That would sum up our vacation last week. Or for whatever other reason, you find yourself confined indoors with children who are going stir-crazy for lack of adventures.
Either way, you’re hunting for some summertime fun in the great indoors.
Your Summertime Rainy Day Cheat Sheet
As a mama stuck at home with a broken foot this summer, I’ve spent way too much time thinking up inside summer-fun alternatives. Here are some of the things we’ve come up with to stave off the rainy-day blues:
1. Read a book
So old-fashioned, I know – but it still works! I keep a stash of new-to-my-offspring kids’ books on hand, to pull out at times like this. If your kids aren’t big on reading yet, you can always curl up on the couch and read a new story together.
2. Hit the stacks
Out of new stories to read? Then it’s time for a trip to the local library. (Be sure your kids sign up for their own library cards as soon as they’re old enough – such a big-kid rite of passage!)
And don’t forget to look into summer programming and special checkout options:
- Many libraries have gone way beyond story hour. Ours offers an array of story/activity classes for different ages, Duplo free-play times, family movie nights, teen movie nights, and teen and tween game nights and code-programming clubs.
- Besides the usual books and DVDs, ours also has such items for checkout as kids’ hiking backpacks, complete with goodies like binoculars.
3. Check out a museum (pass)
Museums are another go-to rainy day staple. If you’re on vacation, this is a no-brainer. Closer to home, there are lots of ways to make the most of this opportunity:
- If you’re not already a member, some museums have summer-membership specials that are worth looking into.
- If your kids are involved in Scouting/Guiding, local museums may offer them opportunities to earn a special patch or badge along with free admission.
- Or check with your local library; many have free passes to local museums that you can check out and return, just like a book.
4. Bake something scrumptious
What better activity for a stormy summer day than baking up a storm in your kitchen? Besides ending up with some yummy treats to enjoy together, you’ll get to teach your kids about cooking and (shh!) practice some math at the same time. And the memories you build will be priceless.
5. Build something amazing
Like a Lego sculpture. Or a self-propelling Goldie Blox car. Or the tallest block tower you can pull off.
Alternatively, you can scale things up a bit. Old-fashioned blanket-and-chair forts are still fun creative outlets that my kids love. And since last Christmas, they’ve been able to take their fort-building adventures up a notch with the amazing Crazy Forts kit that Daddy (er, Santa) found for them.
6. Camp out inside
One of my kiddos’ favorite things to do with their Crazy Forts creations is cover them with a sheet, then “camp out” inside.
If you’ve got a small camping or play tent lying around, setting it up indoors is another fun rainy day activity. Who knows, “playing” at camping out might actually lead to them taking a nap inside the tent!
7. Set up an art corner
My kids’ art corner is a nook in our kitchen between the hutch and a doorway, a corner just big enough to hold a vintage play table from my own childhood. On previous rainy days, I’ve
- cleared off the lowest shelf of the nearby hutch and arranged thrift-store file trays on it, to hold the girls’ coloring books, notepads, and creations-in-progress; and
- used 3M Command hooks to hang an unbreakable file caddy on the side of the hutch, with file folders to hold loose coloring sheets, half-completed math worksheets, random word finds, etc.
Essie loves coloring at this table, where everything is within arm’s reach. Kimmie (who is obsessed with practicing math and doing word finds) loves that her spare worksheets are easy to grab, yet out of the way when she’s not using them.
8. Have a coloring marathon
What better time to haul out the coloring sheets for everyone than a rainy day? This is one reason I always hide a small bag in our vacation packing with a coloring book and some crayons or colored pencils.
If you’ve already caught the grownup-coloring-book bug, you’re set. If not, give it a try; it IS remarkably soothing and relaxing.
9. Dig out that building/crafting kit
While we’re on crafty things, how many of you have a kit or two from your child’s last birthday or holiday that you haven’t quite gotten around to making? (That would be the birdhouse kit Essie got for her birthday that we haven’t quite assembled and decorated yet.) Think of your next rainy day as a gift of found time to spend on such activities.
