Hurricane Igor & My "Rainy Day Kit"

So.... how did you make out in the hurricane? We did pretty well, I think: no damage to our house, only a power outage for 17 hrs yesterday and the occasional short-lived outage today. A house down the road lost some siding, and a friend lost his satellite and his shed, while another lost his fence and his snowblower blew into another yard(!!), so I know we were lucky!

During the hurricane, my boys occupied themselves with our "Rainy Day Kit". It is an orange fabric bin I picked up for only a couple of dollars at the dollar store and I keep little projects in it for them. While they do have an "every day" craft/colour bin, this one is for rainy/stormy days home from school, or while we are on vacation. As such, it gets re-stocked once a year, right before we go camping.... that way, if we are caught inside due to weather, they have a bag o'fun right at their fingertips!

Here is the bin:

The wooden sides allow it to stay open easily for them, so they can poke through things easily. And, because it stands upright without tipping over, it transports easily in the trailer as well. The pockets on the front give them a place to stash scissors, paintbrushes, glue, etc.

Inside, we keep it stocked with "busy projects". Here are just some of the things we have in our Kit right now:

We have foam craft sheets, craft sticks, pipe-cleaners and a bead kit. For items like these, I find it most convenient to keep them in zip-lock bags to keep the Kit from getting too unruly.

I also keep plaster/clay "statues" the children can paint, glider kits, paint-by-number kits, paper airplane kits, wooden model kits and an extra selection of stickers, paints, glitter glue and wooden or magnetic pictures to colour.  My boys also like those foam "grow in water" capsules.

Of course, you could also keep crayons, markers, construction paper, etc. in your kit. For girls, a jewelry kit would be nice too! And, the Kit needn't be expensive - visit your dollar store for craft items, or check out the selection of craft/model kits available at Michael's for only $1.50.

I always have fun stocking our kit, and believe me, it comes in handy on days like yesterday!