When Kids Get Stir-Crazy, This Simple Activity Will Have Them Begging to Play Independently

It’s negative eight degrees here today.

Negative eight.

I didn’t even know that it could get that cold.

And yet, here I am, staring out my back window at the blanket of snow in my backyard wishing it would warm up just a little bit more.

You see, the thing is… My kids are driving me batty.

First, we all had the cold. All of us.

It hit my littlest one, then my son, then my other son, then my husband, and then me.

We were all down for the count.

Once we all started feeling better, we were ready to get out of the house, get some fresh air, get some movement, only to find out that it is below freezing outside.

That means that no matter how much we bundle up, how many layers we put on, the tips of our noses and the edges of our eyelashes start to burn within mere seconds outside.

What that also means is that on the inside of my house, we’re held captive. We are stuck inside.

Stuck Inside With the Kids? Try This One Simple Trick to Stay Sane!

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We’ve played all our board games. We’ve read our library of books. We’ve drawn. We’ve painted. We’ve even made slime, lots of it, but we all have cabin fever.

My kids are arguing more, and my patience is nil, so I find myself listening to my kids in the living room, wrestle and fight and argue, while staring out my back window pretending I see the warm sun and the green grass and the fresh air of the spring.

We’ve got months of this.

We live in a really cold place. This isn’t going anywhere.

I have to find a solution because if I have to hear, “He touched me,” one more time, I swear, I’m going to grab my box wine and a glass, and I’m going to go hide underneath the stairs and tell everyone they can come get me when the weather warms up outside.

But until, then… until the skies part and everything warms up and my kids magically have this place to run and get all their energy out… until then, I’m going to rely on my friend Jamie.

You see Jamie is the expert when it comes to getting your kids active inside.

Anytime I start to see the kids get all riled up, or I’m thinking what can I possibly do when stuck inside with my kids without having to make slime one more time, I call up my good friend Jamie, and I say, “Help. Tell me what to do.”

And every single time, she gives me the simplest, easiest thing that I can set up for my kids to do, and every single time it works.

Just yesterday, my kids were arguing again, fighting over the smallest things.

I had done all my tricks, pulled out all my magic-ness.

Nothing was working.

Then I Found How to Stay Sane While Stuck Inside…

So, called up my good friend Jamie, and she told me that all I needed was a roll of tape.

Yes. A roll of tape.

All right. I have that. So off to the craft room I went.

I went through everything, tearing the room apart until I came out victorious with one roll of craft tape.

By now, my kids had thought I had gone a little batty, which if I’m being honest, I was starting to.

“But Mom, what are you doing?”

“Just wait. Just watch.”

Schrrrrrr. That’s the sound of me pulling the tape.

About as wide as my arms can pull, tearing off a strip, bending down on the ground, and placing a line on the ground. Now, all three kids are over my shoulder.

“Mom, what are you doing? Why are you putting tape on the ground?”

“Shh. Just watch.”

Schrrrrrr

I pull another strip of tape and carefully place it on the ground.

Now, all three children are in tow, behind me, quietly watching as I’m laying these strips of tapes around my house on the wood floors.

They are not arguing. They are not pushing. They are not jumping on the furniture.

They are watching in awe and wonderment, wondering what has happened to their mother.

After a few minutes, I stood back, the roll of tape in my hand, and I watched.

As my kids followed the lines, tip toe, tip toe, jump, jump.

I didn’t have to tell them what to do. They figured it out.

They figured out that we had made a totally unique obstacle course out of a roll of craft tape.

It was magical, and it held their attention for 30 to 45 minutes without a single argument or frustration.

They took turns, one by one, seeing how fast they could do the obstacle course, weaving in and out, and then that’s when the real magic happened.

Schrrrrrr

I hear from the other room the sound of tape being pulled as wide as my son’s arms could reach.

He was making his own obstacle course for all the other kids to go through.

This went on the entire rest of the day, and I did not have to hide under the stairs with my box of wine and my glass.

Instead, I got to enjoy my children. I got to make memories with them, and they got to enjoy each other.

That right there, that is why Jamie is my new hero, and she is full of tips and tricks like this.

In fact, she’s starting a brand new Stuck Indoor, Get Your Kids Active Challenge perfect for when you’re stuck inside with cold weather!

And the best part, it is F-R-E-E. Yes, free.

And let me tell you, this stuck inside mama definitely needs free right now.

By the end of this challenge, you’ll work off some of that crazy amount of energy your kids have and create memories and connections with your kids that will last a lifetime.

But, here’s the genius part — she does this without it being ‘work’ for the kids or you! There are fun 7 days of activities that engage your child, get them to put down their iPads and get all that cooped up energy OUT. Plus, her activities use basic supplies that you’ll have on hand (she’ll send you a supply list too to check).

I’ve done these challenges she provides in the past, and they are such a simple way to keep your child busy and entertained — and stop all the fighting and whining. I’m super excited to do this Get Active Inside Challenge this January.

How do you sign up for this Get Active Inside Activity Challenge?

1. Click here and enter your email address.
2. You’ll get a supply list from Jamie right away just to make sure you’re ready to go by the 14th.

It’s seriously that simple! And I, for one, can’t wait to get some new simple activities in my toolbox for this long, long, long winter!