10 Rainy Day Activities

As the summer draws to a close for most kids, they may have gotten bored with the same old indoor activities on rainy or sweltering days.  Here are some new ones provided by my friends at www.summernannyjobs.com, which is a wonderful website for college students looking for summer nanny jobs in exotic locations!

1. Create bubble fun in the sink (or tub!). Pull up a chair or a step stool to the sink for little ones to reach. Fill the sink half full with room temperature water and soap suds. Bring in spoons, cups, funnels, egg beaters, whisks, and other water friendly toys. The kids will enjoy playing in the water with all of the bubbles. If you are worried about her getting wet just throw on an apron or cut some holes in a garbage bag and put that over her clothes to protect them. Splashing in the bubbles is good, clean fun.
2. Fashion a sand box with rice instead of sand. Gather some toys that would work well for sifting and sorting. Throw in measuring spoons and measuring cups as well. Take a large plastic storage container and fill it about 1/3 full of rice. Most grocery stores sell the giant bags of rice for a few dollars. When the kids are done playing just snap the lid on and put it in the closet for the next rainy day.
3. Go on a treasure hunt. No matter what stage your kids are in they can enjoy a good treasure hunt. Use pictures for little ones who can’t read clues, clues for those kids that can read, and riddles for those kids that are older. This will take a little planning, but while the kids are watching a movie or playing a board game you can be creating the treasure hunt.
4. Play indoor Ping-Pong using paper fans instead of paddles. Blow up a small balloon and after the kids have created their own paddles out of a paper fan they can start blowing the balloon back and forth to their opponent. Make up rules like the first person to get the balloon past their opponent’s head gets a point. Players must only use the wind of the fan to move the balloon. No hands can touch the balloon or you lose a point.
5. Create a robot out of recycled materials. Using only items found around the house have the kids build their own robot. Have a contest to see who has the biggest robot, who has the most complicated robot, and whose robot does the coolest stuff. Print out certificates for these honors while the kids are making the robots. Once the robots are done encourage the kids to sit down and write a store about their robot and how it works and see if they can come up with a whole world where other robots live as well.
6. Play an indoor game of horse using wads of paper and a trash container. Just like in real horse the players each get a chance to shoot a basket from around the room. The youngest kid goes first and the older ones have to make the exact same shot if she makes her first shot. House rules can apply and the little kids can get two tries at the shot before getting a letter. If you miss a shot you get one letter and ultimately the person who spells H-O-R-S-E first loses. The last person in is the winner.
7. Roll out the marble is a game of speed and skill. Grab some paper towel or wrapping paper tubes and cut them in half. Make sure that everyone that is playing the game has an equal sized track. Line up the players in a line and give the first person in the line a marble. The object is to roll the marble down the track without touching it and pass it to the next person in line. Next, that player passes it on until the last person has to pass it on to the first person in line. If you drop the marble you are out and play starts at the beginning again.
8. Building a fort in the living room can keep the kids busy for hours. By using sofa cushions, blankets, sheets, chairs, and other items from around the house you can challenge your kids to build a fort in the living room. Fill the fort with cushy pillows and once the fort is complete you can climb in with them and read them a story.
9. Bake a batch of cookies or brownies with your kids. Kids enjoy spending time with you, and who doesn’t love a nice warm cookie and some milk on a cold rainy day? Use baking as a chance to talk about measurements and proportions, and cleanliness. Use your favorite recipe, and if you have a big kid ask them to read the recipe to the rest of you.
10. Turn up the music and have a dance party. Active kids will get a little restless if they can’t go outside to play. Here’s the solution: crank up some music and let everyone dance and sing until they have gotten their wiggles out.

Happy parenting!