Atlanta weather loves a surprise thunderstorm. When the kids are stuck inside, these games need little more than what’s already in your house, and they’re the kind of thing a good babysitter pulls out of their back pocket.
1. Indoor scavenger hunt
Make a list: something red, something soft, something that starts with “B”. Little kids can hunt with pictures instead of words.
2. Build a blanket fort
Chairs, blankets and pillows. Once it’s built, it becomes a reading nook, a spaceship or a castle.
3. Freeze dance
Play music, dance like crazy, and freeze when it stops. Great for burning off energy on a day when you can’t go outside.
4. Make-up-a-story circle
One person starts a story with one sentence, and everyone adds the next line. It gets silly fast, and that’s the point.
5. Floor is lava
Pillows and couch cushions become islands. Get from one side of the room to the other without touching the “lava.”
6. Paper airplane contest
Fold, fly, measure. Whose goes farthest? Whose does the best loop? Older kids can test which design works best, which is a little science experiment in disguise.
7. Invent a board game
Grab paper and markers and design your own: a path, some squares, silly rules (“land on a star, do a dance”). Kids love playing a game they made.
8. Restaurant (or store) pretend play
One person is the chef, one is the customer. Write menus, take orders and “cook” with toy food or real snacks.
Eloise brings her own box of toys and games, and she’s always making up new ones. She babysits kids ages 2–11 in Decatur and Avondale Estates. Request a date.