10. Learn a new craft
Or maybe your kiddos can pick up a new craft instead. That’s what my girls recently did, on a day they decided to take a break from the Legos and Goldie Blox.
After spending 2016 obsessed with potholder looms, both girls got larger-scale weaving-related gifts for Christmas. One recent rainy day, the girls decided to dig out these gifts and learn how to use them finally. So Kimmie now has several spool-knitted rope bracelets, and Essie is halfway to weaving herself a tote bag on her Melissa & Doug loom.
11. Excavate a fossil
If your kids prefer deconstruction over building things, maybe digging a fossil is right up their alley. Kimmie got several excavate-a-dinosaur-fossil kits for her dinosaur-themed birthday party a few years ago. She LOVED digging them out of the red “rock” in which they came.
Bonus: when you’ve dug out all the bones, you can assemble the skeleton! Just be sure you set up a good place to do this activity (a dropcloth on the floor?), as the “rock” (red-tinted plaster) that our kits’ skeletons came in can be messy.
12. Make some fossils
Alternately, your kids might have fun making “fossil” prints in a lump of clay or play dough, as my girls did recently with assorted small toy pieces.
13. Sculpt something
Many kids love smooshing clay or play-dough around into amazing shapes. Kinetic sand is another fun choice for school-age kids and older preschoolers.
For those who prefer more structure, use your rainy day to make ornaments, pendants, or pins. My mother still has the homemade play-dough Christmas ornaments we made one rainy day when I was little, safely stored in glass jars.
While starting with colored dough and adding glitter, beads, and whatnot is one option, another is hand-painting with tempera or acrylic paints, then spraying a clear coat on top or brushing on Mod-Podge to seal them.
14. Write a book
Give your budding literary genius a notebook and pencil, if they’re good to go with that. Or give them a writing prompt to spark their imagination. Or have them tell you a story while you write it down.
You could even play the old road-trip game of creating a group story by taking turns, with each person adding a sentence that builds upon the previous one.
To take things up a notch, you can add an Illustory Kit to the mix. Send off (or upload and design online) your child’s original text and illustrations, and get back a professionally typeset, hardcover keepsake volume.
15. Put on a theatrical production
This can be as elaborate (or not) as your kids’ imaginations:
- Have them act out their favorite bedtime story on the spot, or create a story as they go.
- Older kids can write out a script first, with parts.
- Or they can draw inspiration from their dress-up box.
- Kids of all ages can put on a show with their finger puppets. (Or make hand puppets from old socks first.)
- For a multi-day diversion, create sets, costumes, and lighting plans – the sky’s the limit.
16. Have a dance party
Just because you’re stuck inside doesn’t mean your kids can’t burn off some energy! Pick your favorite dance tunes (or let your offspring pick theirs), turn up the volume, and have an indoor dance party to tire them out.
17. Jump around
A dance party isn’t the only way to get your kiddos moving on a rainy day. My girls love playing with their LeapBands, which are a kid-friendly answer to adult activity trackers. The LeapBands give them challenges to complete, and doing so unlocks “secrets” or helps them “earn” new “teammates.”
On the other hand, winding down with some kids’ yoga is something Essie has loved since she was two. We have several kids’ yoga DVDs that she loves to practice along with.
18. Play a game
Doesn’t matter what type. SmartGame, to get your kiddo thinking. Old-fashioned board game. Classic card game. Or something that crosses several categories, like cribbage.
Cribbage is a card game that uses a physical board to track scores. My father learned it in the navy, and taught it to my siblings and me as soon as we turned five – partly so he’d have someone to play with, partly to help us learn basic math. Essie still has to work at the math, but Kimmie is now skilled enough that she beats me as often as not.
