With rain in the forecast for much of this week, many of us are likely staying at home with the kids more frequently than we'd like. To keep screen time down to a minimum, we've put together a Rainy Day Survival Guide featuring 10 tried and true rainy day activities to do with the kids:
1. Bake. This is our go-to when we are stuck indoors. Recipes like sugar cookies, Rice Krispie treats, and cupcakes are easy to get kids of all ages involved in the baking process. Got leftover Easter egg candy? Make these adorable bird's nests. Or do a Spring-themed baking day by decorating sugar cookies and reading The Hungry Caterpillar or learning more about pollinators.
2. Movie night. If bedtimes are too early for a real movie night, have one mid-afternoon! Make some popcorn (click HERE for fun popcorn recipes), grab some blankets, and turn on a family-friendly movie.
3. Play in the rain. My kids love to play in the rain! Bundle up in snow suits, strap on some rain boots, and go outside to stomp in the puddles or make mud pies.
4. Crafts, crafts and more crafts! Kids of all ages LOVE crafts! Setup a craft area with lots of random supplies and let the kids use their imaginations. Use Macaroni Kid's FAMILY FUN CRAFT BOOK as a place to start getting inspiration from or search "craft" on our website for holiday-specific crafts. Or check out this article on Easy Rainbow Activities.
5. Spring cleaning. Ok, this doesn't sound fun at first, but hear us out. We have a helpful article on 8 Ways to Get Kids To Help with Chores, and one of the tips is to make it a game. Ta-da! Spring cleaning = family fun. ;)
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6. Forts in the living room. One of our favorite activities, building forts is the family's chance to make a big mess in the forbidden dining or living room without getting in trouble! Grab all the blankets, pillows, and flashlights in the house and have a blast!
7. Have a board game tournament. Older kids love to play board games or play with cards especially if you make it a competition. Set up a series of different games for them to play and have a scoreboard keeping track of winners. One of our favorite messy games to play is Pie Face:
8. Make a video. If you just can't get the kids off the screen, might as well make it productive. Sit down and plan a video to make together like a cooking show, a dance routine or a play. You can have older kids be the videographer and help them edit the video using simple apps like iMovie.
9. Have a freeze dance party! This is one of our favorite ways to move! Pick out the best dance songs and let everyone loose.
10. Start a mini indoor garden. Now is a great time to start your summer garden. You can buy or order seeds to plant indoors then later transplant outside. We started our sunflowers and Swiss chard seeds in recycled plastic egg cartons:
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What other rainy day activities do you like to do with the kids? Share it with us on Instagram.
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