3 No-TV Activities for Rainy Days

August 06, 2010, By Catherine Couretas 0 comments

Rainy Saturdays can be a huge bummer. Whether you and the family had planned a trip to the amusement park, a park play date with some family friends or even a kickball game in the backyard, it’ll seem hard to beat if you’ve got to spend the day inside. If you’ve had enough of coloring books and building blocks, try one of these activities on for size.

Build a castle. Whether you’ve got a prince, a princess or both, building them their own castle will lead to hours of endless fun. Castles don’t have to be very tall and all they require is a pile of blankets and pillows.

The easiest way to make one is by draping a blanket over the back of a couch like a tent, and then holding the other end up high with boxes or taller toys like easels. Print out a banner with your kids’ names to tape up on the entrance and everyone can dress up like royalty. If the weather clears up, this can be taken outdoors by draping blankets over the backs of outdoor furniture, like chairs.

Create a scavenger hunt. Indoors, this can almost be more fun because the kids will have limits and have to get creative. It can also be a good chance for them to learn where things are and make sure they have everything they need within reach. For example, one of the items in the hunt could be “something that would make your knee better if you scraped it while playing outside,” in which case they would have to grab a Band-Aid. Making a list of 15-20 household items will keep everyone in good spirits for an afternoon.

Make a board game. Tired of the same old games in the house? Having your kids build their own game is fun because they get to make the rules – which you should make sure to write down. It's best to use a giant poster board and draw a path for game pieces to follow, with spaces having different rules, such as moving forward or backward a certain number of spaces or getting to draw a card. Instead of making cards, use a deck of cards and have rules for certain colors, numbers or suits. For game pieces, make people or animals out of Play-Doh or colored pipe cleaners.

In the midst of whichever game you choose to play, have an indoor picnic. Lay out a blanket that’s easy to wash and let the kids sit on the ground in the living room, family room or even one of their bedrooms and serve a picnic lunch. Serve sandwiches on hamburger buns and make everyone feel like they're having lunch outside.

When spending time indoors, you’ve got to be creative. You’ve got boundaries you have to abide by and make sure your kids aren’t breaking any rules you’ve already set for them with indoor play. Do something out of the ordinary, but most importantly, have fun with your kids, because that’s what it’s really about.