“It's raining, it's pouring … The old man is snoring.”
The proverbial old man may sleep through a rainy day (and you may wish to), but rest assured your kids won't. Rain seems to intensify their restlessness, shorten their patience and turn their emotional gauges straight to "I"m bored.' Besides a collection of card and board games, having a "rainy day activities" file and a box of simple craft supplies can be a lifesaver on these gray days. Here are some starter ideas.
- Make a modeling clay castle
- Try Farkel. This fun, fast-paced dice game teaches math skills and is enjoyable into adulthood. Check online for rules, or purchase a Farkel set.
- Play bean bag toss using folded socks
- Make a Rain fairy - Collect and store items in the craft box ahead of time. For each child, you'll need a paper towel tube, plastic Easter egg, circle of cardboard to cover one end of the tube, tape, glue, a bit of screening and rice. Use markers, colors, paper scraps, etc. to decorate the fairy, and a piece of scrap booking paper or scrap wallpaper to make her dress. To begin, tape the bottom onto the tube. Crunch up the screening; insert it into the tube. Pour in about ¼ cup of rice. Glue the Easter egg "head" in place, allow drying time (if you use hot gule for this part, use the usual precautions with hot glue and kids). Sip cocoa and tell fairy stories during this time. Carefully wrap the tube in decorative paper and secure with glue. Make wings from paper or a doille. Decorate and tip her over to listen to the artificial rain.
- Invent a game!
- FunFoam can become anything - picture frame, bookmark, name plaque or paper dolls. You'll need a pair of scissors and glue (sold with the FunFoam), plus a little imagination.
- See how many words the kids can come up with using the name of your last name, your town, or their names
- Take some time (ahead of time) to record books for the kids. Anything from Dr. Seuss to classic stories, keep the cassettes in your Rainy-Day-file. Let the kids illustrate the books as they listen.
- Let the kids make lunch
- Keep partial card decks together, rubber banded in the file box. Allow the kids to try to build a card house. Take some pictures as they work. Snack on graham crackers with a thin layer of white icing and the card suits cut from fruit rolls.
- Make the alphabet in dry noodles
- Does your family have a creed? Do you value your religious heritage? Write some verses or ideas on index cards. Set them to a familiar tune (you'd be amazed what can be sung to London Bridge or Twinkle, Twinkle), and learn them with the kids.
- Play an animal guessing game. Points are awarded for how many clues it takes to guess the animal. Low points win.
- Try a rousing bowling tournament. Fill water bottles about 1/2 way full of water; screw the lids on tightly. Use the hallway as the alley and a medium weight ball. Discover in the encyclopedia that bowling first made its appearance in the Pharaohs' Egypt, and dress up as ancient kings (or mummies) to add the proper ethnic flavor to the game!
- Have kids write a letter to a relative, illustrated with colored pencils
- Make cookies together
- Make a family tree. Use paper cut-outs or milk lids for apples and a permanent marker to print family names. Attach to a tree cut from poster board. Tell stories about your kid years, your parents as kids and any old family history you know.
- Turn the lights off, the music on and have a flashlight parade
- Make holiday decorations. Make sure to display these in prominent places around the house.
- Read a book together
- Prepare for a mess! Discuss volcanoes as part of your morning. At lunch or snack, add red Kool-Aid to Sprite and watch it erupt. Have a towel handy, or put the bottle in a baking pan to catch the "lava". Eat "eruption corn" (popcorn seasoned with season salt) with the volcanic juice.
- Teach them to crochet or knit
- Make face paint. Mix 1 Tbs. cold cream, 1 Tbs. Crisco and drops of food coloring. Let the kids become monsters, clowns or aliens. The paint comes off with a dry bath rag, then soap and water.
- Make up a song praising or putting down the rain
- Relay time! Egg race - Using a boiled egg, let kids pass it from spoon to spoon. If you only have two children, let them carry the egg across the kitchen to a bowl. Winner (and loser) gets to eat the egg.
- Lifesaver race - Give each kid a straw and a Lifesaver. Their job is to crawl from point A to point B with the Lifesaver on the straw, pass it to the next person and let them crawl back to the starting point. Again, kids eat the Lifesaver.
Rainy days can be a challenge, but with a little planning they can become favorite days, full of memories and fun.
