101 Things to do When it Rains........

Well, 25 and counting.............


I started this list a while ago and got all of these fabulous contributions. I want to get to 101 one day, so if you have more suggestions, post a comment in the box under this posting by clicking on the word 'comment' and you'll be helping out a parent on a rainy day some time!

1- We like to position small plastic (or any)animals on a map of the world. We put them where the animal is from and then we talk about them make noises, discuss what they eat, the weather there, etc....
2 - build a giant fort/tent in your living room with bedsheets, make s'mores in the microwave and pretend you are camping
3- Put on your rain gear and go geocaching (or treasure hunting as my kids call it)
4 - Set up a treasure hunt or scavenger hunt in the house. Give the kids a list of what to find and clues as to where to find them..easily adapted for younger kids by making a list with the pictures of the objects they need to find!
5- One of our outdoor favourites is going to Goldstream Park in the rain! We walk to the Nature House, puddle jumping along the way, spend some time using the resources at the Nature House (they also sell drinks/snacks) - there's a library, bat cam,
microscopes, movie theatre, displays, puzzles, craft table and nature-themed books & toys to purchase. Sometimes we'll also pack a picnic lunch and eat under the covered area and enjoy the scenery.
6- Make a "time capsule". On a large sheet of paper draw an outline of your child, from head to toe. Then, have them colour it in with their favourite colours, write down all their favourite things to do, eat, see; favourite people, toys whatever is
"it" at this moment in their lives. Then date it and your children will have it to look back on at sometime in future.
7- Go to one of the wonderful swimming pools around town.
8- Be a tourist in your own hometown and go to Miniature World, UnderSea Garden, Bug Zoo, Museum.
9- See a movie at one of the theaters including Imax
10- Playzone or Tumblebums in Langford
11- Check out all the different things happening at the libraries.
12- Different kindergyms in town
13- Have a playdate at someones house
14- We like to pull out all sorts of pots, pans, lids, tupperware, etc. and make a massive, noisy drum set. You can experiment with different "drum sticks" too. We're quite fond of the metal whisk. It's even more fun if the "drum set" is in our homemade blanket & chairs fort!
15- How about potting a plant such as a tomato plant...or getting a mushroom gro-bag - then, when the next rainy day inevitably arrives, you can take some time watering the plant, talking about the plant's life cycle etc. Eventually, you'll get some food out of it too which your little one will (hopefully) be all too happy to eat up!
16- Don't forget the baking - cookies, brownies, cup cakes all fun things to eat and there is always the spoon to lick - yum, yum (find kiddie size cup cake tins, just right for small hands and mouths)
17- Potato prints with huge newsprint paper and tempura paint. You can cut the potatoes into cool shapes and the kids love it.
18- Playdough is great. Especially if you roll it out and cut out shapes with cookie cutters
19- A different take on tents is wool-maze. Collect ends of wool from all the knitters in your life (are there any left?) or buy cheapest wool. Then when the rainy day comes, choose a room and make a giant 3-D spider's web of wool, filling the whole room. Start in any corner, say by tying the wool to the leg of a bed then stretch it across the room to a shelf then across in a different direction and up to a window frame. Keep going and be imaginative! When it's finished (or the wool has run out) older children can try to get around the room without touching any wool. Younger ones can treat it like a tent.
20- Never throw out king-size cardboard boxes! Collapse and store so they are ready to become anything the kids want when it rains. A few windows and it's a play house; a side that folds half way open becomes a shop; open at the top for a boat. The
children decide on something different each time and then make up a story describing what happened in that shop/house/boat. Keep the stories!
21- Visit a farm or zoo or aquarium, then when it rains re-write Partridge in a Pear Tree based on the visit, with the children providing the words using their favourite animals. A recent one started "When we went to the farm park my mommy
showed to me..."
22- Cut out a window, the bottom flaps and the back of a big cardboard box/ poster board to make a standing stage for puppet shows. Use socks/ paper bags to make puppets and create puppet shows. You can create little plays together with varying
themes and characters.
23- Put a blanket on the living room floor, pull out the teddy bears and have a teddy bears picnic for lunch
24- Cover the kitchen table with a big piece of paper and pull out felts, glue and a bunch of bits and bobs to make a giant collage
24- Turning off the lights and closing the blinds and playing hide and seek or detectives with flashlights
25- If we are feeling lazy on a rainy day we make hot chocolate and popcorn and curl up together to have a movie time or to tell stories we make up!
26- Puddle-jumping!
27- Painting- just get really big paper and use washable paint.....