29 Days of Play: February

5. Watch a movie together. No distractions.

6. Bake valentines cookies or cupcakes, and let the kids do all the decorating!

7. Have an extra-special and playful bath time.  Here are some ideas.

8. Participate in 14 acts of love leading up to Valentine’s Day.

9. Buy a new board game and have a game night! Here are some board game ideas.

10. Have a photo shoot. Include a silliest face contest for extra giggles.

11. Play “don’t let it touch the ground” with balloons. Everyone gather around in a circle and try to keep the balloon from falling to the ground.

12.  While you have the balloons out, how about a game of balloon tennis?

13. Play a pretend game, such as doctor, grocery store, or astronauts.

14. Lava floor! Put some pillows or cushions on the floor. You have to make it across the room on the cushions without stepping in the “lava.”

15. Instead of just reading a bedtime story, act it out. Be Goldilocks or the big bad wolf.

16. Make Popsicle or craft stick puzzles.

17. Do a craft, like this cute tree of hearts.

18. Have a dress-up party and see what kind of silly costumes your kids can come up with.

19.  Make a band. Use whatever you can find to make noise with, and put on a show.

20. Bundle up if you need to and head to the park for a little while, or take a nature walk.

21. Plan a pajama party. Everyone get in your pajamas early, order a pizza, and play a game or watch a movie.

22. Play hot potato.

23. Make homemade slushies together.

1 package of unsweetened Kool-Aid drink mix, any flavor
2 cups of water
1/2 – 3/4 cup sugar
4 cups ice

In a blender, combine Kool-Aid, water and sugar. Blend. Add all the ice and blend. That’s it! 

Or go for smoothies for a healthier option.

24. Let your child pick today’s play activity. 

25. Make homemade moon sand with 4 cups of flour and 1/2 cup of baby oil. It’s messy, but kids love it!

26. Have a toy hunt. This game can be played indoors or outdoors, but we usually save it for a rainy day. Give a child a large basket and have her gather all of her plastic toy dinosaurs. Once she is convinced that she has them all, count them according to size (e.g., 11 large, 8 medium and 7 small). Then send the child into another room, close the door and have her stay there until called (older kids can count for themselves to 50 or 100 – enough time to hide the toys). While the child is behind closed doors, hide all the dinosaurs around the house in plain view. Once they are all hidden, give the child the basket and send her off on her dinosaur hunt. When she thinks she has found them all, she has to count them again to be sure. It generally takes anywhere from 20-45 minutes to find and recount them all. You could certainly use stuffed animals or some other favorite set of toys.

27. Create snacklaces.  Thread cheerios, fruit loops, or pretzels onto yarn or string.

28. Make a bird feeder. Take an empty toilet paper tube and spread peanut butter all round the outside edge of the tube. Roll the peanut butter tube in bird seed. Cut a piece of yarn that is about 12 inches long. Attach it to each end of the tube to make a way to hang the tube onto a tree. Watch for the birds to come!

29. Print this leap year coloring page for your kid to color.