Surviving the winter when the kids are stuck indoors on weekends can be a challenge. With a winter storm expected this weekend and freezing temperatures we are definitely spending more time indoors. In some ways it’s wonderful, but at the same time our cozy house isn’t meant for hanging out all together ALL weekend long so I’m constantly looking for ways to keep the kids occupied. In addition we have a variety of outings,sports practices, and occasional travel over the winter. With 4 kids we can’t always divide and conquer so we need to occasionally resort to screens to keep the kids occupied as well.
Whether at home or on the go I have a variety of tricks up my sleeve including arts and crafts, games, and toys however, I’ll be the first to admit that screentime often comes into play. One of the kids’ favorite things to do on screens is watching YouTube videos. We can even watch videos on our TV!
The kids can’t just hop on YouTube and hunt for what they want to find, so it’s much easier if we work together to create playlists on YouTube. This gives them a little freedom (though they watch them in the room with us) and we can create playlists specific to each kid and their interests.
One of our favorite channels is the LEGO channel on YouTube. With over 500 videos (and more added daily) we created playlists of our own, and often use the LEGO ® playlists as well. Creating a LEGO ® playlist is easy, and since they have everything from cartoons to tutorials there is something for everyone.
What’s even better is this is the kind of screentime I can get behind because the kids inevitably hop off the videos and start building something new. With our crazy collection this is a GOOD thing.
While they love to build the sets as directed it’s inevitable that they will pull apart what they created and make something new as evidenced by this photo.
Since my youngest is obsessed with LEGO’s Chima line we created a playlist together that includes some of his favorite ads, tutorials, and the designers talking about the toys. He dreams of designing toys so hearing the set designers share more about the sets is right up his alley.
Here’s the playlist he created, you can also view it here if you can’t see the embedded video.
You can help your kids create their own playlists by following these simple instructions:
1. Go to LEGO’s YouTube Channel.
2. Click Video Options under the video and add to your playlist. You can also create one if you don’t have one already.
3. Log in to YouTube.
4. Add videos.
5. Have fun watching your playlist!
Custom playlists are an easy way to build something special for your kids to keep them busy and entertain them and they can be accessed anywhere you go with a mobile device!
How do you keep you survive the winter months?
Kelly
Disclosure: Thank you to LEGO and Technorati for being sponsors. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.
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