Do you ever find yourself knowing that you want to do something, but you just can’t come up with an idea? Add some children into the mix and maybe you want them to do something (so that you can do any of the things you need to do), but you just can’t think of what. Today’s winter ideas jar DIY is to help you sit down and think of a whole list of ideas in one go. That way, when you are desperate you can just pull an idea from the ideas jar and go with it!
The bonus is that you can also control what ideas go into the jar, but if you let the little ones choose from the ideas jar, they may feel like they got to pick.
What you need:
Glass jar
Ice-cream sticks
Paint brush
Craft paint in a selection of colours
Pen or marker
Glitter paint (optional)
Masking tape (optional)
To add a little extra excitement to the ideas jar, paint the inside of the jar with an acrylic glitter paint. This saves the glitter-absolutely-everywhere mess, but still gives it a shimmer. If you want a more glittery effect, allow the paint to dry and then do a second coat. If you can’t find glitter paint, you can always paint a thin layer of glue and then sprinkle glitter into the jar. You just need to be prepared to be sparkly for the rest of the day!
Paint the tips of your sticks in a few different colours. Each colour will become a category. For example, pink is for inside activities, grey for outdoor activities and blue for outings. Then on a rainy day, when you want to stay warm at home, you can simply tell your child to choose a pink stick.
You can categorise activities the way that suits you best and choose activities that are appropriate to your children’s hobbies and ages, but here are some simple examples to help you.
Inside activities
Read
Write a story
Draw
Bake cupcakes
Make pizza
Watch a movie
Make a movie
Make up a dance
Do a makeover (make-up/ hair/ dress-up)
Make play dough
Make paper planes / Origami
Play a board game
Build a puzzle
Make a family tree
Play charades
Clean out clothes or toys to give away
Outdoor activities
Go for a walk
Build a tent
Plant/pick some flowers
Play mini golf in the garden
Play with bubbles
Ride a bicycle
Mini sports day (egg and spoon races, four square, sack races)
Treasure hunt
Fly a kite
Outings
Go to the park
Go for an ice-cream
Go for hot chocolate
Go to the cinema
Go ten pin bowling
Visit a museum
Go to a dance, pottery or cooking class
Have a picnic
Go to an indoor play centre
For a detailed list of activities happening around Cape Town these school holidays, click here.
Happy school holidays!
