rainy day modifications

The boys and I were disappointed at the rainy weather today -- we had planned on attending the Homeschooling Day at Old Sturbridge Village, in Sturbridge MA (which is as cool a place as it sounds!), but changed our plans mid-morning when we caught a glimpse at the dismal forecast. We also had to change a lot of other things, as our typical daily rhythms revolve around a lot of time outdoors, and, given that these guys' sensory issues don't let them enjoy the outdoors when it's rainy (much to my chagrin, because I rather like a drizzly day), I have to make a few modifications when it's wet out.

For instance, in the first photo, I had to find a substitute for our morning bike ride, something that got the kids up and moving (and, as Beth Sutton, founder of Enki Education, would say "awakens breath and body"). So I broke out a pair of jump ropes I was saving for just such an occasion from my "secret closet". (There's all sorts of tricks stashed in there, stay tuned for more indoor exercise ideas as the winter approaches!)

A substitute for their normal outdoor playtime, I put in a music CD (21 Really Cool Songs, by the Sugar Beats -- basically kid-friendly versions of 1960s, 70s and 80s hits) and they danced around the living room like mad. They also lip-synced performances for each other (better than whats-her-name's recent performance, I assure you!), let some stuffed animals perform and dance to a couple of the songs, and did an acrobatic act to one of the songs.

Zoo Boy sunk into his creative playtime session with some animal figurines. Meanwhile, J chose to draw on his magnadoodle instead (I took a photo of what he drew, which was a little beyond my ability to understand, actually -- I'll post about it separately at another time. Sometimes I wish I could crawl inside his brain to see how it works....). Both boys spent some time pretending they were the animals Zoo Boy was playing with.


For Afternoon Adventures today, I broke out the play-doh, and after an hour or so of fun with that, we baked a nutritional cake (which, silly me, I didn't think to get a photo of the baking activity OR the powdery mess the kids became in the process!). Given my kids' self-limited diets, I like to make sure our baking has lots of "extras" inside. For cake, I take a basic yellow cake mix (the only kind of cake they'll eat) and add 1/2 cup of rice protein powder, 3 TBSP of ground flax seed, and an extra egg (or I use double-yolked eggs, which I happened to have a couple of today). I also add a tiny bit more oil and water to make up for the extra powdered ingredients. Since Zoo Boy won't eat frosting anyway (crazy kid!), we leave the cake unfrosted, and spread a little canned frosting on for J before we serve it.

After cleaning up from our baking adventure, the kids share a seat while reading a picture-book version of our curriculum story from last week. A really cool thing, they were telling The Map Man about this week's story last night, thus giving us proof that they are comprehending at least some of what we're doing, which is just awesome.

On the docket for this evening will be "crazy indoor Daddy games". I couldn't describe them if I wanted to, but it will involve The Map Man and the boys tearing through the house after each other, exhausting everyone in the process (me included, although I'll disappear out into the dreary evening to work before things get too revved up). By the time we get to Family Story Time and bedtime, the kids will be as worn out and ready for sleep as if they'd been playing outdoors all day as usual.