FEATURE ARTICLE - RAINY DAY BOX - By Audrey Jeanne Roberts

I am ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. A big handle meaning I'm a bundle of crazy, busy energy and that couldn't sit still and concentrate for more than fifteen minutes at a time. Rainy days were torture for both me and my mother. To survive those days, my mother had a "Rainy Day Box." It was beautifully decorated and filled with art supplies that I only got to play with if it was raining. My mom knew I was at heart an artist and that I could sit still and play with those materials for hours at a time. We both enjoyed that box for very different reasons.

There were three secrets involved. The first was that they were different than anything else I had to play with. She didn't have much money to spend, but what filled that box was more than toys -- she filled it with ideas and projects to create. A teacher-in -training, my mom practiced things she would later use in her classroom. She cut out magazine articles with projects appropriate to my age and had the materials ready for me to play with.

The second secret was that no matter how hard I begged for it on a sunny day, and especially no matter how much my mom might have needed me to sit still on a sunny day she resisted the impulse to overuse it. The "Rainy Day Box" only came out when it was wet and gloomy. You know what? I still love rainy, stormy days.

The third secret? She tapped into the core of who I was as a child and fed my deepest interests. Whatever your child's interest, make up a box of things related to that interest and ONLY pull it out on a rainy day. It could be dinosaurs or race cars or archaeology. Find some very special books about the subject. Perhaps find a great video or two about their interest. Add in a related science project, or a few toys and a coloring book -- what ever will capture their imagination and attention. You'll have hours of fun with very little whining!

Audrey Jeanne Roberts
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