Rainy Day Activities

Rainy Day Activities

  1. Indoor Scavenger Hunt. Give each child a list or make teams. Adapt the list for little ones by drawing pictures rather than written words.
  2. Treasure Hunt. This requires some prep work the night before. Hide clues around the house for your children to find (adjust difficulty according to ages of children) and direct them to an ‘X’ that marks the treasure. Maybe it’s buried under a pile of blankets or towels in the linen closet. The prize can be a new puzzle, game or treat.
  3. Baking/ Cooking. Who doesn’t love an activity that includes eating raw dough and baked goodies. It’s also a good opportunity to practice some math skills! Allow your children to plan the day’s meals, get them to help prepare a meal, try a new recipe or a family favourite.
  4. Play Dough. Make your own, it’s like combining kitchen fun and playtime together. There are also recipes out there for edible play dough.
  5. Indoor Sandbox. Fill a plastic container, box or cooking pan with rice or oatmeal and include some funnels, scoops, mini trucks etc..
  6. Board Games & Card Games.
  7. Crafts, crafts and more crafts. There are tons of kid’s craft websites out there.
  8. Re-introduction. Haul out some old toys/games that have been tucked away in the basement or closet. It’s like seeing an old friend!
  9. A Star is Born. Give your children a microphone, instruments and songs to pick out of a hat for a talent show or give them a costume box for them to put on a play.
  10. Project Runway. Open the doors to YOUR closet and get your children to put on a Fashion Show, grown-up style.
  11. Active Reading. Read a book together and then get each person to act out a character from the book.
  12. Mini Sports. Clear away the furniture and set up some garbage cans and use a foam ball for basketball or balloons for keep-away. Have the children play on their knees for added difficulty.
  13. Baby you can drive my car. Go for a drive but let your children decide the route by taking turns choosing whether to turn left, right or straight and see where you end up.
  14. Field Trip. Rainy days are a great time to visit your local museum, art gallery, bowling alley, indoor amusement park, or indoor pool. If you don’t have a membership, call and ask about free trial classes, drop-in fees or call a hotel to see if they have day rates.
  15. Build a fort. Use pillows, blankets, chairs, cardboard boxes etc to build an obstacle course or a fort. We also like Crazy Forts and Cranium's Super Fort.
  16. Gymnastics. Pile up some blankets to serve as mats for tumbling and rolling. Have children put on a gymnastics routine
  17. Paper airplanes. There are many websites with folding instructions and make targets on the wall to aim at or see whose goes the furthest.
  18. Shipbuilding. Build boats and try them in the bathtub. Or just put the children in the bath to play with tub toys, funnels, containers etc. and leave out the ear washing!
  19. Charades, Hide & Seek, I spy, 20 Questions
  20. Indoor tenting & picnic. Literally set up a tent in the living room complete with oven baked smores or have a picnic lunch on a blanket on the floor.
  21. Pretend Play. Kids love role playing so turn your house into a school, hospital, hotel, or zoo.
  22. Puppet show or magic show.
  23. Just me and my Shadow. Grab a flashlight and squeeze into a closet or darkened room for some fun and games or make your own shadow puppets.
  24. Home movies. Use the video camera and let them create their own movie. Sit down with a bowl of popcorn for the premiere.
  25. Photography. Buy some disposable cameras and let your children take pictures, get the pictures developed and then put in the family album. It’s also fun to look through old photo albums and share family memories.
  26. She blinded me with Science. Use the 5 senses to do some neat science experiments. Blindfold the children and get them to guess what certain sounds are, taste certain foods, cover containers of spices, chocolate and lemon juice with paper that is punctured and get them to smell and guess what it inside. Put various objects in a bag and have them feel and guess what they are.
  27. Felt Story Boards. Make your own easily with felt and sand paper: www.familyfun.com. Take turns telling stories.
  28. Puzzles. Either store-bought or make your own. Take a family photo and glue it to cardboard. Cut it into pieces.
  29. Dance Party. Crank up the tunes and burn some energy. Have the children dance while being attached to someone else or while standing on one foot.
  30. If you can’t beat the rain, join it!. You’re not going to melt. Put on the rubber boots, rain coats and umbrellas and have some fun in the puddles! Just make sure to wear warm clothes underneath. And don’t forget to come in for some hot chocolate afterward.