Much of the U.S. is preparing for a winter storm and planning for possible power outages.
That means handling a lot of basic prep: purchasing shelf-stable food items, wrapping pipes, buying gas for the generator, or planning a backup heat option. Families are pulling out the extra blankets and buying batteries for their flashlights.
What about the kids? Are we prepared to keep them comfortable and entertained for a few hours, or, if necessary, for days? Here are a few ideas that may help.
Mad Libs
Mad Libs are the ultimate no-electricity TV substitute. They’re especially great for elementary school kids learning the parts of speech. You can practice nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs while creating a hilarious story personalized to your family.
If you’re not familiar with them, the idea is that there’s a story with some key words missing. One player reads out the kind of word that’s needed (a verb, a food, a color), and others fill it in without knowing the rest of the story — so you might end up with a story about a stinky green dog named John Jacob Jingelheimer Smidt.
You can purchase Mad Libs books or find lots available online, as long as you have a signal and can power your device. Or, you can download PDF versions from the Mad Libs website in advance to print out, or even make up your own.
Cards By Electric Candlelight
If you’re not sure where that old deck of playing cards is, or if you don’t think you have one, now is the time to find it or purchase a new one.
A standard deck is great for Go Fish, War, Crazy 8s, and Memory, among others. Or, you can pick up an Uno deck, or some of the more unique games, like Exploding Kittens, Monopoly Deal, or Apples to Apples.
To play with the lights off, utilize battery-powered electric candles. They’re safer than the real thing (no flames near the cards!), and some can last hundreds of hours. Since they’re usually sold in multi-packs, each card player can have their own (and a kid can take one along for light when heading to the bathroom or bed).
Charge The Power Banks
Before the power goes out, charge up your (and your kids’) devices, plus any available backup power banks. Sure, those of us who grew up in the 80s and 90s know that it’s perfectly possible to survive a power outage without devices (to be fair, back then the Gameboy ran on replaceable batteries), but they’re still nice to have.
Preparing the phones and Nintendo Switches with a full charge will give the kids something they can do under a blanket in relative peace (well, depending on your kids’ gaming habits, anyway) and keep things a little more routine, especially if you stick close to your usual screen time rules.
A backup charge for a cell phone also lets you check in on family and friends and make sure everyone else is okay, too.
Books
Okay, maybe this is the nostalgia speaking, but when I was a kid, one of the most important things to do before a hurricane was head to the library and stock up. Until I made it to chapter books and could get through the storm with just a few, we’d take the wagon and pick out the maximum books allowed.
A paper book is one thing that still works when the power goes out, and it’s so supremely portable that your kid can use it under his blanket, in the kitchen, and even in the car. (Note: if you’re running a car engine for warming up and charging batteries, please be sure the tailpipe is clear of snow and other debris, and do not run it in a closed garage.)
Glow Stick Hide & Seek
Glow sticks are utterly amazing. They’re cheap, low-tech, and kids love them.
Most dollar stores have packages of a dozen or more of the bracelet style for just a dollar or two, and often you can find specialty ones, like crowns, wands, and swords for a couple of dollars each.
Kids love these all the time, and a power outage means there’s darkness during the day to play with them. With minimal organization, you can shift them from simple wearing and waving to an actual game.
Each kid wears a glow bracelet or necklace or carries a glow stick, and they play hide-and-seek in the dark. It’s as simple as that, and the glow sticks give enough light to see where they’re going and prevent trips and bumps.
Shadow Puppets
If your youngest kids haven’t been introduced to shadow puppets yet, now is the time.
A fist with two fingers up makes a bunny, and two hands together can make a bird or butterfly. Drama 4 Kids has a guide to many more animals you can make!
Use a flashlight or your electric candles, and cast your shadows on a wall, or hang a sheet over the back of a couch to make a screen.
You’ll be surprised how long your kids can stay entertained with simple shadow-making games, not only with you, but even after you get tired and step away.
Pillow Fort
Build a fort with pillows and blankets. Your kids can hang out inside and read books, play with plush toys, or tell spooky stories.
You can’t tuck the ends of blankets between couch cushions or hang a blanket over a couple of kitchen chairs. Weight them down with heavy books or other objects, and make sure that it’s stable and safe!
Add more blankets and pillows inside to create a cozy nest.
Use flashlights or electric candles for lighting. No real flame candles in a blanket fort, please!
There’s a bonus: inside a blanket fort, your kid will likely feel warmer and cozier than outside it, especially if your heat relies on electricity and the house is a bit cooler than usual.
Puppet Show
Bring out the puppets, or let your kids make their own from paper bags or socks.
Use a box with a rectangular cutout for a stage, or hang a sheet over a string between two chairs. You can even use the back of the couch for a stage, if your kids can duck down behind it.
Now ,encourage them to act out some of the classic stories they know best: Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and The Three Little Pigs.
Then they can branch out to make up their own stories, using characters they love from their favorite television shows or characters they create themselves.
Light Shows & Glow Play
It’s time to pull out everything your kids own that glows or lights up. The glow-in-the-dark pajamas, the projector that covers the wall and ceiling with stars, and the flashlights with filters that shine different characters or shapes on the wall will all come into play.
If you have a projector with a rechargeable battery, make sure it’s charged before the power outage is expected, so your kids can use it in their blanket fort or in their bedroom to combat the darkness.
Glow-in-the-dark and light-up toys can be fun in the dark and provide a little comfort when moving around the house, such as to the bathroom.
Bring Out The Sensory Bin
A bin full of Kinetic sand, pebbles, glitter, and other tiny things that are fun to feel can bring just as much joy in dim light as with the power on.
Your kid can still shape and sift the sand, and can enjoy moving items around and using a combination of sight and feel to identify them.
Since it may be harder to keep the materials close in the dark, you can spread a sheet on the floor for your child to sit on with the bin, which will make it easier to clean up any spilled contents later, when you can see.
Adapt The Sensory Mystery Game
Collect a variety of items with different shapes and textures. They could include a clean dish sponge, some marbles, a small plush toy, a checker, an eraser, clay, an unused toothbrush, a pebble, and other items you find around the house.
Remember the old party game, where these would go on a tray and be covered with a sheet? You’d feel the items and write down as many as you could identify. After every person had a turn, the person who identified the most would be the winner.
Now try it in the dark. Place the items in a box or in a pillowcase, and let your child feel the items and guess what they are.
Aside from entertaining your child, this also reminds and reassures them that they can use other senses besides sight to explore their world.