Ways to Beat the Boredom Blues: Pretend Play and Pirates

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The days are getting shorter and the temps are getting cooler here in MN and once again we are facing a potentially crappy winter.

As parents, we all need to get adept at creating inventive ways to keep our ~~little wild raccoons~~ kids busy during those months when being outside for long periods of time are just not possible. It’s easy to rely on “devices” and the “boob tube” (TV) to entertain our kids (been there, done that) buy I also think the effort needs to be made to keep things creative and imagination-filled no matter what age your kids are.

Pirate play seems to be a perennial fav among kids of all ages and it’s amazing how easy it can be to create some pirate fun for not a lot of dough.

Turn your House into a Pirate Ship! I seriously find the best stuff at the Nurture Store. They had the motherload of pirate ideas in this post including how to create your own in-house pirate ship!

Ahoy Ye Scurvy Dog! (I’ve always wanted to say that within a blog post!) Friend and client Jump Into a Book has a simply amaze-balls FREE guide called the Treasure Island Day Adventure that includes indoor (and outdoor) activities, crafts, fun facts and even foods to cook to keep your little scalliwags busy for hours. Here’s one of my favs from the guide:

Eye Patch

Being on a ship at sea with a bunch of rogues had its downsides. Most pirates

didn’t have an eye patch, but those whose eyes got maimed in a fight were

covered with an eye patch.

Supplies:

One piece of self-adhesive black foam board

Download Eye Patch Pattern

Elastic cord

Cut two eye patches, using the pattern, out of foam board