April showers, May showers… here in the Ohio Valley, there is always a possibility for rain. Can you say cabin fever? While I only have one, 8 months old of my own, I do daycare for a 2 year old, 4 year old, and occasionally a 6 year old. Things can become hectic in a small living room for those 8 hours while their parents are at work. I searched pinterest and every other mommy blog  I know, looking for fun activities. I needed creative ideas that weren’t *too* messy. I’ve rounded up my favorites.

1. Cloud Dough: 9 cups of flour, 1.25 cups of baby oil. Seriously, so easy. If you put in  a large enough container, the mess should pretty much stay in the container. Throw in some cups and other toys that might be fun for molding.

2. I got the pipe cleaners and the beads from the dollar store. A small investment for a lot of fun. The girls especially loved this activitiy, [in fact, I think they could have done it all day] but even their brother liked grabbing at the green pipe cleaners and blue beads!

3. This activity was free. Dried black beans, people! A great way for little ones to practice their fine motor skills. Give them a couple containers and a spoon; have the kids move the beans from container to container… I didn’t expect the kids to like this, and to be honest, the older 2 weren’t into it. But the 2 year old could do this for days!

4. Another easy, cheap, and yet totally cool activity! In a ziplock bag, put a cup of rice, a drop of food coloring, and a few squirts of hand sanitizer. Shake, the bag up, and then spread the rice out on a baking sheet or paper towel and allow to dry. The color will stay on the rice! I did this 3 or 4 times with different colors. Once they were all dry I mixed them together. Like the moon sand, put in a long shallow container for some sort with cups and other toys that they can scoop with.

Kids love different sensory items and all the activities involve different textures. They are cheap, easy, DIY’s that are sure to make for some fun to break up with cold winter days. Enjoy!