It's Raining, It's Pouring the Kids YELL its boring!

By The Oracle

August 2023

They keep saying Singapore has no seasons, well, the end August and all of September except the one day for the F1 are usually rainy. This year with Covid restrictions and Dengue being so prevalent, we are ready to help you out with some ideas to keep the kiddos entertained during the rain:

1. Indoor Play – Get a tonne of bedsheets out, set up chairs to help make tents, have a picnic in the front room or even splash out and get a mini projector and add some popcorn – indoor cinema! The indoor “camping theme” is always a winner in our house. 

(A – Can we get a photo of indoor cinema or camping?)

2. Homemade crafts are always a winner and take a loooooong time with toddlers. Last week we made our own slime. Its very difficult to find Boric Acid or Borax here in Singapore, or perhaps I’m not looking in the right places so instead we used contact lens solution which worked a treat!! 

Recipe here:

- 1. Elmers Glue – available from Art Friend as always. This is the only glue we ever use for decent consistency slime:

- 2. 1- 2 Tablespoon of Contact Lens solution – I use Renu as that contains boric acid but cannot comment on other solutions: 

- 3. A pinch or ½ teaspoon of Baking Soda:

- 4. Added glitter or colouring for optional effect but beware the consistency change of using liquid colouring. This will make the slime more “slim-ey”

WARNING as always- kids have sensitive skin so be careful especially with children, wear gloves and only let adults handle all the ingredients. As with any crafts always wash hands before and after use. If you notice any skin irritation discontinue use immediately. 

3. Magazine Art – Let them practice their cutting skills and shred/ cut up some left over magazines for recycled art work. Mosaic artwork will keep them occupied for at least an hour and costs nothing bar a few prit – sticks!

4. Get ALL the toy figurines out and set up your own little town with cars, dolls, malls and parks. Get a Redmart box or two break it down and literally grab a sharpie and start drawing and creating your own little town. 

5. Invest in a disco – ball. Seriously… Slam some tunes on switch off the lights and have a dance- a- thon. Glo- sticks optional. We actually have a disco once a month and dress up…. Just to make sure we are ready to hit the Clubs again once they open!

6. Set up an indoor treasure hunt with hidden clues and “treasure”. Obviously depending on the age of your kids, “treasure” can mean very different things. Ours consists of 20 cents SHINY SILVER coins. Don’t hide chocolate as it may not be found for a few days and when it does, will be a melted ant covered mess!

7. Old school board games – Imagine! These have taken a real resurgence in popularity of late. We just bought a classic “Operation” game where you have to operate to remove the patients bones before hitting the buzzer. A perfect time to introduce your kids to the board games we loved as kids. During Circuit breaker, we learn chess, drafts for the younger kids, Connect 4, Monopoly, soooo many games I wouldn’t ever have thought about before CB! 

[ A – can we get a photo of a classic game like Operation?);

8. Not quite “inside” but just suck it up and head out to experience a “cooler” Singapore when rainy. Stick on the wellies, grab an umbrella and go on a rain “ hunt” – who can find the best puddles and who can identify all the animals that come out when its raining and how cool Singapore looks when its cooler. We usually collect some leaves or sticks to carry home. Its actually really peaceful out as most people are inside (and dry).

9. Pretend to be at a spa – have the full set up prepared! From the bath robe set out and candles on (far away, out of reach and high obviously) and the “guest” can pay with “vouchers” to have a head rub to chilled out beats or spa music! Optional back or foot massage or nail painting. Kid friendly polishes can be bought in advance. We do a full “session” of nail clipping, nail painting, some nail “art”.. ahem.. followed by a head massage. Perfect in the crazy hour before bedtime as a proper wind down activity.

10. Shadow “Drama” – we create our own characters in cardboard, add a stick, set up a sheet and one lamp enough to create some cool shadows and sit back and set the kids make up their own stories. Gin is good optional for Mama at this point as the stories will no doubt take a loooooong time but marvel at little Jimmy’s imagination!! 😊