Whether it rains,
snows,
sleets or blows
Let the sun
shine inside
Get the
best
of the
weather!
Our rich variety of days, weeks and seasons
creates a patchwork of sunny bright times, light
snowy times — and cloud-filled rain times. And
when the weather is its worst, the children depend
most on the cheerful climate you create inside your
home. In gloomy weather, a little bit of the gloom
may try to creep inside. But before any storm clouds
gather, look to this list . . . and proceed to do some
thing about the weather! A project to change the
day’s direction — and maybe turn it best of all!
If it’s a Snowy or Rainy Day
•Anticipate the sunny days ahead. Now’s the
time to oversee the kite-building, if your children
plan to fly kites later. It’s time to think about a
party . . . and making your own invitations (and a
good time to plan every detail, including what to
eat, what to do). Start a new geranium plant . . .
what about all the little things you’ve been thinking
about doing — for how long, now?
•Tackle the dresser drawers or closets. Chil
dren are fascinated with what’s inside boxes and
attics. You’ll undoubtedly find something you want
to discard. Guess who will think it’s a treasure!
•Let the children bake cookies. Here’s a recipe
you can start the day before or early in the morn
ing. When the dough is thoroughly chilled, the
youngsters can roll and shape it — and decorate to
their heart’s content. Set out the raisins, chocolate
morsels, nuts, confectioners’ sugar and any cake dec
orations you have on hand — and let the children
use their imaginations!
OLD-FASHIONED PEPPARKAKOR
3 Vi cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon soda
11i teaspoons ginger
I Vi teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
Va teaspoon ground cardamom
Vi cup butter
W cup sugar
1 unbeaten egg
Va cup light molasses
2 teaspoons grated orange rind
Sift the flour, soda and spices together. Cream
the butter, gradually adding sugar. Add the un
beaten egg, molasses and orange rind. Beat well.
Stir in the dry ingredients gradually, mixing until
well blended. Cover and chill thoroughly. (If de
sired, dough may be stored up to 1 week and baked
as needed).
Before shaping, divide the dough into three
parts. Roll out one-third, at a time, storing the rest
in the refrigerator. Roll on well-floured surface to
1b-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with
cookie cutters or pastry wheel. Place on greased
baking sheets. Bake in moderate (375°) oven 8 to
10 minutes.
Before all the cookies get eaten by the cooks,
organize a reason for saving them. Will they be
dad’s surprise for supper? Mailed to someone in
the service? Frozen for a coming holiday? They’ll
be delicious any time!
•Make some clay for the children to play with.
Salt and starch are all you need to make a sparkly,
home-made “clay” for modeling. Recipe: 1 cup salt
and 'A cup cornstarch, mixed in the top of a double
boiler. Slowly stir in Hi cup cold water (and a drop
of food coloring if you wish). Place over boiling
water. Stir until mixture is so thick you can hardly
get the spoon through it. Scoop it onto waxed paper
or a cookie sheet to cool.
When cool, it’s ready to knead and roll into
shapes. (To save part of the mixture, wrap it tightly
in wax paper. It will stay moist and pliable for sev
eral days). To shape: experiment with turning
simple shapes — difFerent-sized balls, oblongs and
strips — into animals, fishes or birds. For finishing
touches: have spoons, forks, knives, an orange
stick handy. For easy clean-up: put newspapers un
der the whole project.
"Crayon scratchboard — a new twist when the
coloring books get dull. All sorts of colors are
crayoned on a piece of paper. Then black crayon
is rubbed thickly over the whole area. Pictures are
made by scratching parts of the black off, to expose
the colors underneath. A blunt fingernail file is a
good “scratcher.”
"Write letters. The children can help the oldest,
or you, write a news-filled letter to a far-away mem
ber of the family. Ask everyone to remember what
has happened that will be fun to tell, and let each
one sena a special message of his own.
•Suggest a new game for the children to play.
“Hide the Thimble” is nice and quiet — and fits any
room in the house. The players hide a thimble
while “it” is outside the room. The thimble must
be in plain sight, but can be unusually placed to
fool the eye. Suggestions for hiding: next to the leg
of a chair; atop a picture frame or lamp; just inside
the door “it” will enter. If the game gets difficult,
players can tell “it” if he’s “warm (near the object)
or “cold” (very far away).
“Hot Potato” is a noisier game that gets faster
and faster, louder and sillier. It’s wonderful for
letting off energy! The players group in a loose
circle, as if to play catch with a ball. Instead, they
sit down and roll the ball between them. The ball
is treated as if it were a “hot potato” and everyone
tries to swat it away from himself — at another per
son. Watch them play, and you’ll begin to think it's
a real hot potato!
IF IT'S A MEASLES, MUMPS OR
SORE THROAT DAY
When one of winter’s illnesses comes visiting and
you have a grumpy child at home in bed, there arc
ways to give extra care and comfort to your child,
without exhausting you. Rules: be kind but firm.
Let the child know you expect certain responsi
bilities, too. Then set up a daily routine of bore
dom breakers. Remember, giving him something to
think about and something to look forward to is as
stimulating as the best game — and less tiring. The
extra benefit: you spend more time with your child,
less time running back and forth at random.
•For a wide-awake morning: a spongebath and
mild exercise before breakfast. Exercises can range
from the funny (rolling your eyes and wiggling your
fingers) to in-bed sit-ups. You be the supervisor,
counting the exercises and keeping them mild.
After breakfast, let morning be the time for school
work and reading.
•For lunch: serve hearty soup, crackers and an
assortment of fresh vegetables cut into small shapes.
Aided with toothpicks, youngsters can make faces
or animals from crackers and carrots, radishes, celery
or raisins. The wonderful part of this “game” is that
it fascinates vounger children — and they’ll be more
apt to eat these nutritious foods.
•After lunch: read to him. Each day read a
chapter from a good children’s novel. If the illness
is over before the book is finished, the child has in
centive to read for himself. Or read from a book
he is currently reading.
•Special for any time: an inexpensive little note
book that becomes his “progress report”. It’s his
diary during the illness . . . and his daily duty to
keep up to date.
•When you hear someone say “I’m bored,” bring
out one of these ideas: Water coloring. (Do you
have a vase or bowl of fruit for a “model?”)
Learn to play solitaire. Here’s an easy variation:
the cards are laid faoe-up in 7 over-lapping rows
that form a pyramid. The top row consists of 1 card,
partially covered by the second row of 2 cards, then
a third row of 3 cards, and so on to the bottom row
of 7 cards. The object is to pick up all the cards
by combining any two that equal the number 13
(5 and 8 for instance). The king counts 13 (and
can be removed by itself); the queen 12, jack 11,
ace 1. Only the cards at tne bottom of the pyramid
can be played. When no cards can be removed, the
ones left over in the deck are turned up one at a
time, to be combined with cards in the "pyramid.”
Play almanac (for fifth graders or older). The
almanac, or a good dictionary, becomes a reference
for a game of memory. As a starter, how many
states can one list from memory? And their capitals?
From here, one can go on to naming American
rivers, South American countries and their capitols,
U.S. Presidents (in order!).