Things to do with kids on rainy days

It’s raining, it’s pouring and all the kids say “Boring!” Don’t worry I have a list of things to do with kids on rainy days that will beat the boredom blues.

 Some fun things that you can  do with your kids on rainy days when you can’t leave the house are: 

• Have a Reading Party
• Movie Time
• Do Caperoira 
• Make a snack together 
• Play a new printable game
• Have a family fitness competition
• Play Shopkeeper
• Play Dress Up 
• Have a fun bubble bath 

Have a reading party 

Having a reading party is a great way to pass a rainy day.  In our house we gather all the blankets, stuffed animals, and pillows we can find. Then we find every flat sheet in the house and make a room sized blanket fort with the flat sheets. 

For small children who aren’t reading yet this is a fun and exciting way to do a day full of read alouds. Older children who can read themselves may want to read their own stories by flashlight in the blanket fort, but every child loves to listen to a good read aloud, young or older. 

You can also have snacks like popcorn, chips, cut up fruits or veggies in your blanket fort as you read your books. 

Movie time 

If your reading voice is tired, then you can always curl up and cuddle under big blankets while watching some favorite movies. 

Movie time can be a great bonding experience with your child, especially if you share movies with meaningful stories or movies from your childhood.  

If you want to share the movie Moana with your children, here is a great guide to having meaningful lasting conversations with child and some activity sheets. We have a few movie activities on the site – why not check them out?

Do Caperoira

Caperoira is a Brazillain martial arts that includes elements of dance, acrobatics and music. It is a fun way to get some exercise on days that going outside is too much. 

In fact, you may find it so fun that your family adopts doing it even when the sun is out. It’s fun to learn and can help use their imagination and learn about a whole new culture through play. 

If you are interested in learning more about Caperoria we have a detailed article with resources right here. 

Make a snack together

Making a fun snack is a great way to not only beat the rainy day blues but also to great way to make memories with your child. 

To make the snack even more fun, you can base your snack around a book or movie that you all love.  

Or you could just make some sweet chocolate chip cookies. Baking together is a memory your child will hold on to for a lifetime. 

If you want a fun treat to make try these Harry Potter Pretzel Wands. You can have fun casting spells on each other, as long as you don’t munch your wand away!

Break boredom with a new printable game

If your rainy day boredom is strong, a new printable game may be just the thing to turn little frowns upside down.  

We have several printable games here on Kiddy Charts. Here is one of my favorites Roll A Gingerbread Man but there are a few more linked on that page that you might like better. Go take a look. If you have a little bit of spare money, do check out the printable game The Royal Game of Ur from our shop too. Combining Maths, STEM and history fun for a little project the kids can make and then play themselves!

Have a family fitness competition 

Ever wonder who can do more push ups Mom or the kids? How about jumping jacks?  

Having a family fitness competition is a fun way to get some exercise and wear out some kids at the same time.  

Make a simple list of fitness activities that you can do in your home, such as: 

• Push Up Contest
• Sit up Contest
• Jumping Jack Contest
• Squat Contest
• Wall Sit Contest 

This might even inspire you to do a long term family fitness competition or set some new family fitness goals. You can read all about long term family fitness competition, Very Well Family has a great article to walk you through the process.

Play shopkeeper

Is there a more universal game than playing shopkeeper or playing store? And if the family fitness competition made you more tired than the kids, then this is a great follow up game. 

Have your children pick some toys to set up shop. They can charge you imaginary money or play money.  

Playing shopkeeper actually does a lot to teach social skills, building imagination, and understanding concepts like paying for things and even  business principals. 

We have a full post on how to play shopkeeper and the benefits of it over here.

Playing dress up 

There is something about putting on fancy dress up clothes and playing pretend that is magical. You can use costumes or just dress up in your own fancy clothes. 

If you would like you can also play in make up and do up everyone’s hair in nice or funny ways. 

After you are all dressed up, make up and hair done, have a pretend or real tea party.  

Even the teddies and stuffed animals can get into this game of dress up and tea party.  

Have a fun bubble bath 

A bubble bath can be so much fun and it can keep kids occupied for a little while too. When we are having a fun bath we always make sure we add bubbles and any fun bath time activities I might have on hand like bath tub finger paints, fun bath toys, and sometimes I even bring out some water guns from summer to squirt each other and the walls with.  

If you have some glow sticks on hand you can dim the lights, light up the glow sticks and drop them in the bath. This has always been a crowd pleaser in our house. 

The bottom line: Rainy days don’t have to be boring

I know that sometimes when the rain rolls, it feels like the whole mood of the house goes down, but it doesn’t have to be that way.  

There are plenty of things to do with kids on a rainy day.  You can make some of the most fun memories on days stuck inside.  Learning new exercises or challenging your family to a push up face off can help get rid of all the pent up energy.  If you want something a little less intense and a little more cuddly try a reading party or a movie after making snacks together. 

You don’t have to let rainy days get you down. I hope some of these inspire you to create a fun day with your children.

We have loads of ideas for you here – and we do hope that some of them work for you and your kids and you find some great things to do with the kids. BUT, if you don’t find anything above they you like. Check these ideas out instead:

We are AWESOME and have loads of ideas for kids, but there are other wonderful sites out there too with great rainy day ideas. What about these?

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Take care,

Helen

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