don't take any money, just a little creativity. Take and make something normally done outside, doable inside. Like putt putt golf. A little creativity will go a long way to staving off the boredoms.
Putt Putt Golf
Set up an indoor putt putt golf course throughout the living room, kitchen and bathroom. Use little plastic cups as the holes and place around the house. Take duct tape or masking tape to secure the cups open side down on the floor. Place the cups at least ten feet apart so the kids have to work to make the shots a little.
Make your indoor golf course tricky! Create fake water hazards with blue construction paper and sand traps out of brown paper. You can even use green paper and make rough areas where they get a penalty stroke.
Finish out your course by adding flags. Using red paper, cut triangular flags and draw numbers on them. Tape on the wall or object above the "hole." Create little scorecards for the kids to carry around with them as the go from hole to hole. They can use their own golf clubs or a kitchen broom if they don't have clubs. If you are really artistic, make a pseudo trophy to hand out to the winner. Call it your "Windoor Golf Tourney".
Hockey
Hockey can be played indoors very easily. The room you use needs to have a length of twelve to twenty feet long. Near both ends of the room, use masking tape, painter's tape or duct tape to make a goal line. The goal line should be two to three feet across the end.
As your puck, ball up newspaper and smush it flat, then tape over it to keep it together. Other puck options would be an empty, washed tuna can. Whatever you choose as your puck, make sure it is light weight, so as to not break lamps, windows or other glass objects.
For hockey sticks, you can use real or miniature sized hockey sticks. Any stick will work well, such as a dowel, broomstick or even a golf club! Drop the puck in the center of your rink and let the game begin! To add ambiance, feel free to open the windows and let the cold air blow in!
Either outdoor turned indoor sport will be fun for the kids to play. If they don't like these two ideas, see what they can some up with on their own. Kids always rise to the challenge.
