Rainy days and chilly mornings can put a damper on your weekend plans with your kids. While ideally, we’d like to get our kids outdoors, moving around, and stimulated at least once per day at daycare, weather, even here in south Florida, sometimes puts the kibosh on our day, and we know many parents feel at a loss for what to do when inclement weather strikes when kids are at home. Our ten rainy day activities will have your kids getting active, creative, or just plain snuggly at home!
- Baking. Showing your kids how to measure out ingredients and mix different items in a bowl is an excellent learning activity and will give them a sense of accomplishment, especially as they watch their loaf of bread rise or a pie come out of the oven!
- Dress-up Boxes. Take a couple of capes, some fabulous dresses, fake mustaches, wigs, and silly boas or sunglasses, and keep them hidden away in a box. When bad weather strikes, surprise your kids with a crazy dress-up day!
- Popcorn and Movies. Sometimes, a little togetherness and downtime is exactly the right thing on a dreary day. Turn on your kids’ favorite movies, or a few new ones you know they’ll love, pop some popcorn or a few other healthy snacks, and get cozy under a warm blanket for a movie marathon.
- Arts and Crafts Boxes. Ask your preschool or daycare teachers which arts and crafts activities your kids love the most, and buy the requisite supplies. Presenting your kids with their favorite arts and crafts activities on a rainy Saturday will keep them busy for hours.
- Indoor Picnic or Beach Day. Were your outdoor plans foiled by the weather? Lay out your picnic blanket on the living room floor, and fill a picnic basket with goodies. In more of a beachy mood? Put out a beach blanket, get everyone’s swimsuits and sunglasses out, and serve lemonade while lounging around the house.
- Balloon Games. Get your kids moving with balloon ping pong! Use your kitchen table as a ping pong table, and let the games begin. You can even run a piece of string across the living room for balloon volleyball.
- Photo Challenge. This is like a scavenger hunt, only you’re sending your kids off to snap photos of hard to find items around the house. Hand them cards instructing them to take a picture of “something green” or “something silly”. Don’t want to hand off your iPhone? Disposable cameras can be purchased at Amazon, and your local drugstore can develop the pics in an hour.
- Trivia, Kid-Style. Write up a batch of questions on index cards that ask your kids to remember trivia that hits close to home, like the name of the dog next door, their Dad’s favorite sandwich, or their sibling’s birthday.
- Wardrobe Makeover. OK, you don’t need to makeover your kids’ existing clothing, but if you keep a spare stash of white tees, you can decorate them with buttons, ribbons, and fabric paint, for a new and creative wardrobe piece.
- Party Games. Who says that Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Musical Chairs, and Duck, Duck, Goose are only for parties?
What are your favorite foul weather activities with the kids? Let us know in the comment section!