A-Mazing Rainy Day Fun!

One of our activities last week over spring break was to take a trip to Dollar Tree. I let the kids each spend a dollar, and of course, my personal budget was whatever I wanted! Logan chose a toy 4-wheeler, and Mia opted to get two boxes of Easter candy, which were on sale 2/$1. My only rule other than they each had just $1 to spend, was that they had to bear with me while I cruised up and down nearly every aisle of the store looking for inspiration for crafts and activities. I found several things that I am sure I will tell you about at some point, but one thing in particular is the subject of this post: a roll of blue painters tape that I acquired from the hardware. Truthfully, I was not previously aware that this store even has a hardware aisle, but I am glad I checked, because there are lots of possibilities there. Anyway, I grabbed this roll of painters tape, although at the time, I wasn't even sure what it would be used for. I just knew it would be handy, and I was right.

The night before last, I had the idea to take the roll of painters tape and make a maze on the floor. This was after the kids had gone to bed, so they were not in my way, waiting impatiently for me to finish! I figured that both kids could enjoy the maze, considering that Mia had a half day at school due to conferences, it was supposed to rain, and I was feeling cruddy with my sinus infection. I decided to use the whole roll of tape, but I don't remember how many yards of tape were on the roll. My maze does actually have openings at both ends, but I don't think it is necessary to design a maze that way for this purpose. I'm a tad bit perfectionistic, so it had to be functional, in my mind. Plus, I tried to make all of the lanes approximately the same width, which again is not really necessary, except in the mind of Meg.

The kids have had fun driving through the lanes or attempted to walk them, in Mia's case. Logan's favorite part of the maze seems to be the "E" shaped parking spots that I constructed. In the end, Logan has enjoyed this far more than his sister, but they point is that it is still being used. In fact, he has been chattering away and driving his vehicles through it for the past 45 minutes or so, which is why I am able to write this post.

{My Little Man is enjoying the painters tape maze!}

Mia was concerned that it will be a problem when it comes time to vacuum. I, however, did not worry over this. We never manage to vacuum more than once a week, excepting extreme disasters, which are out of my control, anyway. The tape is peeling up a bit in places, so it is definitely not permanent, just an amusement to last through the weekend. Maybe.

{Another view of the maze}

No painters tape on hand? I have used masking tape for different games in the past. It's not as colorful, and it takes a bit more effort to remove, but it does work. Also, a couple of weeks ago Logan came up with this awesome idea to make a maze using our wooden blocks. I believe that this is the inspiration for my painters tape maze. I was looking for a way to make it more extensive and harder to move when he is driving his cars and trucks through the maze. Painters tape definitely gets the job done. The downside is that it really is a one-time use material. Fortunately, it only cost $1, which I consider affordable rainy-day fun.

{This block maze was Little Man's brilliant idea! I was just the construction foreman.}