"It's Raining, It's Pouring!"
Rainy days – we are used to them here in England but it doesn’t mean we enjoy the prospect of being stuck in the house with the kids bouncing off the walls & whinging they are bored!
However, there are some great activities which are quick & easy to set up which we can pull out on any unexpected Rainy Days & they are perfect for all ages too.
Here are my top 10 activities to enjoy at home with children of all ages, so perfect to keep siblings entertained.
- Puddle Splashing
Go for a walk & have fun splashing around in the puddles.
You Can:
- Jump & make big splashes
- See if you can walk through gently or tiptoe without making any splashes
- Run really fast through them
- Kick the water out of the puddles
- Den Building
Who doesn’t love hiding in a den!
Older ones can help problem solve to build a den which stays up, then pop some toys inside & then all ages love to play & hide inside.
Children have short attention spans so can easily get bored being in the same environment, change it up & let them play in different rooms of the house, get outside or make them a little den.
- Dance Party
- Toy Rescue
Using a laundry basket or box, weave string/twine around the top to make a net – make sure some of the holes are bigger than others.
Then fill the basket or box with teddies or other toys & encourage your little one to pull them out to rescue them.
For smaller ones use a basket & teddies with larger holes but for older ones make it more challenging by using a box with smaller holes & cars or mini figures.
- Balloons
Bounce them, squish them, play balloon tennis, sort the colours, keep them off the ground, the possibilities are endless.
A great activity to encourage babies to get on the move too by chasing the balloons around the room.
- Hide & Seek Challenge
We all know how to play hide & seek but instead of the traditional way find a few toys or objects you can hide around the room or house. You can take it in turns to hide them just like you would with normal hide & seek then go & hunt for them.
For tiny ones, choose 1 item & make it super easy to find under a blanket or muslin (poking out a little) & for older ones make it harder by giving them a time limit.
- Decorating Biscuits/Cupcakes
I always have a pack of rich tea/digestive biscuits along with some icing sugar & sprinkles in the cupboard.
Either make up a plain white icing using the icing sugar & water or add food colouring to make different colours. Decorate using sprinkles, marshmallows, sweets, grated chocolate & anything else you can think of. Great fun to decorate & then eat.
Once weaned, babies can explore the icing & it’s all edible too.
- Adventure Box
Next time you have a delivery & it comes in a large box, keep it & turn it into an adventure box for your little one or you can use a laundry basket. A few ideas are:
- A Pirate Ship
- A Race Car
- An Aeroplane
- A Tractor
- Jack In The Box
- Tunnel
- Den/Playhouse
- A Time Machine
For tiny ones, fill the box with cushions & some toys for a little play area for them.
- Water Play - Ball Scoop
Either in the bath or a large tub of water, fill with the coloured plastic balls & use a large spoon or ladle to scoop & collect them up, you could then drop them into smaller tubs or bowls.
For tiny ones, let them scoop them up with their hands.
- Sensory Scarves
Scarves can be used in so many ways for play – a few ideas are:
- Peek A Boo
- Tug Of War
- Role Play – Butterfly Wings, Super Hereos or Magic Tricks
- Dancing with Scarves- my favourites songs are: Down In The Jungle & Under The Sea
So next time we have a rainy day rather than wish the day away with grumpy kids, have fun with one of these activities.
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