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Health & Fitness

BLOG: Keep Your Kids Busy During Hurricane Sandy

A few ideas for how to pass the time playing with your kids during Hurricane Sandy!

Hurricane Sandy is upon us.  It's beyond nasty outside so you can't take the kids outside to play so what is a mom to do.  Add power outages into the mix and that makes your job 1,000 times more difficult.  Here are a few suggestions to keep you and your kiddos busy having fun while stuck inside. 

Build a fort.  Don't you remember using couch cushions and blankets when you were a kid to build the most awesome forts ever!  Do the same with your kids.  My son is only 1 so I built one for him and he LOVES playing in it, at least until he knocks it down!

Bring your pumpkins inside (quickly) and decorate them with markers, stickers, glue and glitter rather than carving them.  If it is dark, using a sharp knife is NOT a good idea. 

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Play in the tub.  Use the last bit of the hot water you'll have (if your power is out) and get in that last minute bath while you still can.  You can add in a few drops of food coloring to make a colored bath (they can see it if it's light out)... or find a few glow sticks and crack them and toss them into the tub with your kiddos.  Be sure to supervise them as the chemical inside the glow sticks should not be ingested (if you kiddos decide to chew on the glow sticks they can bite through them). 

Hide & Go Seek, wonderful for the older kids.  You can even make it flash light Hide & Go Seek if you are without power and it is dark.  Sardines is a better option if your kids are scared of the dark (this way they'll have company). 

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Sensory Bins, great for the little ones (especially if it is dark).  You can keep your kids occupied with bins full of rice, dried pasta, pumpkin guts (if you carved a pumpkin).  Give them a few spoons or cups and they are set!

Puzzles, another great option if you have older kids.  Make it a family project!  You can work on it while it's light out and then save it for the next day!  Or, continue while it's dark with flashlights. 

Have a great time spending extra time with your kids this week and most importantly, stay safe!

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