April showers bring May flowers, but what can you do with your kiddos while you wait for the sunny spring days? Here are some fun activities to help with spring fever and engage your children on long rainy days.
1. Indoor Camping
Make the best of a rainy day by building a fort with your couch and some blankets and pillows. If you’re really adventurous, you could try setting up a real tent in your living room. As your kids set up camp, help them use their imaginations by looking for some wild animals through the tent opening. Another fun activity in your homemade tent is to view a movie or hold a picnic inside it.
2. Archeological Dig
Your young children will love an archeological dig. For this activity, you need to fill a basin or bin with rice or oatmeal. Then hide some animal figures or small toys inside. Give your children some spoons or just let them use their fingers to dig out these “fossils”. This activity gives you a chance to teach your children all about what archeologists do!
3. DIY Dollhouse
Who doesn’t like to play with miniatures and dollhouses? Making your own dollhouse is a perfect rainy day activity. This is great for older children as it involves cutting and designing. If you have some old boxes lying around you have enough materials to begin this fun project. Have your child think through how many rooms they’d like the house to have and help them make a drawing of their dream dollhouse. As they build, let them add color to the walls with pictures from magazines or even old wallpaper. This activity is sure to keep your child busy for hours.
4. Homemade Playdough
Unlock your child’s imagination with some playdough time. This simple playdough recipe is easy to make and will last in your refrigerator for many weeks to come. Your kids are sure to enjoy helping you whip up a batch of different colored playdough, and they will stay busy for hours as they craft with it.
5. Window Painting
A great way to entertain your kiddos when the weather is poor is by allowing them to paint your windows. This unorthodox canvas will thrill your little ones as they create pictures on the glass. By mixing dishwashing liquid and tempera paint, you will be able to easily wash off the paintings from your windows. You can also use painter’s tape to make grids and lines on the window to create your own stained glass window effect!
6. Find the Colors
Find the colors is a great game for toddlers who are learning about colors. All they need is a basket and then you instruct them to collect toys that are of a certain color. Try hiding some of the items to make it even more exciting. When they have found all the toys with that particular color have them count how many toys they found!
7. Rainy Day Scavenger Hunt
Another exciting way to entertain your little ones is with a scavenger hunt. This free printable makes this hunt a breeze. A clipboard and pen will make the scavenger hunt feel even more official, but they aren’t needed. Your kids will be thrilled as they are able to find each item and check them off their list.
8. Make a Collage
This activity is sure to please both young and older children alike. Grab some old newspapers and magazines and have your children clip pictures out. Once they have completed this, let them decide if they would like to paste their pictures into an old notebook or decorate a shoebox. As they continue to collect pictures, the old notebook is a great way for them to create scenes and stretch their imagination. The shoebox is an excellent way for them to make their own unique treasure box. Whatever they decide to do, they will definitely want to continue this activity in the future.
9. Natural Disasters
Are your kids filled with too much energy on this rainy day? Well, then Natural Disasters is the perfect game for them. First, you will need to clear a large space in your living room. Next, have your children start to skip around the room. As they do, you will call out one of the four natural disasters: fire, tornado, flood, or earthquake. Once they hear your command, they must complete the action for that particular disaster (stop-drop-and-roll, spin in place, jump on top of something, or sit on the floor and bounce). If they begin to do the wrong action, they have to do a set of ten jumping jacks!
10. Embrace the Rain
Another option on a rainy day is to just embrace it! Kids love the unexpected and they might be surprised when you decide to let them go outside to play. Here are a few games they may enjoy.
11. Watercolor Rain Painting
Before heading outdoors have your children paint a picture on watercolor paper or cardstock. Have them take their finished painting outside and lay it down on the sidewalk for a couple of minutes. They will love to watch as the raindrops splash down on their artwork as a whole new painting will appear. Don’t leave it outside for too long or all the paint may wash away!
12. Worm Hunt
This activity is not for the faint of heart. In many places, worms like to come out while it rains. Your curious kids may enjoy finding worms as they come out from their underground homes. Before they begin to look for their little worm friends, you might want to teach them all about what worms do and how they benefit our earth.
13. Sing in the Rain
Who needs to watch TV when you can make your own musical outside? With or without an umbrella, let your children have fun singing silly songs as they splash about in the rain.
Whichever activity you decide to do, let the rainy day be an exciting time to build memories that will last a lifetime!
