Rainy Day Activities for Kids

When you are stuck indoors with a toddler full of boundless energy, whether it be because the weather is bad or the cable man STILL hasn’t show up, some creativity is in order. (This post contains Amazon affiliate links.)

Rainy Day Activities for Little Kids

Here are some of my tried and true “rainy day” activities:

Animal Yoga

(Bonus! Mom gets to do yoga. Sort of.) Teach your little animal all of the animal-themed yoga poses you can think of. (Search “animal yoga poses for kids or check out this book.) It’s mandatory that you do the corresponding animal noises along with the poses!

Blanket House

A classic. Use your furniture and blankets to build a fort. If you really want to kick it up a notch, use a fan: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Fan-Fort

Get Gooey

I’m not at huge fan of play dough because of the mess. This is a great substitute. It’s non-toxic and doesn’t crumble into tiny pieces that get ground into your carpet. Make your own: http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryhowtoguide/ht/makegoo.htm or buy it here: Messy Play Gelli (Blue Pack)

Clean (I mean, FINGER PAINT) the bathtub

Let your little one go wild with some of that Bathtub Fingerpaint while you clean the bathroom. Save the bathtub for last and clean off the fingerpaints together. Granted, this usually requires that you both shower at the end of the activity.

Face Paint

Here’s a simple recipe for home-made face paint using ingredients you probably already

have: http://www.education.com/activity/article/Face_Paint/ or buy it: Paradise Premium Children’s Face Painting Kit Don’t worry if you aren’t a great artiste! Kids don’t know the difference. Just use Google Image Search for “simple face paint.”

Rainy Day Activities for Kids MomCave Face Paint

Mama’s attempt at Monster face paint

<img data-lazy-fallback="1" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1171" data-attachment-id="1171" data-permalink="https://www.momcavetv.com/rainy-day-activities-for-kids/img_5534/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.momcavetv.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/IMG_5534.jpg?fit=2048%2C1536&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2048,1536" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.4","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 4S","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1369305131","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.28","iso":"64","shutter_speed":"0.05","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_5534" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Pirate Face thanks to Google Search.</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.momcavetv.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/IMG_5534.jpg?fit=300%2C225&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.momcavetv.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/IMG_5534.jpg?fit=675%2C506&ssl=1" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1171" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.momcavetv.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/IMG_5534-300x225.jpg?resize=300%2C225" alt="Pirate Face thanks to Google Search." width="300" height="225" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.momcavetv.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/IMG_5534.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.momcavetv.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/IMG_5534.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.momcavetv.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/IMG_5534.jpg?w=2048&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/www.momcavetv.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/IMG_5534.jpg?w=1350&ssl=1 1350w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" />

Pirate Face thanks to Google Search.

“Cups”

Sure, the age-old shell game (known as Three-Card Monty” when cards are used) played on city streets is actually a con to part adults with their money. But with kids, it’s a good lesson in object permanence.

Toy Car Wash

Another game best played in the bathtub or on the kitchen floor. And aren’t those cars a little grimey anyway?

Mommy/Daddy Dress-Up

Help your child dress up as mommy and then as daddy. Take photos of each outfit.

Mommy/Kiddo Dress-Up

Switch clothing with your child. Your toddler with crack up when his clothes don’t fit you and his shirt gets stuck on your head or you can only get two toes into his shoe.

Sink or Float?

Fill the sink with water. Give your child objects and let her test if they sink or float. Make two piles to practice sorting.

If you’ve gone through this list and and STILL need something to pass the time, I’ve got a radical one. As long as the weather isn’t too cold–go outside and get soaking wet dancing and running around in the rain. You’ve only got to stay out there for a few minutes. And I guarantee your kid will think you are the coolest mom ever.

What’s your go-to rainy day activity?

For an Ultimate Guide of Things to Do On a Snow Day Indoors with kids, visit this post!

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Jen

Jennifer Weedon Palazzo is the creator/writer/and producer of Mom Cave TV, an online network of comedy shows for moms including Slummy Mummy, Double Leche, Blabbermom, and MomCave LIVE. She's a working actress in NYC who has appeared in films, commercials, and some very off-off Broadway plays. When she’s not writing about the funny side of being a mom (for blogs like Scary Mommy and Mamalode) Jennifer can be found eating Reese’s Cups while furiously bidding on vintage clothing on eBay. She lives with her husband, Evan, bandleader of The Hot Sardines and two spirited children.