Day 279: rainy day activities

Most of the time rainy days mean great days to watch movies and take long naps. Not great days to learn about nature or get outside.

But that doesn't have to be the case. Rainy days can be great days to experience nature, learn about it play outdoors!  Here are some great ways to enjoy a rainy day.

1. Read a rain book. You can check out some of our favorites over on the Must See Children's Books page on the sidebar. Or just ask/search at your local library.
2. Measure the rain. Make a simple rain gauge and set it outside. Throughout the rain storm check to see how much rain you have gotten. If it is rainy for several days you can even make a chart to keep track of the rain each day and make some comparisons.
3. Sink or Float. If you want to venture out there is a great activity you can do in a puddle on the sidewalk or in your driveway. Simply have your child gather items that they find throughout the yard and then test them out in the puddle to see if they sink or float! Sam and Avery both love this activity. They both get a kick out of throwing things in puddles but then Sam does really enjoy figuring out which ones stay on top and which ones she has to reach into the puddle to retrieve. Yes we get wet but that is okay!
4. Puddle jumping! Be brave, bundle up in clothes you don't care too much about and go jump in a puddle or two! Avery isn't quite to the jumping stage yet but she does enjoy walking through them.
5. Sail a boat. With puddles around it is a great time to test out some homemade boats. So using household items or natural items (whichever you have on hand) have your kids make small boats. Then take them outside, find a big enough puddle and see if they can float across the puddle. If they sink or tip over then it is back to the drawing board to try to fix it and then back out to try again. This can be an all day adventure with older kids that really get into creating. And only requires a small amount of outside time if your rain is really coming down.
6. Watch the rain drops. For the very little ones (Avery use to love this last Fall) simply finding a good window that has rain drops running down it and sitting with them to watch the rain drops can be a very relaxing and fun experience. I would put Avery on my lap and use her little fingers to trace the lines that rain drop made on the window.
7. Listen to the rain. Sam still has "fears" of the thunder and lightning so when we do get a big daytime storm I try my best to have us really watch it and listen to it. If I can get her to sit down and really listen to the sounds and talk about them it can help to make it not so scary.

How do you spend your rainy days?

________________________________________________________________________________________

The Nitty Gritty!

We got a pretty big storm last night with lots of rain but it has only been sprinkling today. Sam asked this morning on our way to school if we could jump in puddles today! It is a little bit chilly and I don't have rain boots for Avery yet so I kept her in the stroller but Sam and I did some serious puddle jumping this afternoon. She also tested out some sticks, leaves and one pine cone on the puddles as well. Simple things today but it got us almost 45 minutes of outside time! Which on a rainy day I am pretty happy with.

Comments

[Angee]

Great rain day ideas. I struggle with what to do on rainy days. My two year old just got some new rainboots that she'd love to try out.

[Debi]

Great list of ideas! Rainy days can be a little challenging when it comes to heading outside (more so for the parents than the kids, it seems!). But my boys never tire of jumping in puddles.

[Nature Trails and Nature Tales]

thoseare great rainy day activities! :) we will have lots of those in may I starred your list in my google :)

[Angela]

These are awesome. You always have the best ideas! On rainy days, we usually watch the rain and talk about the earth and its inhabitants needing a drink and how we keep the water clean.