Staying home with the kids? It’s time to pull out a few fun and free rainy day activities. From good old fashion family fun like board games to cool new DIY experiments, screens aren’t the only way to pass time.
Ready to get creative? Here are a few of our fave fun and free rainy day activities for kids.
Create a Boredom Jar
Whether you are staying home with kids for an hour or a week, a boredom jar can be a sanity-saver. You can make this solo or involve the whole family. All you need to do is get a few scraps of paper. Write down activities that your kids can do in an instant without too much help or prep. Steal a few ideas from this smart family or come up with a few of your own. Ideally, focus on fun free activities that you can do anytime, anywhere.
Tip: Go crazy with this! Make it a high-stakes game by blending your kids’ most-loved indulgences along with chores like tidying up. Every time somebody exclaims, “I’m bored!” an exciting game show commences.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8cHOC8EUdM
Make a New Toy
What’s better than making a mess and walking away with a cool new toy? Try a kid-friendly recipe for moon sand, slime, or playdough. When it comes to fun and free rainy day activities, there’s nothing better than creating a souvenir that’ll keep them busy for hours.
Fun & Free Rainy Day Activities: DIY Moon Sand Recipe
Did you know that you can make kinetic sand (AKA moon sand) with just flour and baby oil? Check out this video on two-ingredient moon sand.
If you find your kids love the moon sand and actually play with it, upgrade! Order some colored play sand from Amazon for an easy and pretty (but still inexpensive) option. Here’s a quick look of how it’ll look when you’re done:
DIY Slime Recipe
To make your own slime, all you need is glue, borax, and water. If you don’t already have it, grab some borax from pretty much any store with a good stock of cleaning supplies. It’s an incredibly useful and eco-friendly cleaner for clothing stains as well as any mold or mildew around the house. But, back to the slime! Here’s a super simple video tutorial to get you started.
DIY Playdough Recipe
Have a budding sculptor at home who loves to create? Teach ’em how to start from scratch! With just flour, salt, oil, water, and food coloring, you can make your own playdough. There’s no cooking or special supplies needed. Just watch this quick tutorial for everything you need to know.
Kid-Friendly Science Experiments to Do at Home
Who says fun and free rainy day activities are just about passing time on the cheap? With home science experiments, you can create an engaging and educational activity for kids of any age. Whether your kids are fascinated by science or just love messing around in the kitchen, here are a few fab ideas.
Get Physical
While there are countless fun and free rainy day activities that kids can do while sitting at the kitchen table, sometimes it’s essential to break a sweat. This is especially true for younger kids. It can be tricky to get a more involved physical game going, especially if you are on your own, but simple exercises go a long way. Check out this kid-friendly workout that will give little ones a healthy dose of screen time.
Create a Special Place
Whether the little ones have a slumber party coming up or just need to burn through some energy, creating a fort is a blast. Grab the pillows, blankets, and sheets to create a secret hideout. Upgrade it with some straight lighting and a speaker for playing music or an audiobook.
Show the kids this video to get them started with those essential fort architecture tips and tricks.
Plant a Garden
Show kids the value of taking care of something simple like their very own seedlings. Grab some good quality seeds (the cheap ones you find in discount stores are often old and they’ll have a lower success rate) and get started. Here are a few kid-friendly gardening tips.
Want to start your own garden right now? Here are a few smart ideas for using old food scraps to grow a garden. Watch this video for inspiration to your own kitchen greenhouse started.
Fun and Free Rainy Day Activities
Loving these fun and free rainy day activities? Share them with your fellow moms and dads!
Searching for more inspiration? Here are a few of the best ways to keep kids busy WITHOUT screens.