19. Run some in-house experiments
Even before Kimmie learned the scientific method in school last year, she and Essie were big fans of conducting impromptu “science experiments” around the house. (“Hmm, what will happen if we fill the shampoo bottle with water and shake it?” “What if we soak our magic markers in a cup of water and then try to use them?”)
If your kids are similarly curious, why not channel that inquisitive nature into some experiments where they can actually learn something? Besides lots of super books to give you ideas, there are plenty of great ideas online (e.g., here, here, here, or here.)
20. Experiment with your lunch lineup
About once a week, my girls decide to make their own lunches. I love their independence and creativity when they do this, and it’s a great chance to practice everything from planning and sequencing to cutting and cleaning up.
Sure, their creations may seem a little weird to you at first, but that’s OK:
- They’re the ones who will have to eat it!
- You may all come up with some new ideas for school lunches come fall.
Stuck on where to start? Ideas are as close as your nearest kid-friendly cookbook or the Internet. (A lot of the recipes I’ve blogged about are things my kids like to help me make, or can make for themselves.)
Alternately, maybe your kids’ bookshelf has ideas. Apparently, there are a bunch of lunch ideas in the back of the classic Encyclopedia Brown Takes the Cake, since my girls used it as their “cookbook” for a recent rainy day lunch.
21. Plan a meal
Once your kids have mastered feeding themselves lunch, it’s time to take it up a notch and help them plan a meal.
I remember learning this skill in Junior Girl Scouts, when every camping trip meant planning out nutritionally balanced meals, figuring out the most cost-effective way to acquire the ingredients, and getting our leaders to sign off on our meal plans before they took us shopping. It was a truly eye-opening experience for which I’ve been forever grateful.
Meal-planning teaches your children about so more than cooking and food prep. This activity is a great way to learn about everything from balanced nutrition to budgeting to time management and sequencing. Even if you don’t get to help your offspring execute their meal plan that day, you’ll have a good start on this activity to follow up on it in the future.
So there you have it – 21 ideas to get you through all sorts of rainy-day adventures! What’s YOUR favorite way to hack a stuck-inside summertime rainy day? Let us know in the comments!
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Making a fossil is such a creative idea. I would have never thought of it! I am working as an aupair this summer, so this list will come in handy. The weather has been rather rainy recently.
i love this, really one can do a whole lot when the weather goes so wet and to think alot of them can be done in house amazes me the most.
Yep – really makes life easier to have a list of go-to’s like this! 🙂
My kids love reading and baking, so story time and making fossils will be great. For me, I like to build things, like a planter box.
Ooh, that sounds like fun! Then you can plant something in it! 🙂
Tomorrow is the first day of our summer holiday and rain is forecast, so I think we are starting with a movie session watching ‘Sing’.
Yup – we actually spent the afternoon in the basement watching movies today as we listened for the thunder. My girls have SO wanted to see “Sing” (as have I) but we haven’t yet, so enjoy it – looks funny!
i live in ireland !! and its hardly a month without rain !! so following this list !! to pass my day well !!!
HAH! – haven’t been to Ireland yet (it’s on the bucket list), but having been to all 3 parts of the other British Isle, this does not surprise me! Glad you can put it to good use! 🙂
Rainy days were always craft days with my mom. I learned to crochet, knit, sew, paint, sculpt and a myriad of other crafty traits thanks to the rain. These are some great ideas. Love the museum suggestion.
Thanks so much! Any time now, Kimmie at least (and maybe Essie, too) will be able to learn to crochet – they watch me do it a lot, and have tried several times, but their fine-motor control isn’t quite up to manipulating the hook yet 🙂
Sometimes rain is what we need to start being productive!
HAHA! – very true!
These are all such great ideas. We love making forts indoors when it is a rainy day or even when it’s just too hot.
Yeah, “just too hot” is another possibility – even staying inside with the A/C isn’t quite cutting it for us these days – fortunately our fort-building room has a powerful ceiling fan!
