15 Rainy Day Activities for Preschoolers

Good Wednesday morning!

The Gallery Pics are a few more BLAST photos left over from this past weekend. Believe it or not, I have about 40 more (very similar to what I have already shown you). Chicks LOVE having their picture taken!

As promised, I'm re-posting yet another camping story. Feel free to skip ahead if you've read it before. (I'll have a new story to share next week, I am sure!)

Where, Oh Where, Are All the Campers?

We eventually tried an out-of-state camping trip with the family we usually camped with. Roxie was three or four, so she was along for this one. We went to a campground in the beautiful state of Tennessee known for it's hiking trails, waterfalls and beautiful foliage. The pictures on the brochure were lovely, picturesque even, and we looked forward to spending a fall weekend in the great state of Tennessee.

When we arrived, we were surprised to see the "set-up" of the campground. There was a huge circle and campers set up tents and pop-ups under trees as you went around the circle. In the middle of the huge circle, across a grassy field, was the BATHHOUSE. There were no trees in between the tent and the BATHHOUSE, but it was still quite a little hike. However, the campsites were great. Picnic tables intact, fire pits ready to go, level spots to pitch the tents. We were excited.

As the guys got busy with unloading, Roxie, the other mom and I made our way to the BATHHOUSE to check it out. Oh, my! "Rustic" is a kind word to describe the facilities. Very kind.

"Well, maybe there's another bathhouse we can drive to and use," we reasoned. There was... and in comparison, it was a twin. Hmmm!

"Did you bring flip flops?" we both asked. We had, so once again, we decided to trade in the beautiful scenery and great weather for a less than perfect bathhouse. (MUCH less than perfect!)

The first night of our trip was peaceful and relaxing. The weather was great and after our trek to the Bathhouse in the Middle of Nowhere, we bedded down. We had planned on hiking to a waterfall the next day, so we knew we needed our rest.

The following day was gorgeous, and after breakfast we set out on our hike to the famous waterfall. On this hike, we had to go across a swinging bridge (always interesting), through creeks, and up the famous Tennessee mountains. When I say up, I mean up the entire way. We hiked forever... and then we hiked some more. Roxie and Grant (both three or four at the time) were troopers and thankfully, did not ask us to carry them. That would have been very difficult. Several hours later (or maybe just 90 minutes), we came upon the waterfall. Yes, it was beautiful. We looked at it for about five minutes.

Then we noticed how many people were with us looking at the waterfall. We hadn't hiked up the mountain with all these people. They weren't hot and sweaty. Some of the women even had on make-up and their hair was done. Some of them had the nerve to be wearing cute shoes, too! Who were these people? Where had they come from? Why were they looking at OUR waterfall?

So I asked, "Did you hike up here?"

"Uh, no. We drove," was the smug reply.

"What do you mean you drove?" I asked.

"There's a main road right over there." I turned around and there it was. A perfectly good paved road.

"Where did you come from?" I inquired.

"Oh, we're staying in a RV down at the campground," Miss Priss answered before she walked back to her BMW!

Before she could get back into her car, I yelled, "How long a drive is it from the campground?"

"About five minutes give or take a minute," she called over her shoulder, and then she was gone.

"I think I hate her," I mumbled to Mikie.

He assured me that 90 minutes up a mountain would translate into 30 minutes going down the mountain. That made sense. And at this point, hot, sticky and more than a little grumpy, what was 30 more minutes.

Down we went, and 60 minutes later (NOT 30), we were back at our campsite. We stayed in our little cluster of tents for the rest of the day hydrating ourselves.

On Sunday, we decided to just hang around our campsites and play which was fine with the six kids. But we started noticing something strange around the noon hour. It was like an exodus of some kind. Everyone was leaving.

"Well, just because Alabama has a three-day weekend doesn't mean Tennessee has a three-day weekend. Everyone has to go back to school and work tomorrow," Mikie reasoned.

That was fine, except by 2:00 p.m. we were IT. I mean NO ONE was left in the huge circular campsite. It was like we had been dropped off by a helicopter in the wilderness.

"Do we have a gun or a knife or a big stick or something in case there's a wild bear attack or a bunch of hillbillies descend upon us," I asked Mike.

"I have my pocket knife, and we have those plastic knives you bring to spread peanut butter," was my husband's reassuring answer.

"This could be a very long night."

And it was. Just the last walk to the bathhouse alone was unnerving because someone (one of the people leaving... probably Miss Priss) had turned all the bathhouse lights off before heading out, and we walked across a field in pitch blackness looking for the building. And, of course, when we found it, it hadn't changed a bit... still very gross.

We went to bed a little early, and I think the four adults slept with one eye open. (I was, again, unable to pass out and painfully aware of how vulnerable we were in the middle of nowhere with no communication or weaponry of any kind... unless you count throwing screaming children at whatever is attacking you as "weaponry.")

