13 Rainy Day Ideas by Katrina Cassell*

How to stay sane and keep your kids amused when the weather locks you in.

(This is an article I clipped from Parentlife, March 1999 issue.)

1. ICE SCULPTURE
   

You need: Ice frozen in a half gallon milk carton, screw driver, small hammer.

To Do: Peel the carton from around the ice. Allow older children to create an ice sculpture by chiseling the ice with the screwdriver and hammer.

 

1. GEO BOARD
   

You need: A smooth, 12-inch square board about one-inch thick, sixty-four 1 ½" screws, screw driver, rubber bands of different colors and sizes.

To Do: Place screws equal distance in eight rows of eight and screw into the board, leaving a half-inch protruding above the board. Let your child put the rubber bands around the screws in various combinations. Create squares, triangles, or colorful designs.

 

1. SCAVENGER HUNT
   

You need: A large bag for each child, a timer or watch, a list of items found in the house.

To Do: Tape the list on the refrigerator door. Give each child a large bag. Tell the children to look for the listed items and to place the items in their bags. The children can work as a tem, or the children can compete against each other. Set the timer, or use the watch to see how long it takes each child to find the items on the lsit, or set a limit as to how much time will be allowed to gather the items.

1. PAPER CHAINS
   

You need: Construction paper, scissors, glue.

To Do: Have your child cut long strips of colored paper about an inch wide. Form a circle with one piece and glue (or staple). Loop another piece through the circle and glue. If you have more than one child, let each child make a short chain of his own and then connect all the short chains. Hang the chain somewhere to remind the children of what they can do when they work together.

1. BALANCE BEAM
   

You need: Masking tape

To do: Put a strip of masking tape on the floor to represent a balance beam. Let your child walk on the beam. Suggest ideas: Be a tight rope walker, walk forward, walk backward, and so on.

Variations: Play follow the leader. Have your child imitate you, and then let him be the leader. Play music and have your child walk the beam in time to the music. Have him march, move very slowly, and so on. Suggest animals your child can imitate.

1. GREETING CARD BOOKS
   

You need: Four or five used greeting cards, yarn, paper punch.

To Do: Have your child carefully remove the backs of his cards so he has only the picture. Punch holes along the side of each card. Then let your child tie his cards together to make a book. Your child may want to deliver completed books to church members in a nursing home or to give the books to parents or grandparents on special occasions.

 

1. TEXTURE RUBBINGS
   

You need: Heavy-weight white paper; crayons with paper removed; small items such as a comb, leaf, coin, key, paper clip.

To Do: "Hide" one or two items under a piece of paper. Have your child rub over the paper with a crayon until he can identify the objects under the paper. Repeat with other objects. Allow your child to arrange as many objects as he wants under a piece of paper and make a crayon rubbing collage. Experiment with objects of different textures.

 

1. COLORFUL BUBBLE PICTURES
   

You need: Bubble solution and wands, tempera paint, small bowls, paper, paint shirt.

To Do: Pour a small amount of bubble solution in a bowl. Add a few drops of tempera paint and stir. Let your child blow a bubble so that it pops on his paper and leaves a splatter of color. Repeat using different colors until your child has a colorful splatter picture.

 

1. BEAN BAG FUN
   

You need: Old socks, uncooked beans, laundry basket, or waste basket.

To Do: Fill old socks with beans and tie then end shut. Form a line about six feet from the basket. Let your child have a turn tossing the bean bags at the basket. If he hits the basket, move it back. If he misses, move it closer. You may have to demonstrate how to toss a bean bag underhand rather than throw it overhand.

 

1. BALLOON VOLLEYBALL
   

You need: Round balloons.

To Do: Blow up several balloons and tie. Toss them up in the air. Have you children bat at the balloons to keep them in the air. Use one or two balloons for one child and three or four balloons for more children. Pick up any popped balloons as they are a choking hazard.

Variation: Stretch a string across the room and try to hit the balloon back and forth over the string.

 

1. HOMEMADE GREETING CARDS
   

You need: Colored or white paper, scraps of material, felt, pipe cleaners, buttons, glitter.

To Do: Fold the paper in half. Let your child design the front of his card using whatever supplies he desires. Write a message to grandparents, aunts, uncles, and others on the inside. These can become cherished keepsakes.

 

1. MINIATURE VILLAGE
   

You need: Colored tape or chalk, small cars, and trucks.

To Do: Design roadways with colored tape or chalk on the basement or kitchen floor. Let your child help draw bridges, curves, and intersections. Drive the toy cars.

 

1. PAINT BLOBS
   

You need: Paint shirt, heavy paper, finger, or tempera paint, crayons.

To Do: Have your child fold a sheet of paper in half, crease, then unfold. Drop a few drops of paint on one side of the paper. Refold the paper so the paint smears. Unfold the paper and look at all the patterns. Try to find shapes and "pictures". Use crayons to make the blobs into a picture.

 

*Katrina Cassel is a freelance writer, wife, and mother. She lives in England.