Building Forts and Other Rainy Day Activities

With the arrival of spring, most kids look forward to spending time outdoors playing with their friends or enjoying many of the attractions around town. Unfortunately, spring often comes with its fair share of rainy days which often leaves parents and caregivers alike scrambling to figure out ways to keep everyone entertained. Read on for some of our suggestions for rainy-day activities you can use for children of all ages.

Imaginative Play

Many of us remember building forts or castles when we were kids and how much fun it could be to use ordinary objects in extraordinary ways. Couch cushions became walls, kitchen chairs became lookout towers, and bean bag chairs became thrones. The re-envisioning of household items is at the heart of imaginative play and engaging your children in the exercise of thinking of everyday things as something else activates their creativity. You may even consider getting some inspiration from your child’s favorite book, movie, or television series. Through the power of imaginative play, the entire home can be transformed into the halls of Hogwarts or the frozen landscape of Arendelle. Check out this Pinterest board for more great creative play ideas.

Just for a Rainy Day

Another great idea for rainy day activities to help your kids keep their minds off their boredom is to have a series of things they only get to enjoy on a rainy day. For instance, you may keep a stash of particular arts and crafts supplies your child loves but that they can only use on a rainy day so that it is something special they can look forward to when the weather is gloomy. Perhaps you have a special snack, treat, or drink that they can enjoy while reading a book or playing around the house. You may even choose to make something that would fit in with the imaginative play ideas. Whatever you decide, make sure that the crafts, snacks, treats, and drinks you make are something they can help make so they are focused on the task at hand rather than the fact they can’t go outside.

Utilize Media

If you have older kids (or all else fails), you might consider having a movie marathon or book series reading competition to see who can read the most pages for some extra screen time. You might also consider watching a series of videos online to learn how to do something new. Depending on your child’s interest they may want to learn how to build something, dance, or tumble. The point is to get them engaged, so they are enjoying the day rather than dreading it.