It’s Raining It’s Pouring ~ Indoor Activities To Save Your Sanity

Here in the Midwest we are being inundated with day after day of rain. The first day or so isn’t bad but after day three we’re all going stir crazy. In order to save my sanity and yours I’ve put together a short list of activities that I hope will take the madness out of this rainy season.

It’s Pool Time ~ The swimming pool is outside in the rain so why not do an indoor pool? It is as simple as filling the bathtub with water and adding pool toys. Have the kiddos put their swimming suits on and jump in. Add some Carolina Beach Music onPandora and you’re all set.  The magic ingredient seems to be the swimsuits. A bath is a bath, but add a swim suit and it turns into an adventure.

Fill ‘Er Up ~ This activity works wonders with the toddler set. Cover your table with towels to absorb the inevitable drips. Gather up different sized little containers (baby food jars, yogurt cups, laundry soap scoops, etc.) Fill them with water and add a couple of drops of food coloring. Give your kiddo some eye droppers and medicine syringes and let them transfer water from one container to another. Try giving them an empty container and let them experiment with adding  different colors to see what happens when two are combined.

Cave Exploration ~ Drape blankets over the dining room table to make the cave. Use your dining room chairs if you need to make it bigger. Add some flashlights and let the adventure begin! This same concept also works in the bottom of a closet. Something about the dark and a flashlight just brings out the giggles. 

Drive In Movie ~ Move everything out (or at least out of the way) of the bottom of your closet. Throw in some pillows to make it comfy. Gather up your portable DVD player or your laptop and a favorite movie. Add some popcorn, fruit snacks and juice boxes. We’ve also done this in the van in the garage, but I prefer the closet and pillows . . . much more comfy!

Pretzel Art ~ Find an easy peasy recipe for pretzel dough and mix it up. Let the kids form the dough into fun shapes. Bake it up and then enjoy eating it with an assortment of dips.

Boxcar Children ~ Smart mommas hold onto a big empty box just for rainy days.  Cut a door flap and some window holes in the box. Let your kiddos tear strips of construction paper (or newspaper for that matter) and use glue sticks to decorate their new home.  This same concept also works with shoe boxes and toilet paper rolls. Make garages and tunnels for their toy cars.

Fly a Plane ~ Make some paper airplanes and then fly them. Try it from different positions like sitting on the floor or standing on a chair.

Make a Home Movie ~ Most smart phones or cameras have video capabilities so why not put them to good use filming the kids. Come up with some outlandish plot. Find the perfect costume. Add some appropriate makeup (every bad guy needs a sinister moustache) and then let the filming begin. These will become priceless family heirlooms.

Fashion Show Runway ~ If you’ve got a house full of girls they will love the opportunity to strut their stuff. Go all out. Do a fancy up do on the hair. Glam it up with makeup. Find some of mommas high heels. Put some fun music on and let your girls show off their fashion sense.

Singin In The Rain ~ If all else fails just give in and go out in it! Pull those rain boots on and jump in mud puddles to your heart’s content. Make some mud pies. When you’ve worn them out just toss them in the tub and the mud will wash away. It does help if you think ahead and put some towels by the backdoor before you go out. Cleaning floors on a rainy day just isn’t part of the fun!