Some days life is busy and you need to slow things down but your kids don’t seem to get the hint. They’re bouncing off the walls, running around the house, and laughing at the top of their lungs just being kids. On those days a calming activity to slow things down is just what they need. Here are a few calming ideas.
Play a game or do a puzzle
Our family is big on games. It can get intense at times so when I need a calming game I’ll choose something like Connect 4 where everyone needs to sit down to play it and they have to think about their strategy. So instead of it being a high-energy game we’ll all slow down and take our time to figure out our next move! Other days we’ll do a puzzle together. Since we’re all working together it’s easier the boys are less likely to get wound up while doing it. Just like the games, we choose this is more of a mental challenge which means slowing down!
Read a Book Together
We read books most nights together. The boys enjoy it and could stay up all night reading if I let them. We usually don’t read during the day but when I need a break we’ll go into my room and all read together. Some days I’ll read to them out loud while other days they’ll look through books themselves. Blake has become a great reader so some days we’ll gather around him while he reads!
Watch a Movie You Loved
Blake has become interested in what things were like when we were growing up. So on days, I need a break but still want to connect with the boys. I’ll show them a movie that we enjoyed when we were growing up. They have a lot of options on Netflix and if I can’t find the exact one I’ll show them the newer version. Or if it’s a movie that we really love we bought a few of them. One movie that became a family favorite was the Sandlot. Blake used to be obsessed with recreating the scenes. A lot of the things that were popular when we were growing up are now new again!
Travel Activities
Travel activities are great when you want your kids to sit still. They have tons of unique activities that you can buy. I like the Melissa and Doug travel activities. They have tons of fun things to do! One of our favorites is Water Wow. It’s a brush you fill with water and paint over pictures. It turns colors and reveals pictures when you paint over it! All three of the boys loved this activity. After they’re it becomes a picture search. It will say things such as find 5 fish. I love that you’re able to talk about the pictures and work on numbers at the same time.
Threading Beads
I recently bought a bead kit off Amazon. It had a bunch of different color beads along with letter beads. I thought it would be perfect for a range of activities, and it is! One of the easiest activities is making bracelets. The boys can do this for a longer period of time. It’s one of their favorite activities. The younger boys use pipe cleaners to thread the beads. The pipe cleaners are stiffer which makes it easier for them to thread. They can do this independently or we can do this together. I’ll make my own or we’ll make patterns with the different beads. In the end, they’re proud of the creations they make. In a few days when they’re done wearing it, I take it apart and we can reuse the beads again!
Baths
My kids love playing with water and they don’t have baths often so when they do they love it! I’ve seen a bunch of different fun baths to do. From popsicle baths (you let your kids eat a popsicle while they take a bath), color baths (add food color to the bath or themed color toys), and glow stick baths (you throw in some glow sticks to their bath). By letting them take a bath you have them contained and it usually helps to reset/calm everyone down!
These simple calm activities are perfect for when you need calm your kids down!