50 Rainy Day Activities for Kids

Nothing spoils summer fun like a day stuck inside because of bad weather. If you have no rainy day activities planned, things can go from bad to worse. It seems like every time I have outdoor activities planned for my family; we get rained out. Well, maybe not every single time, but plenty of beach and zoo trips have been dampened by midday showers. Usually, my kids (especially the older ones) want to spend the day watching tv or playing mindlessly on electronics. This isn’t healthy, so I decided to come up with a different plan. To manage screen time, combat boredom, and to preserve my own sanity all at the same time, I compiled a list of 50 rainy day activities for kids that I’d love to share with you.

Rainy Day Activities: Let’s Get Creative

 

• Take a trip to the Dollar Tree (with your umbrella). Stock up on fun dollar items like puzzles, stickers, Play-Doh, watercolor paint, balls, books, and random craft supplies. Keep these stored for times when you're looking for things to do on a rainy day.
• Write letters on paper and mail to out-of-town family and friends
• Create tie-dye shirts and wear them at an indoor picnic
• Make a fort out of blankets or sheets and go camping indoors
• Draw on the windows with dry erase markers
• Have a beach day in the living room
• Create some amazing art using recycled parts and pieces
• Start an indoor herb garden
• Make a family time capsule to be opened in the future

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Next, Let’s Break Out the Games

• Break out the iPad and play online math games (link to sign up here)
• Blow up the balloons, toss them up in the air, and try not to let them touch the ground
• Play ‘I Spy,’ ’21 Questions’, ‘Hot Potato,’ ‘Leap Frog,’ ‘or Red Light, Green Light.' Or try a game of ‘Animal Charades,’ or ‘Duck, Duck, Duck, Goose’
• Design your own board game. Or play some that you already have at home (who doesn’t love a game of Monopoly?)
• Play cards: Old Maid, Uno, and Go Fish are classic favorites
• Hallway bowling---use water bottles as pins and whatever ball you can find to make a ‘strike’
• Rainy Day Activities for Kids: Let’s Be Dramatic
• Have a comedy show where everyone takes turns telling their favorite jokes
• Raid your closets and put on a fashion show in the living room

 

• Make some instruments using anything you have around the house and put on a show
• Put on a puppet show with puppets, dolls, or whatever characters you can find
• Film silly videos or make a picture collage of your rainy day
• Make a YouTube ‘How to’ video
• Create your own stuffed animal hospital (write prescriptions, apply bandages, etc.)
• Put on your favorite playlist and have a dance party
• Turn your family room into a movie theater. Then, watch a special showing while eating popcorn

Let’s Learn Something

Cuddle up with a couple of interesting books and spend the day reading

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Think of your favorite historical topic and create a comic strip about it

• Create a sensory bin for multi-sensory learning
• Practice a new skill like sewing, scrapbooking, or folding origami
• Research an ancient civilization and make a poster about them
• Build and create science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) toys for play
• Whip up a batch of slime using ingredients you have at home
• Make paper airplanes. Then test them and record the findings of your race

 

• Find easy science experiments online and replicate them in your kitchen
• Listen to audiobooks about something that really interests you
• Try meditation for beginners

Things to Do on a Rainy Day: Let’s Start Cooking

 

• Have a pancake party in your pajamas
• Then, bake something from scratch (i.e., cookies, cake)
• Make a homemade pizza instead of ordering out
• Cook dinner together with every family member choosing a dish
• Prepare a snack tray for everyone to enjoy
• Make sweet tea and add some interesting flavors (i.e., peach, raspberry)
• Create a cookbook of your own and fill it with family favorites

Let’s Get Moving

 

• Play ‘Simon Says,’ ‘Tag,’ ‘Freeze Dance,’ or ‘Follow the Leader’
• Try one of these 87 indoor exercise games
• Put on rain boots and go puddle jumping
• Build an indoor obstacle course

• Learn to tap dance (YouTube it!)
• Do some yoga or stretches
• Have a push-up or jumping jacks contest
• Have a pillow fight—if you’re brave enough

Hopefully, the ideas above will help you transform rain day disappointment into fun family experiences. If you are in need of more ideas, consider signing up for Argo Prep’s K-8 interactive math program. The platform has learning activities that will cure rainy day blues and sharpen academic skills all at the same time.