School’s out and the kids are home. It’s great to have them around more and even better to not have to get them up and out the door at the crack of dawn.
The only trouble is, when the kids are home, you need to entertain them!
Thankfully the weather is set to be good, but we’ve already had a run of rain near us, leaving me clambering around for rainy day activities. While we’ve still got our fingers crossed for more good weather (because, let’s face it, it’s easier to entertain them in the nice weather), I’ve compiled a list of rainy day activities, just to be on the safe side.
Rainy Day Activities
Be prepared for bad weather with these awesome rainy day activities for children. From crafts to a little help from tech, this list has you covered.
Play free online games
Online games are great, but they’re even better when they’re free! My kids love simulator games, like restaurant or supermarket simulators. I like to steer them towards free money games because they can help me teach the kids a bit more about money. It gets us chatting about how money works and how making money and spending money affects the total money you have.
These free games are great because there’s a load of them available, they keep the kids entertained for ages and I can slyly teach them a bit of maths without them realising.
Cooking and Baking
Baking with kids can either be very sweet or very stressful depending on their skill level and how good they are at following instructions.
Generally, I try to get them to help me out where they can. So if I have an older child, I’ll get them to help me cook the dinner, then I’ll encourage them to help me wash up. This teaches them important life skills, helps me out at mealtimes, and fixes the issue of the washing up!
With smaller children, I like to bake. This teaches them about weighing and measuring, and we all get some lovely baked good to eat at the end (providing the weighing and measuring goes well!)
Decorate Rocks
Rock painting is big news at the minute, but there’s more than one way to decorate a rock. There are special rock painting kits out there, but felt tips and chalk can work just as well. Grab some rocks out the garden, wash and dry them, then get to decorating. It’s a pretty cheap pastime and fab for when the weather is bad.
Write a Story Together
Writing a story together with your child can be really rewarding. If they’re too young to be writing a full story themselves, instead let their imaginations run wild while you transcribe for them. It’s fun to hear just what’s going on in that little head of theirs.
If you have more than one child, host a story writing competition. Of course, they all have to win their category (I usually go for age categories, but if you’ve got twins you might have to switch it up to genre or something else that makes them different). Have biscuits on hand to dish out as a prize (maybe even the biscuits you made in your baking session.)
I hope these ideas have been a helpful aid on a rainy day. Let me know if you have an idea I should include in this list.