Cures for Cabin Fever

The forecast this week includes buckets and buckets of rain. When the weather outside is frightful, inside playtime can be delightful! Here are some ways to use your furniture and the space in garage.

1. Cushion Mountain – Pile couch cushions and pillows in the middle of the living room and climb the mountain.

2. Pillow Path – Arrange pillows or cushions in a path spaced a bit apart. Jump from pillow to pillow. How else can you move your body down the path? Towels also make excellent paths.

3. Chair train/bus – line up a column of kitchen and/or dining room chairs. Your child “drives” and dolls and stuffed animals are the passengers. Don’t forget the road trip tunes from your favorite Kindermusik CD.

4. Table Hideout – Remove all of the chairs from around the table. Drape a large bed sheet over the table creating walls. Play “peek-a-boo” with the sheet, crawl in and out, and/or have your child set up toys, pillows, and books to personalize their hideout.

5. Garage Gym – Move the cars out of the garage and use the space for riding, running, dancing, and more. Roll, bounce, and toss balls onto targets. They don’t need to be fancy, just tape a piece of paper to the wall. Make a “Tricky Trail” on the floor with masking tape. Walk the trail, run the trail, leap, skip, jump, and gallop down the trail.

(Masking tape trails work in other rooms too. They’re great roads for all those little cars and trains.) Turn the garage into an imaginary park, train station, or whatever you imagination dreams up. Bring a CD player out to the garage so you can move to the music.

-posted by Miss Anita, who had a wonderful under-the-table hideout when she was growing up!