Rainy Day Activities for Bonding with Your Children
With cooler weather heading in, you’re likely to start seeing more rainy days and a little less sunshine. Keeping your kids entertained and your sanity intact when they are confined to the house for the day is a test for the ages. But, you don’t have to dread rainy days if you have a few fun activity ideas at the ready.
In fact, rainy days may just be a blessing in disguise. As your kids get older they’ll likely spend more time outside with their friends than cuddling up and talking with you. Take advantage of rainy days to carve out some one-on-one fun time with your little ones!
Here are a few fun and simple ideas that will bring out the giggles in everyone:
Get Cooking:
A great way to take advantage of the cooler days is to head into the kitchen for some cooking lessons. Not only does the cooler weather make the warm kitchen comfy (instead of miserably hot!), cooking is also a great way to teach your little ones math, science and healthy eating. Depending on your child’s age, skill level and personality, you can choose easy recipes, like cucumber sushiolls or chocolate chip cookies, or more complicated dishes. For a fun twist, head to the library and grab a themed recipe book and make a day of cooking different dishes. I recently bought my daughter and me these matching aprons and ever since they arrived I haven’t been able to keep her out of the kitchen!
Slime Time:
If you need a fun activity that won’t take too much time but still lets you get down on your child’s level for some good, squishy fun, try making homemade slime or play dough. If your kids are fans of Frozen, they’ll especially love this recipe for frozen slime. The blue gel-like material is fun to play with and looks just like ice. Store in a baggie or Tupperware container and this fun activity will last several weeks.
If Frozen isn’t your thing, you can use the same recipe and include other food coloring options to please the whole family.
Board Game Olympics:
If you have a competitive family, take advantage of the rainy day to put the smack down in a rousing game of Monopoly, Risk or Hungry, Hungry Hippos. Let everyone choose a game and battle it out. Keep track of winners and scores and award medals at the end. Awards could be for “Best comeback in a game,” “Most spectacular loss,” “Most competitive,” or “Worst dice roller.” You can create your own certificates or prizes for each category to hand out at the end.
Drive-in Theater:
Rainy days are perfect for noshing on popcorn and watching a few movies. Amp it up by creating a drive-in theater in your living room! Help your kids draw and cut cars out of cardboard boxes or poster board. Have fun decorating the cars and even have your little ones “drive” into the theater and purchase home-made tickets. Then cozy up in your cars and enjoy a movie and some snacks. For a fun alternative, build or set up a tent in your living room, and watch movies in your fort.
Mud Baseball:
If you want to stay even remotely clean, this may not be an activity for you. But, if you are up for a little adventure and a HUGE mess, put on some of your old clothes and tennis shoes and find a muddy spot in the yard or at a local park. Grab your baseball or soccer gear and enjoy a game in the mud. More than likely your game will turn into a mud fight. It’s good, clean (or not-so-clean) family fun that your kids will talk about forever. Just don’t forget to hose everyone down in the side yard or driveway to remove most of the dirt before you head inside!
Don’t be The Carpenters, Rainy Days and Mondays don’t have to get you down! Take advantage of the cooler weather you have to create fun memories you can talk about years later.
Author Bio: Hank McKinsey is a lifestyle how-to blogger and stay at home dad located in Central, California. Be sure to follow Hank on Twitter and see what he’s up to on his website Home By Hank.
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