Reminds me of all the things that I think of doing on a rainy day. Experimenting with lunch time meals and what I do with my kids on them.
Oh, yes, lunch time experiments are the BEST! My girls even make ME what they call a “surprise salad” sometimes!
Rainy day and going outside to jump into puddles go hand in hand for me. Am I the only one who loves to be outside when it’s raining? Also, building a fort on the couch is still one of my favourite things to do when it’s cold outside, and I am 36. =D
Oh, absolutely, my kids LOVE puddle-jumping! The only two problems with that are 1) too many of our rainy days lately have also involved severe thunderstorms/hail threats/tornado threats/flash flood warnings, so not the best time to have them out :(, and 2) they’re still young enough that they need “checking on” every so often when they’re outside, and I’m stuck on the couch with a broken foot this summer 🙁 🙁 🙁 . This is definitely a go-to of ours on rainy afternoons during the school year, though!
Cooking , reading and writing is the only thing i do during hot summers and rainy days
I confess, my biggest challenge with the cooking one is that it’s been so darn hot lately, even on rainy days – the last thing I’m wanting to do is heat up the house even more by baking something! Someday this heat will break!
I gonna do your tip for right now . I dare my niece will love it . Great tip thank you
You’re more than welcome, Ha – hope both you and your niece have fun!
Love this! I am from New England where it rains a lot but now live in Colorado where it’s quite arid. Surprisingly, I find myself missing the rain.
Haha, I never considered that, Regan! I also spent a lot of summers in New England growing up, and I get the sense from family/friends still there that it’s raining even more there now during the summer!
What a great list of fun activities to do! We are headed to Kentucky to visit our oldest boys soon and I’m hoping it will be nice but if it isn’t then I know what we will be doing for sure!! Thank you.
You’re more than welcome, Anne – I hope for your sake that you DON’T have to use this list, but if you do, hope it comes in handy! 🙂
Very nice article and the very creative cheat sheet!! good ideas for some of the MANY rainy days in Sweden
Glad (but also sorry?) it will come in handy! (Sweden is one of the countries I haven’t visited yet but it’s on my bucket list, so thanks for the heads-up!)
A huge list of interesting and fun activities to make the summer memorable. Playing a game does it for me.
I have to admit, my girls are more into board games than I am – but I’m always up for a good card game! 🙂
I had smiles written all over my face, going through your post because you couldn’t have given better tips. Thanks.
Aww, *thanks* Mary – so glad you liked it! You’re more than welcome 🙂 🙂 🙂
My kiddos and I love to make crafts inside on rainy days. We also read a lot or head to the library.
I think Kimmie went through something like four chapter books today! – and Essie read at least a dozen (non-chapter) books, since that’s how many I counted spread out all over the floor at clean-up time!
Wow this is a really comprehensive list of ideas to do! I like the idea of camping indoors in the fort! That’s really fun 🙂
Absolutely – my girls LOVE to do this! (It’s a great thing to do when they have friends over, too!)
So many great ideas here! I would go for a good book or baking. I have been reading so many books lately
Yeah, fortunately for me, both of my daughters love to read (as do I), so this is not a hard idea to sell them on!
Reading never goes out of style. One of the smartest way to spend time. When I wasn’t yet too busy with my work and my online career, I would love to create crafts and sew some household items, like curtains and pillow cases.
Ooh – SEWING! You’re right! Now, that’s MAMA’S favorite way to spend a rainy day – this Mama, anyway – can’t wait til the girls are old enough that they can start sewing, too! (Kimmie is just about there…)
Ah some great ideas here! I used to love making dens as a child and putting on mini plays, I bet my kids will love those too! Our summer holidays start in the UK next week and I’m sure we’ll have plenty of rainy days!!
Thanks, Victoria – glad you liked them, and have fun! (And glad this post is just in time for your summer school break – we’ve still got a month-plus left in the US, but it’s rather depressing that “back to school” store promos are already everywhere!…)