At DadsTalkCommunity I always have one common theme: creativity. Today’s post gives you an idea, how my wife’s and my creative brains get going to come up with some good ideas. This helps us a lot to keep balance and avoid arguments before they can start.
I don’t know how it is in your place, but we’re expecting another rainy, cold weekend. So, before we’ll get too depressive about it (which normally is ending in having too much chocolate), I would like to share three AWESOME rainy-days-things-to do with your kids. So, let’s get going:
1. Do Something New – Have You Heard Of Finger Knitting?
Well, me neither, before my 6-year-old explored it. He basically made a doll’s scarf in one afternoon. But the project isn’t finished yet. Now he wants to sew it into a hat for his doll.
The great thing: It’s soooo easy to learn (did I tell you that I hate doing crafts? Well, I could change my mind, slowly).
Wanna find out how to do it? Watch the easy version here (YouTube) but it will be in German (hey, you could just learn German while you knit, seriously you’ll be fine, even without a hint of German), or just type “Finger Knitting” into the search engine of your choice and get your scarf ready by Christmas; only two months to go.
2. Bake Bread
Do you know how much money you spend on buying bread? Yep, far too much. 
Turn it into a fun activity and let your kids burn off their energy by kneading the dough.
Here is our simple, yummy recipe:
600g Spelt Flour
400ml Water
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 Tablespoon Quick Yeast
Some Salt
Splashes of Olive Oil
Mix the flour with the yeast and salt. In a separate bowl dissolve the honey in a mix of 400ml lukewarm water. Mix it all together, adding splashes of olive oil and then have the kneading party! 10 min minimum. Let the dough rise for about half an hour and then bake it at 180C
for about 45 minutes. Now the best bit: After the loaf has cooled down a bit, EAT IT!
3. Wood, Hammer & Nails
How simple and awesome is that? Let your kids collect some sticks, bark and wood and introduce the simple concept of creating.
My eldest spent a whole rainy afternoon in our shed banging nails into a piece of wood. After hours of hard work (and still all fingers in the same place), he showed us his results. To us it looked like a beautiful piece of art (some stinking rich would probably pay Thousands for it) – it was and still is unique and we have found a good place for it in the house.
So, hope you feel inspired and motivated. Get going and enjoy your weekend and if you like, tell me what you did or made!
dadstalkblog.wordpress.com 
Hi Torsten,
These are some great ideas 🙂
My son always loves to help ‘fix’ things. Even at such a young age he can manage most tools (with supervision of course), and I always try to include him in doing odd jobs around the house. He loves making stuff.
I love the idea about making bread. A few years ago I felt I need to learn a bit about making bread. It’s such a lovely activity. I always get my son to knead the dough. He loves it. We make small animals or other figures from the dough as we go along.
With the rainy weather this weekend I took out some water colours and some clay. It kept us occupied for a good few hours. My son seemed exceptionally impressed by the fact that I could draw or paint a helicopter or digger (just like in his books) 🙂
Thanks for the ideas.
Best Wishes
Gerhard
http://www.familiality.abft.co.uk
Hi Gerhard, thank you for the feedback! Yes, you’re so right, we need sometimes just the simple things, like clay, some paint, or simple tools, to get our creativity going.
I really believe in keeping things simple. Not only to save money, but to show what you can achieve with natural tools and objects. It’s also great when my kids actually see me enjoying these activities (like painting or fixing something). This way they feel even more motivated and encouraged to give it go.
And, when it comes to bread making, the whole family will benefit from it, as – in the end – you’ll enjoy a yummy, fresh loaf of bread! 🙂 Life is great!