Cabin fever? How about rain fever? Nothing is worse than when the kids are bored with their toys, it's done nothing but rain all week and they're just halfway through their holidays! Here are some suggestions of things to do to keep them occupied and happy.
Bug hunt
You can search for bugs in ponds, gardens, paths, in the soil or even grass. You will find all kinds of bugs, some you have never seen before!!
Distort a picture
Get two different pictures but the same size. Cut the pictures into strips with about 1 cm width. Get a piece of paper about as big as your pictures and stick the strips of your picture on alternately or whilst you're doing that you can slide the strips up and down to make a really weird and wacky picture.
Make your own treasure hunt
The treasure found could be some sweets or a little present. The treasure needs to be hidden somewhere in the house, preferably where it cannot be found by accident, and the clues hidden throughout the house, each one explaining in the form of a riddle where the next clue can be found - "in front of the ticker" would be a simple way of saying it's in front of the clock for example, or "where the cat sat" meaning under the doormat. One clue leads to the other until the final clue reveals the location of the prize. Beware of clues leading to valuable or delicate items or clues that could be misread as leading to such items or out of bounds places.
Face painting
You can get face paints from most stationary shops. You can make up your own designs or find copy designs from characters in books or on tv.
Have a worm count
Beat the ground by either stamping on it or by banging another heavy object onto it. The idea is that when the worms come out, you count them. If no worms come out put a bit of water on the ground you are stamping on. Don't forget to put them back once you've counted them.
Sponge Painting
Draw a shape on a sponge and cut the shape out of the sponge. Dip the sponge into the paint. Dab the wet sponge onto the paper and there you have your sponge painting. This will keep the kids quiet for quite some time, but don't forget to put old news paper underneath the paint other wise you will have a lot of mess!
Make a Door Plaque
Cut the card to what ever size is required. Get the kids to draw whatever they want on the card remembering to write the name required on to the card. Stick to the door with the sticky fixers or sellotape.