Engage kids in 'true play' on wintry days

Staging the puppet show is fun, too. Kids love to make tickets and programs and decide what drinks to serve at intermission. Dim the lights and have one child with a flashlight serve as the lighting technician, spotlighting characters. Recruit another for special effects; he or she can play dramatic music, make background sounds like footsteps or rain, or just shake beans in a can when extra noise is called for.

Putting on the show can even teach kids more than stagecraft, said Blickenstaff. "The puppets have conflict, and they work through them," she said. "It's a safe place to practice solving problems before you try them out on the playground, with real people."

Terri Bigelow, a teacher at the Washington Elementary School in Boise, doesn't mind a mess as long as it's contained. For little kids, she likes to fill a washtub with rice — which is cheap in bulk — and let the children play there with measuring cups and spoons.

"You can find out how many teaspoons are in the cup," said Bigelow, who is partial to games that incorporate reading, writing or math. "They'll play with it for hours, because it's hands-on."

Bigelow also permits the transformation of her clean kitchen counter into a writing pad with shaving cream or pudding. The kids write with their fingers, then erase what they wrote and try something else.

It's easy to whip up some homemade play dough using supplies that are probably in your cupboard. There are dozens of recipes on the Internet, and most use flour, water, cream of tartar, and salt in one combination or another. Kids love to use the mixer, and this is a perfect way to let them do it — after making the dough, divide it and let them mix in food coloring.

Tea parties are still a hit with kids. Dorothy Miller, a grandmother in Twin Falls, Idaho, always puts one on when her granddaughters or other children are visiting. Miller has a silver tea service and a large assortment of china and teaspoons she's collected over the years. She lets each child pick out a cup and spoon, lights candles, and serves small cookies or tiny sandwiches cut in squares or triangles. For some reason, she says, this setting seems to encourage tea-party behavior.

"They have their little pinkies up in the air. They like to pour, and they just have a grand time, and their manners are just impeccable," said Miller. "It has a special spell to it."