NEW YORK CITY — With the city's kids at home for a snow day today, we’ve compiled some suggestions that will help to keep you sane while keeping them entertained, stimulated or at least quiet for awhile.
1. Cook Together
You’re stuck inside but you still have to eat, right? A snow day is the perfect time to teach your kids to cook. Here are five staples kids (and you) can learn to make. Need further encouragement? Watch this inspiring TED talk that English chef and food evangelist Jamie Oliver delivered in 2010 about the importance of teaching children to cook.
- Tomato sauce — Master a simple pasta sauce and you’ll never go hungry.
- Soup — Cold weather is soup weather. Life With the Crusts Cut Off has compiled 25 kid-friendly soup recipes to get you started. Making soup is simple; start with onions and garlic, add beans or chicken and you're on you're way.
- Roasted chicken is very easy to cook with the advantage of leaving lots of leftovers for sandwiches and salad. Roast some veggies at the same time.
- Smoothies are simple to make and can hide healthy but unpalatable foods kids often avoid.
2. Make Playdough
While you’re in the kitchen, you could make some Playdough. Her View From Home has six different recipes to get you started.
3. Make a Mini Spa or Do a Fashion Shoot
Transform a warm corner at home into a day spa. Grab your mani-pedi supplies, paint toes and give each other facials. Dig out your Halloween costumes and prepare for your own fashion shoot.
4. Teach Your Kids Classic Card Games
Card games can help the hours fly by, even for the very young. They’re also useful for helping kids with counting, taking turns and planning. Go Fish, Crazy Eights and Old Maid are easy to learn. Now, where is that deck of cards?
5. Go Sledding
Being stuck at home from school does not necessarily mean stuck inside. Once officials open the parks, go sledding. Here’s our roundup of the coolest sledding spots in the 5 boroughs.
Sculpt animals in the snow (using these incredible sculptures as inspiration), freeze soap bubbles or make snow graffiti.
6. Chill Out with a Movie
Got Netflix? Here’s a quick list of my 7-year-old son’s fave films currently screening.
- Martin Scorsese’s stylish 2011 film Hugo stars Ben Kingsley and Sacha Baron Cohen.
- The original 1941 Disney film Dumbo is still a crowd pleaser.
- The Spy Kids movies are great fun and all are now showing on Netflix.
- Recent release Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 is harmless fun.
- The 1998 animated classic Antz.
- Goofy claymation classic Chicken Run.