Things to do on a rainy day: rainy day activities for kids
Well, the rain is back again. It was almost entirely dry yesterday. People saw my new red(dish) hair for the first time, because it wasn’t hidden under a woolly cap. And the girls walked home without macs on or hoods up. It was lovely. But it’s back again and looks like it’s going to stay around for a bit longer, too, so I thought I’d put together a post about some of the things we like to do on a rainy day. So here are our things to do on a rainy day!
Rainy day activities for kids
Bake
Biscuits are a great thing to bake, because there’s lots that can be done with rolling out dough and cutting out different shapes, before you even get to the baking.
And then you can decorate them with lashings of icing and chocolate and sweets.
And, of course, you probably want to eat some of the icing, too. (Actually, RoRo and LaLa frequently seem to eat only the icing and leave the biscuits!)
And while you have icing and decorations, why not make some fairy cakes to decorate, too?
Build with lego
You can’t go wrong with a bit of lego building. And it’s OK to join in, too, you know. Even if all you want to do is sort the lego into colours and brick types (or is that just me?).
Do some craft
Make cards, do junk modelling, do some of those crafting kits you’ve had languishing at the bottom of the drawer since the last birthday…
Build dens
Den-building is one of the best rainy-day activities. I loved doing it when I was a kid, and the girls love it now. Do watch out what you attach the blankets to, though – we had a tendency to peg ours to the shelves until one of them fell down. Oops.
Learn something
Take the opportunity to do a bit of phonics or some maths. You don’t have to use activity books, you can incorporate it into your other activities.
Play with your tea set
Why not get out the tea sets and have a tea party with your toys or family?
Splash in puddles
You don’t have to stay indoors, just because it’s rainy. Put on your macs and wellies and go and splash in some puddles. Run and jump and dance and sing – “Singing in the rain” is ideal, of course, but there’s also “Here comes the rain again…”, “It’s raining, it’s pouring”, “Rain, rain, go away…” and probably a whole bunch more.
Have a bath
And if you come back all cold, why not jump in a warm bath and have a good warm splash in there?
Indulge in some extravagant hot chocolate
Another way to warm up after you’ve been out in the rain – top with squirty cream and decorate with smarties and other sweets. And, yes, you can have some too – the calories don’t count when it’s raining, you know.
Wash up
If there’s plenty of time, why not let them do the washing up? You might have to redo it afterwards, but they’ll enjoy it and it’s a useful skill to develop, even very early.
Watch a movie
While we might default to just sticking the TV on when it’s raining outside, having a movie session with popcorn and treats and duvets can be really special.
Snuggle up and tell stories
Get your teddies and snuggle under the duvets and tell each other stories – fairy tales, adventures or ghost stories?
Read a book
My favourite rainy day activities has probably always been to cuddle up with a book and the girls love this too, whether it’s being read stories or reading them (or flicking through them) on their own.
Do your hair
Get the hair bands and clips out and do your hair. Fancy plaits or silly pony tails? Whatever takes your fancy!
Do some drawing
Draw on the blackboard, on paper, on card, with pens, pencils, crayons, chalks. You could even get the paints out, though I have to admit avoiding this one, as we usually end up with painty fingerprints all over the floor, walls, clothes, dog…
Get the face paints out
Get the face paints out and make yourselves into leopards, or monsters, or princesses, or butterflies… Or just cover yourself in as much face paint as you can!
Pretend it’s sunny!
Put on some sunglasses and summer clothes – or even swimming costumes – whack the heating on for a bit and pretend you’re at the beach.
Look for a rainbow
And, if you see a glimmer of sunshine, go out and try to catch a rainbow, however tiny!
What are your things to do on a rainy day? Are you running out of ideas after the really wet April we just had?
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