Rainy day (and hot day) fun

AUGUST 10, 2011

We veterans of Florida summers know that August has a lot of similarities to January in Chicago. People don't go outside much on some days because of the weather.

We've had a couple of all-rain days lately and we certainly have plenty where it's too hot to think about taking the kids outside for very long. So what do you do for rainy-day fun? We rounded up this list of all the indoor fun zones in the bay area. Skating rinks, bowling alleys, trampoline parks, jump zones, we seem to have a lot.

A check of articles on how to get through snow days gives me some good ideas for hot weather activities:

Play hopscotch indoors. All you need is some masking tape, painters tape or brightly colored packing tape to map out a playing field.
Build a parking lot for your toddler's cars and trucks, add on city streets or a race track too. If the tape gets stuck, use a hairdryer to soften the adhesive to pull it off.
Set up an indoor putt putt golf course throughout the living room, kitchen and bathroom, using little plastic cups placed around the house and secured in place with masking tape or duct tape.
A bucket and a ton of sponges can turn into Florida's version of a snowball fight. My kids actually love to wash the car. It always ends up in a water fight, the good kind.

What are your rainy or too-hot-to-go-outside diversions, readers?

--Sharon Kennedy Wynne

Posted by Sharon Wynne at 7:00:00 am on August 10, 2011 in

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Sharon Kennedy Wynne has sunscreen in her blood. She may have been born in Buffalo but she got here as fast as she could, in time for kindergarten. She grew up in St. Petersburg, graduated from the University of Florida journalism school, and even got married at Sunken Gardens. She's one of the few adults we know who actually loves taking her kids to the beach. She has two sons and with 10 years of parenting under her belt, she's starting to feel a little less out of her league. She comes from a large family and loves to debate, so brace yourself when the hot topics come up.

E-mail Sharon Kennedy Wynne:
wynne@tampabay.com

After six long years of trying to have a baby, Kate Brassfield was finally able to have one. And then, two minutes later, another one. Suddenly the lady who had never been around babies before was juggling two! Just as Kate felt she was getting pretty good with babies, the girls became toddlers, and now Kate is back to Square One, learning about the care and feeding of these strange, wonderful creatures. She spends her days working part-time from home and trying to keep up with the Twinosaurus Wrecks.

E-mail Kate Brassfield:
katedaphne17@gmail.com

Freelance writer Courtney Cairns Pastor wasn’t so sure about having kids and how she would balance child-rearing with her journalism career. It turned out that her journalism training went to good use. As the mom to a funny, active toddler, she learned to handle him like she did her sources. Never ask yes or no questions (the answer will always be no), get him to be specific (are you crying because you’re wet or your tooth hurts?) and be prepared for anything because no two days are the same. When she’s not playing trucks, Courtney crams for her book club, trains for races and occasionally bursts into showtunes. E-mail her at courtneyblogs@gmail.com.

Suzannah DiMarzio has it bad for the Mouse. Although she grew up outside of Boston, she took her degree in tourism management down to Orlando just to work at Disney and the travel industry. Of course, when she married her high school sweetheart, the reception was at Disney. She’s now a seasoned stay-at-home mom to two tweens and a toddler – and yes, that is as crazy as it sounds. Suzannah has her own blog, ZannaLand.com , and she's a member of the Walt Disney World Moms Panel in addition to being addicted to Twitter, iced coffee, and watching way too much Yo, Gabba Gabba.

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