Rainy Day Activities for Kids

Rainy Day Activities for Kids is a post from Ann-Marie of Chaos is Bliss:

Photo credit: Blog Chicka Blog

Springtime weather is perfectly unpredictable! Sunny and 62° one day, overcast and 34° the next.

When your kids are home with you on a rainy day, it’s an easy ‘out’ to plop them in front of a movie or let them play on electronic devices to pass the time. Believe me, even after powering through a few of these rainy day activities you still might need something with blinking lights and sound to give yourself a break!

Here are some fun ideas for rainy day activities for kids:

Get outside!

As long as it’s only raining (and not lightning, etc.), toss on the raincoats, pull on the rain boots, grab an umbrella and splish-splash around in puddles. For a cozy treat, have a couple of towels running in the dryer so when you return you can dry off with fluffy warm towels!

Play grocery store

Set up a play cash register (or even a calculator will do!), and have “departments” set up with play food, or lightweight real food like cereal boxes.

Children can take turns playing the shopper or the cashier. One can even be the store greeter! This is a fun way to teach manners, customer service, and math.

Make a rain stick

Make a rain stick and let children compare the sounds from real rain outside, to what “rain” in a rain stick sounds like. Here’s a colorful rain stick tutorial.

Measure rainfall

Set an empty measuring dish outside from breakfast through afternoon and see how much is collected.

Build a fort

Pull the blankets, sheets, and pillows to the living room, and build a fort! We use clothespins to help attach sheets to chairs, giving the fort some lift. Grab flashlights and books and let the kids have some reading time in their special indoor tent.  (Here’s another fun fort option that we’ve shared about on the site before.)

Bake something.

What a perfect excuse to get the kids in the kitchen! My kids love these Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins, or if you have cereal on hand you could try these Fruit Loop Rice Krispie Treats!

Play dress-up.

We have a crate in my youngest daughter’s closet full of dress-up shoes, dresses, necklaces and other fantasy goodies. But don’t stop with just play clothes – pull out your own dresses, your husband’s shirt & tie, grown-up shoes and hats – have a field day, and be sure to capture those memories with pictures!

Make a macaroni craft.

Do you have a box of elbow macaroni in your pantry? Grab a paper plate, some glue, and dump the macaroni in a bowl and let the kids’ imagination create masterpieces!  If you plan ahead, you could even do this easy pasta dyeing to add to your project.

Write a letter.

For children old enough to write, teach them basic letter-writing skills and have them pen a note to Grandma, a favorite cousin, or a friend!

Teach your child how to address envelopes, place in the mailbox with the flag up and watch for the mail carrier to drive the letter away, on to its final destination.

Have a dance party!

Crank up the music, grab some kitchen utensils to use as microphones, and let children dance their sillies off! Bonus points if YOU join in on the fun!

Other Posts You Might Like for Rainy Day Activities and Fun:

• Rainy Day Fun with Little House
• Studying Rainbows: Crafts, Activities, and Science Experiments
• Rainy Days Jar 
• 3 Creative Spring-themed Snacks for Kids

Anything you would add to the list? How have you had fun on a rainy day?