On a day when the children have already asked what they can do to be entertained for the fifth time and you are running on fumes, don’t look for some special activity to buy. Use what you already have at home. The following ideas for things to do on a rainy day are grouped by age and by how much time and patience you have.
Quick Wins When Patience Is Short
Quick ideas to do within 5 minutes to keep kids busy on a rainy day. Torch and hallway = instant shadow puppets using kids’ hands. A deck of cards can be used for young children to sort/pair items and for older children to play games such as Snap. Children can go on a scavenger hunt around the house to find things such as something red, something round and something that makes a noise. All of these ideas can be set up within 5 minutes and will keep the children occupied for 10-15 minutes.
Cardboard Tube Marble Run
Use toilet roll tubes from toilet paper to make a Marble Run. Cut the tubes up to half length and join them up in a zig-zag line down a wall, slightly angled down to a cushion at the bottom. The children then have to work out the best angle for the marbles to travel as fast as possible. This activity is best suited to children aged 6-10 years old and will keep them entertained for about 20 minutes. There is very little mess for cleaning up – just removing the tape from the wall.
Rainbow Milk Kitchen Experiment
First fill a shallow plate or bowl with some milk. Add a few drops of different coloured food to the edge of the plate, but don’t mix it up. Then, dip a cotton bud in some washing-up liquid and touch it to the centre of the milk. Instant colours moving around in a rainbow! This activity works for all ages if they are supervised. It only takes about 10 minutes to do and can lead to some good discussions about the chemistry going on in the milk, such as how the fat in the milk is broken up by the soap. If your children get really into this activity, they can then go to a science museum’s free indoor museum days for families on another day.
An Obstacle Course For Burning Off Energy
Create an obstacle course by moving the furniture round to make a path for your children to run round. Set up each ‘obstacle’ in turn and time how long it takes for your child to complete the course. They can then try to better their time as you add in more ‘obstacles’. This activity will require about half an hour of your time to set up and then to referee your child as they try to beat their previous time. Many children do not get enough physical activity and the average child needs around 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per day. This activity is one of the few ways to achieve this on a day when outdoor play is not possible.
Shadow Puppet Theatre
Shadow puppet theatre can be set up within minutes using a sheet or large towel draped over a clothes airer. Dim the lights and shine a torch through the fabric to bring your hands to life as sock puppets, as cardboard cut-out characters held on sticks or even as simple shadow shapes. Children can make up their own stories or act out well loved tales. As a calming activity this can be a great way to wind down after more energetic play. It doesn’t make a mess, so is a great activity for the end of the day.
Pasta Threading For The Under-Fives
Children under 5 years can make a necklace or bracelet using dry pasta shapes such as penne or macaroni. The pasta tubes can be coloured with felt tip pens before threading. This activity needs children to have enough fine motor control to thread the shapes but it is not so complicated that it becomes frustrating. Children can be engaged with this activity for around 10-15 minutes. Other arts and craft activities for children are available to try at home and often are free and help to develop the skills needed for early writing that children receive in school.
When The Household Ideas Run Dry
In between all these ideas making sure your kids are doing enough physical activity is important too. Jumping around the lounge while playing with paper aeroplanes down the hallway makes a great 5 minute activity to get kids running round between quieter activities. After lots of physical activity setting up a blanket fort in the lounge made out of chairs and sheets from around the house and filling it with lots of books that you already have can provide a lovely calm environment for children to read in. If none of these ideas spark any inspiration for things to do with your kids on a wet day then maybe take a look at a kids activity ideas finder – they can provide you with lots of activities to do with kids of different ages and also state how long you need to have left to carry out the activity and even ideas for days out that are free or indoor based that are suitable for families. Hopefully these ideas will help and you can have a good day in.
A rainy day doesn’t have to be dominated by screens for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Those toilet roll tubes, bits of tape and pieces of string could form the basis of an hour or so of fun activities that would be used up and then thrown away.
