BONUS TIPS: 5 Rainy-Day Activities

The next time bad weather or a canceled play-date changes plans, try one of these Mac-based projects.

1. Produce a Stop-Motion Movie

Snap still digital shots of your kids acting out a story, load them onto your Mac and into iPhoto, then launch iMovie HD and start a new project. Click Photos, then uncheck the Ken Burns Effect and slide the hare-and-tortoise slider (clip duration) all the way to the left so the duration field reads 0:03. Select Last Roll from the pop-up menu above the photo browser to display your images, press Command-A to select all, and then drag your pics into the timeline. Click the Play button to see a rough cut of your animation in action.

2. Build Your Own Animal Menagerie
More of a collection of printable graphics than a software app, FORM Wild ($24 each or $100 for all 5 sets, www.formwild.com) lets you and your kids print and create multidimensional animal figures. Once they're printed, cut out, and pieced together, your kids can establish their own personal zoo.

3. Mess Around with Photoshop Filters
If you've ever wasted an hour here and there applying crazy filters and effects to your photos in Adobe Photoshop ($649, www.adobe.com), there's a good chance the activity will provide just as much entertainment for your kids. Just show them where the Filter menu is in Photoshop, open a few images, and let them have at it. Try loading a variety of conversion Actions too. (In the Actions palette, click the tiny right-facing arrow and select Load Actions.) Check out a host of free actions at www.atncentral.com. You'll find free and commercial filters at www.photoshop-filters.com.

4. Goof Off with Photo Booth
There are enough wacky effects in Photo Booth - which requires an iSight camera or other webcam - to amuse kids of all ages (including adults). With Photo Booth open and the camera on, just click the 1 or the 2 button next to Effects and select the one you want before snapping a photo.

Goofing around with Photo Booth's funky filters can fill a few minutes to a few hours, depending on your kids' attention span.

5. Design Your Family Website
iWeb has some frustrating limits for Web pros, but it works well for the rest of us. You can keep your family's site away from the ogling masses by requiring a password: Select your site in iWeb's Site Organize, open the Site Inspector, and click the Password tab. Check the Make My Published Site Private tab and enter a username and password.