Believe me, I know your pain and will assure you...you WILL leave your house one day. Snow does melt and your kids will be able to run free and wild again. But in the meantime, here are a few suggestions to keep kids busy with stuff you (more than likely) have around your house.
Popcorn Painting
Microwave popcorn
Evaporated Milk (could try sweetened condensed milk for a unique flavor. I haven't tried just plain milk).
Food coloring
Paintbrush
Pop popcorn
Mix several colors of food coloring in the different bowls of milk to give your little ones a nice palette.
Begin painting.
This will make the popcorn a bit soggy, but the point is to eat popcorn, right? You'll have plenty of non painted to go around!
Bubble Painting
Water
Dishwashing detergent (I find Joy works best for crafts)
Straw
White Paper (construction works best, but typing paper is find, too)
Bowls
Tempera paint (could use food coloring, but color won't be as bold. Tempera paint can be found at Hobby Lobby, Wal-Mart of any crafty place.
Add water, paint and a few drops of detergent. Mix with straw.
Have child blow into straw until bubbles begin overflowing bowl. Drop paper on bubbles for a few seconds, then set aside to dry. Once the bubbles pop, they will leave beautiful designs on the paper to make cards, etc. (grandmas especially love this one).
Warning: THIS WILL GET MESSY!
Ice Cube Painting
Water
Ice Cube Trays
Popsicle Sticks
Paper
Food Coloring (optional)
Mix tempera paint with water and put in freezer. After about 30 minutes, add a popsicle stick to use for a handle later.
One cube is frozen, give child white paper, their frozen paintbrush and let them have at it.
Optional: While you're making ice cubes, you can make a few with food coloring of the primary colors. It's fun to place two cubes of differing colors in a bowl and let your child see what happens as they melt. This is a fun way to teach colors and what mixes with what to make green, purple and orange.
What Is Black?
Black magic marker (NOT permanent)
Coffee filter
Spray bottle of water
Draw a thick line down the center of the coffee filter. Use the rain or spray the coffee filter with water until the color starts to run. Kids will be amazed at the colors that appear from black. Most kids don't realize black is really a combination of many different colors.
Then you can make a butterfly...Butterfly
Coffee filter
Markers
Spray bottle filled with water
Clothes pins
Black pipe cleaner
Have kids color the coffee filter with many different designs. Use the rain or spray the coffee filter with water until the colors start to run and a new design emerges. After the filter dries, attach to a clothespin and add the black pipe cleaner to make antennae.
Homemade Play Dough
This is a favorite activity because it's cheap, and keeps kids occupied for a long time and you can have a good math discussion about measurements. Cooking is all about science, and playdough is a good introduction to the concepts of solids, liquids, mixtures and solutions.
1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar (I've deleted this, and it still works)
1 cup water (get this as warm as possible)
1 tsp. veg. oil
Mix the dry ingredients - one suggestion from my friend Fancy That is to add a package of dry kool-aid. This adds great color and scent!
Mix water and oil together (ha!) then add them to the dry ingredients and stir. You can add pinches of flour and dabs of water until you get the right consistency. This will stay useable for about 2 weeks if sealed in an airtight container.
Oil and Water Don't Mix
This is a fun activity that bring in science. You'll need water, food coloring, oil, a clear cup/glass and a toothpick.
Fill cup about 1/2 full with water (another talk about measurements).
Pour vegetable oil on top. Watch as the oil and water begin to separate and the oil goes to the top. Give child a spoon to try and stir them together. Talk about why they don't mix (oil weighs less and floats to the top, and the for older students, water has a positive and negative charge, while oil has no charge and therefore don't bond. You can demonstrate charge by rubbing a balloon on carpet).
Continue adding oil until you have a good discernible layer at least a 1/2 inch.
Add a few drops of food coloring (it should suspend within the oil).
After everything has settled for a bit, poke the food coloring through the oil down to the water - pretty! Don't mix or shake, allow the food colored water the move slowly in the water creating patterns.
This was kind of fun revisiting my old rainy (snowy) day projects. May pull out some more next week!
