10 simple rainy day activities for kids

Half term is rapidly approaching and if today’s weather is anything to go by, Autumn has really arrived and we will begin to spend more time indoors. We sometimes find that the first thing the kids think of when it rains is screen time, and if you are like me, and want to limit the amount of time they spend in front of Minecraft, then here are some alternative ideas for you all. And remember, you can always limit screen time through Apps, or even “accidentally” turn the router off! ;-)

If trying to think of alternatives fills you with horror, let me share some ideas with you for simple rainy day activities for kids – not specific projects, but just a few general thoughts to get your own creative juices flowing….

Go commercial: Check out some of the great craft supply websites such as Crafty Crocodiles, Baker Ross, Yellow Moon etc. They are quite inexpensive and for some peace and activity it might well be worth it.
Get ready for Christmas: At half term we always start on our Christmas gift tag making. I keep a bag of old cards and we use the scissors with crinkly edges to cut out the pictures ready to use when we wrap the presents.
Board game fun: Resurrect some board games or teach them some other games. Charades went down really well with mine and now they can play it on their own. Another favourite is Simon Says which my six year old loves.
Den-tastic! Create a den! The room will be slightly more chaotic and less user friendly than at other times but that is not really the end of the world and it is, of course, doing wonders for their imaginations.
Go Cardboard Box Crazy: We have a Garden Centre near us where you can collect cardboard boxes. This is great in the holidays. We have a trip to the garden centre to see the animals and then collect those cardboard boxes. The children often decorate them and make cars, space rockets or ships and it keeps them entertained for ages. There are plenty of awesome blogs out there on doing cardboard box crafts, why not check some of them out? Here is a great selection of them from Kids Activities Blog:

Have some fun in the kitchen: Do some cooking – if you are not very adventurous, buy some ready-made pizza bases and make the toppings. A Mars Bar melted and mixed with rice crispies or corn flakes makes great crispy cakes. If you are stuck for ideas, how about some of these excellent recipes for cooking with kids from Pickle Bums:

Crafty time: Craft can be simple or complicated; from either drawing around a hand or foot to painting a picture or making a paper mache model. Do whatever suits you and your children. There are so many wonderful craft blogs on the internet, you won’t know where to start, but The Crafty Crow, Red Ted Art, Kids Activities Blog, Rainy Day Mum, In the Playroom, and The Artful Parent are as good a place as any. If I can do it, so can you….
Get relaxed: If all else, a bit of colouring or listening to a story CD can be a nice way to relax for kids, parents and carers.
Make a run for it! Even if it is getting a bit colder and wetter but I still try and get my children outside every day. We could scoot to the library, take the dog for a walk, play a bit of football at the park and all this is a million times better if we arrange to do it with some friends.
Lights, camera, hide! Get the torches out! We have a few, and there is nothing quite like a bit of spooky play under the cover, bed, table or anywhere else that’s dark. If you have coloured lights, even better, and if you don’t, why not invest in some? Even better, why not buy a few glow sticks, and let the kids have some fun with them as well!

Do you have any other ideas for rainy day activities for the kids, or thoughts that we can just run with? This is, of course, only the tip of the iceberg – there are so many other ideas out there…grab a chair, do an internet search, and then let you imagination take flight – you never know where you might end up with those kids next?!!?

Photo credit: Digitalart / freedigitaphotos.net