I have never been so happy to see the sun in all my life. We ate breakfast and packed up our campsite in record time to head home. Think, think, think of the Good Things from this trip.

Good Thing #1 - Roxie and Grant were WONDERFUL hikers. If they had been even a little less sturdy, it would have been the end of the adults as we took turns carrying them up to the top of the mountain.

Good Thing #2 - The waterfall was pretty... not Niagara, but pretty, just the same.

Good Thing #3 - We weren't bitten by any of the spiders in the bathhouse... and there were a lot of spiders in the bathhouse.

Good Thing #4 - We weren't attacked by any bears or hillbillies. I think this is huge.

Good Thing #5 - That's it. Once again, I did the best I could to come up with Good Things #1 through #4.

And for some reason or another, we have never even discussed camping in Tennessee again. I'm not sure, but I think it was the bathhouse. I may forget dates and events, but a bad bathhouse... that's burned on a woman's brain forever!

DISCLAIMER - If you are a hillbilly (or are related to a hillbilly), I meant no offense by the reference above. I'm just saying if a hillbilly had happened to come out of the woods in the dead of night in Tennessee in an abandoned campground, it would have been very, very frightening. (In all fairness, it would be frightening in Alabama and Georgia, too.) Again, no offense.

Wednesday Wisdom - Bobby Bowden was interviewed on the Rick and Bubba Show yesterday, and he was very entertaining. For some reason, I like "coach" quotes. They can be so inspiring, don't you think? And I love the way the quotes can often apply to life in general.

“He doesn't know the meaning of the word fear, but then again he doesn't know the meaning of most words." Bobby Bowden (I just thought this one was funny.)

"If somebody mistreats you, treat ’em good. That kills ’em." Bobby Bowden (See. A "life in general" quote.)

"The thing that I'm the most proud of is that we never stopped working. We were patient. We never saw anybody get rattled." Gene Chizik (It's too late for me, but this would be a nice way to be described by others, wouldn't it? The parts about patience and never getting rattled do not apply to the Enchanting Belinda!)

"Size is definitely overrated. Speed is the great equalizer." Gene Chizik (If this is applicable to "life in general," I'm in a lot of trouble.)

"There are two pains in life. There is the pain of discipline and the pain of disappointment. If you can handle the pain of discipline, then you'll never have to deal with the pain of disappointment." Nick Saban (I think this is a great football quote, but not necessarily a "life in general" quote.)

Can you tell I live in a house FULL of football fans?

15 Rainy Day Activities for Preschoolers

Ahhh. While I love gray, rainy, blustery days, I well remember the days with two or three preschoolers and toddlers playing inside. It can be a lot of fun... or it can be a disaster.

I'm going to share 15 FUN, EASY and AFFORDABLE indoor activities for your little ones on days just like today!

1. Fill a large plastic bin with different shaped dry pastas, dry beans and rice. Give them cups and "sand" toys and you have a rainy day alternative to the sandbox. NOTE - Spread a sheet under the bin. The spills can be gathered up in the sheet and poured back into the bin.

2. Have several books on tape from the library.

3. Make a book of favorite animals, trees, bugs, etc. You can use color sheets, stickers or cut pictures from old magazines. Use glue sticks to mat the pictures on pieces of construction paper to make a "Puppy Book," "Butterfly Book," "Beach Book," etc.

4. Set up an obstacle course in the living room or the basement using chairs with pillows over them (kids crawl under), different things to make circles they can step in with different feet, a jump rope and a mini-trampoline.

5. Have an indoor "snowball" fight. Divide into teams. Give each team a stack of newspapers. When you yell go, have them wad up the sheets of newspaper into "snowballs" and throw them at each other. Great fun! For clean-up, see who can gather the most balls into a trash bag!

6. Use large dry beans (limas, etc.) and school glue and let the kids glue beans onto heavy paper or old folders. You can dribble out a line of glue in the shape of something fun (car, snowman, house, etc.) and then let them press the beans onto the glue line.

7. Let the kids paint on large sheets of aluminum foil.

8. Make and send a card to someone who needs encouragement. Pray for that person before you mail the card.

9. Finger paint with chocolate pudding on a paper plate. Then lick the plate clean.

10. Bake cookies or a cake for Daddy's dessert.

11. If you have a fireplace, have a hotdog roast and make s'mores.

12. Have a picnic inside on the floor.

13. Give them a wide roll of masking tape and let them make "roads" for Matchbox cars.

14. Put some water in the tub or sink (plus a little blue food coloring), and let the kids play with their dinosaurs or plastic animals. (Or they can float boats.)

15. Let them wash dishes in the sink. Use warm, soapy water, some plastic bowls and cups and let them stand on a chair and play.

Have a wonderful Wednesday! I already have a date planned and Blog Linkage ready to post first thing Thursday morning. I'll also re-post another camping story since that is definitely where we're headed sometime next week!

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda