10 Ways To Entertain the Little Ones On a Rainy Day

Who says rainy days with the kids have to be boring or filled with the sound of children whining because they have nothing to do. Here are 10 ideas to spend the hours of drizzle or downpours.

Indoor Treasure Hunt. 

This is super fun and one I have done many times with my own children. Using scraps of paper, write down clues. Each clue should lead to the next. I find that for indoors, about 5-10 clues are plenty, but should you have a super large house, you can increase the number. Create a starting point. That will be the piece of paper that has the clue. (I also include a map so the kids can mark off their trail as they go. Draw a map. It can be anything from yours or your kids imagination). Figure out your finishing point for the last clue. Place your clues around your house, hide them in closets, under beds anything really. The surprise at the end can be anything you want to choose. Use items from around the house, make a special certificate with your child/children's names on for them to display in their room. A chocolate treat, healthy treat or pretty much anything you want it to be. I did this with my daughter's birthday presents for her 7th Birthday because she told me she didn't want to waste paper on wrappers. It saved the environment and also helped me tremendously as I am not so keen on gift wrapping.  

Bake.

Kids love it and it can be particularly helpful if you need to get the dinner cooked. Children love helping to cook and there are pretty much no limits on what they can do. With parental supervision for the hot and sharp stuff, children of any age can make anything from cookies, pasta, salads and pizza.*

Make Art.

Anything goes really.  I tend to get the art box out and let my children create their own masterpieces. Child-led art can be so much more rewarding than telling them what to do as children tend to have better imaginations than adults. However, if your child is indecisive here are some suggestions: Drawing, painting pasta shapes and gluing them, design your own board game or still life.

Start a band with homemade instruments.

Babies through to teens love this. Get out the pots and pans, the wooden spoons and any plastic bottles you have lying around. Start making music straight away. 

Put on a puppet show. 

Gather a few stuffed teddies, dolls or whatever is in the toy boxes. If you have an old large box lying around, cut a hole in it to make a window. If you don't have a large box handy, make use of any surface space you have around the house a coffee table works really well. If you have one child, it is fun to act out the puppet show together. If you have 2 or more children there are a couple of options that are equally entertaining. Put on the show for them to watch. Ask your kids to come up with a show devised solely by them. The value of this is that it builds confidence and helps develops cognitive, speaking and listening skills all whilst having fun.

Go outside.

Put the rain gear on. If you have both rain pants and jackets then an adventure in the rain is a must. Go to the local woods or parks (providing there is no severe weather). Muddy hills make great mudslides and if you're all covered up why not! I have a very fond memory of mud sliding down some hills when I attended a holiday camp as a child. I took my kids camping a few years ago to the same place and took them on a mudslide. They thoroughly enjoyed it!
   

Build a fort.

There are two options for this, build one out of old PVC pipes or smooth bits of wood lying around, or using a dining table, get some bed sheets and blankets and cover them over. Fill the inside with cushions and blankets.The kids will have hours of fun inside playing make believe, reading or just chilling out. 

Make a parachute for a toy.  

Make use of old bits of material or scraps of paper by cutting out a design for a toy parachute. This video shows how to make one with garbage bags and string:

Make your own dress up clothes.

Dig through your old clothes, or even the box full of last year's Halloween outfits, put them in a pile on the floor and get the kids to make their own creations. For older children, helping them to cut up, sew and create their own recycled clothes can pass by the boredom and teach them  an extra skill. 

Balloon table tennis. 
This is a fun take on the original and kids will have fun making the equipment. All you need is some paper plates, some balloons and Popsicle or paint stir sticks. Attach a Popsicle stick to each paper plate, blow up a balloon and have fun!

Whatever you chose to do on a rainy day, remember to have fun! There is nothing more rewarding than seeing happy children.


Sources: 
Balloon Table Tennis, http://theweekendhomemaker.com/boredom-busters

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*Coming soon, 5 great recipes ideas for you and your child to make together