Here are some of our family's favorite things to do on cold, rainy days!

• Build miniature clay villages or clay people. We use large rubbermaid lids turned upside down on top of a table and leave projects out for days, adding to them as inspiration strikes! The children have so far created parks, campgrounds, a Mexican village, Western towns, etc.

Fabric crayons or fabric paints --decorate T-shirts or pillowcases, etc. Decorate t-shirts with the name of your homeschool or one of your favorite Bible verses!

Build log cabins, etc. out of toothpicks and glue.

Use your video camera (or borrow one!) to make your own funny commercials, news shows, or movie spoofs.

Or record your own educational video sharing what you've learned in different areas!

Make family goals and create a banner to reflect this year's goals. Hang it in your kitchen or family room as a reminder. (Perhaps it will even be a scripture such as Psalm 19:14: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.")

Try some new recipes! Have a few days of totally new menus, let each family member choose a new recipe to try.

Make homemade doughnuts.

Have an old-fashioned taffy-pull.

Pop popcorn, roast marshmallows, bake apples and tell "add-on" stories around the fire or kitchen table!

Create a family newspaper and send copies to all your friends and relatives.

Create a family cookbook with all your relatives' favorite recipes, send copies to all your family.

Explore the books about hobbies in your library and try something new!

Make a family tree to hang up in your family room.

"If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?" Research it!

"If you could live any period in history, when would you live?" Research it!

What are some of the things that have been invented in the last ten years? Twenty years?, etc. Find out about how they were invented.

Get creative! What would YOU like to invent?

Pick a decade from the past and learn what it would be like to live during that period of time.

Create your own time line and stretch it across the family room--use butcher paper and markers!

Create a newspaper about a certain period in history-- research what it would have been like to live back then and write news stories, advertisements and draw illustrations to reflect that period.

Research the history of your hometown, visit the genealogy section of your library to read old newspapers and books.

Choose a famous person in history (or a relative or friend!) and write a mini-biography of him or her.

Learn about missionaries in different places and study their lives.

Become pen-pals with missionary families overseas, support them with your prayers and send them "care packages".

Learn something new in science! Have a family science fair! Each member of the family chooses a scientific topic to research and shares his or her findings with the others.

"What do you want to be when you grow up, dear?" Let the kids research different jobs and the requirements necessary!

Make a "Blessing Box" by decorating a box and filling it with Scripture promises so that you can pull out one scripture at a time. Give them as gifts for grandma or nursing home residents or for friends in the hospital.

Have an indoor picnic or plan a party for no reason at all!

Have a "cowboy" night with food and music of a Western theme.

Plan a "talent show" (or an "untalent show" ) and let everyone sing songs, recite poems, put on a funny skit, share Bible verses, etc.

Write someone you haven't heard from in years or give them a call.

Have an indoor treasure hunt, hiding clues all over the house for the children to find the hidden treasure.

Draw colorful, cheerful pictures and add scriptures, then deliver them with some homemade bread, cookies or muffins to someone who needs cheering up.

Ask the Lord for an opportunity to minister to someone outside your family--then prepare for it by praying and getting His Word into your hearts!

Boredom shouldn't be a problem for God's children--our Heavenly Father is so creative and delights in blessing us with ideas and opportunities to learn and grow in Him every single day of our lives--in sunshine and in rain, and warm weather and in cold!