The rain is coming down and there’s no end in sight. The kids are beginning to get a little stir crazy, and you’re not sure what you’re going to do. You can’t head to the park or pool like you had planned. Having a relaxing, lazy day at home really isn’t in your kids vocabulary. It’s time to come up with some rainy day activities for your clan.

From growing up I’m sure you can remember some oldies but goodies like board games, card games, coloring, playing with playdoh, and of course there’s always watching movies. It’s time however to think outside the box. Let’s get creative!

Fun Summertime Rainy Day Activities

1. Play Outside in the Rain – If it’s not storming with lightening and hail playing outside in the rain can be a blast. They can get all decked out in raincoats, hats and boots. Or they can put on their swimsuits to play in natures sprinklers.
2. Wash the Car – This would be a group family activity and really just an added way to play in the rain. Get the sponges and soapy water. Then go to town together washing the car. Again though this can’t be during a thunderstorm or severe weather.
3. Let’s Sing – Okay not really, but have a lip sync competition. Each kid pick out their favorite song, if you do this often you may have to veto certain songs or require them to submit song for approval first so they aren’t all singing the same song. Then go back to their rooms, practice their songs until they have all the lyrics and may even have a little dance routine with it. Once everyone’s got their song ready you can have a little lip sync concert. There can be rewards for most accurate, most creative, most challenging lyric section, and overall performance. You can make up fun categories.
4. Strike a Pose – Stage a fashion show. This can be done a couple ways. One can be simply having your kiddos dress up in their finest and favorite attire to walk the catwalk, hallway, striking a pose at the end while you take pictures. Or to spice it up, put everyone’s name in a bowl, and each person draw out a name. They can’t draw out their own. Then dress up in the clothing of the family member they drew.
   Don’t forget the flash photography for this one.
5. Make PlayDough –  Yes you can just buy PlayDoh and play with it, but that isn’t nearly as much fun as making your own. Plus the PlayDough recipe in this link is all natural down to the colorants (dye). Once you and your kids make the dough you can bring out the cookie cutters and PlayDough tools to have tons of fun.
6. American Ninja Anyone – If you have a little warrior in your house then this will be right up their alley. Build an obstacle course in part of the house. Be specific like hop down from the couch, do 15 army crawls to the stool, stand up and do 10 squats with your hands on the stool, go down to the ground to do 5 barrel rolls to the carpet, do 15 frog jumps. You can time them each to see how long they take to get through the course. Or you can have them do it as a relay. See how many times they can get through it in 5 minutes.
7. Freeze Dance – You can add an element of dress up, where they get dressed for a dance party before you start the music. Or you pick a favorite song, they all get to pick one and start the music playing. Mom, Dad, Grandma or whoever is at the music helm gets to control the pause button. When the music pauses everyone must freeze. If they don’t freeze and remain frozen when the music stops they are out for the round. The last person dancing is the winner in that song.
8. Build a Fort – Whip out the sheets, blankets, couch cushions, chairs, stools, tables and build a killer fort for you and your kids to play in. Help them make a list of what they will need to build their fort. Have them each draw a picture of what they want it to look like. Look each of their designs and see what will work with the materials you have on hand. Then build it and play in it. Bring in little lights, books, cards, board games. Or make it so the tv is visible bring in your pillows and have a movie marathon.
9. Have Fun With Paint – Get out the paints and get the creative juices flowing. Paint on bubble wrap a cool design and lay it on a white sheet of paper. Us wooden blocks, or cut fruit like potatoes or citrus fruits as paint stamps. Bring in some leaves from outside, let them dry, then paint them and use them as leaf stamps. Do paint by numbers or make a watercolor masterpiece.
10. Play Ball – What? Inside?? It’s not what you’re thinking. Blow up a balloon and make a baseball diamond in your living room. Grab a yard stick, cardboard wrapping paper tube or little plastic bat. Loft the balloon from the pitching mound over to the batter. Let them hit the balloon and run the bases. Catching the balloon isn’t an out. To get someone out they have to be tagged in between bases with someone holding the balloon.

Go through these ideas with your kids. They may have a few more fun things pop in their minds while reading through this list. Don’t let another rainy day go by just sitting bored in front of the television, or with your kids fighting. Fill your rainy day with fun activities.

Thank you for taking the time to read through the rainy day activity blog. Please leave me a comment or send me a message if you have more fun ideas your kids can do when the weather outside isn’t nice.