7 Great Rainy-Day Activities for Small Children

I love outdoor playtime with my children! And in Southern Arizona, outdoor playtime is plentiful with swimming, parks, hiking, and bike riding. However, there are days when my children can’t go outside to play due to extreme heat or the rare but severe thunderstorms. So, whether your children are inside due to a rainy day, extreme cold, or another type of bad weather, finding something for the children to do to keep them busy without staring at a screen all day can be challenging. To help other moms like me in this situation, I made this list of “7 Great Rainy-Day Activities for Small Children” from some of the activities that my 2- and 4-year-old children like to do most often. Hopefully, this list can help you and your children to have a fun and happy rainy day.

What is the problem? 

It is raining outside, and you need to get some work done but the children are bored and clinging to you. What to do? The easy solution is to turn the TV on or give the children a tablet to play games on so that you can get some work done. I have done this more than I would care to admit.

But too much screen time is a problem. Whether it is playing games on a tablet or staring at the TV screen for hours, too much screen time is not good for your child’s development. Scientific studies have shown that the more time young children have in front of a screen, the more likely that child is to possibly develop ADHD, impulsive behavior, and other compliant behaviors. I can see this in my children. The more time they spend in front of a screen, the more they are fussy, crying, angry, testy, etc.

To combat this problem, I have spent a lot of time doing learning activities that are just fun for my children. I am lucky that my children are getting old enough to keep themselves busy with these activities after I give them a few options to consider. The following list of “7 Great Rainy-Day Activities for Small Children” contains the favorite activities that my children like to do on their own or with my help. Please take a look and try a few of them on the next rainy day you spend indoors with your children.

#1: Playdough

Playdough is one of the most popular indoor activities for kids.

Playing with playdough can help toddlers and young children improve:

• Fine motor skills
• Creativity
• Imagination
• Creative Thinking
• Finger Strength
• Dexterity

Having children play with playdough can help them:

• Learn colors & shapes
• Understand trial and error
• Solve problems
• Compare and contrast
• Experiment

Feel like making your own playdough? It is quite easy to make at home. Watch this YouTube video from Sea Lemon to learn how!

#2: Puzzles

Puzzles are another great activity (and a fun learning opportunity) for kids.

Puzzles help babies, toddlers, and young children to improve:

• Problem-solving skills
• Critical thinking
• Concentration
• Finger strength
• Hand-eye coordination
• Fine motor skills
• Memory

Putting puzzles together can help your children:

• Accept challenges
• Overcome problems
• Deal with frustration
• Follow directions
• Test ideas
• Solve problems
• Learn colors & shapes

My children like framed puzzles with different themes like construction equipment, cats, princesses, trains, etc. You can get a 12-pack of durable wooden puzzles for under $20 on Amazon by simply clicking here!

#3: Legos

Legos (and other similar building blocks) are a classic toy that has been around for generations.

Building with Legos can help toddlers and young children to improve:

• Hand-eye coordination
• Finger strength and dexterity
• Imagination & creativity
• Fine motor skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Focus & concentration
• Self-expression

Building with Legos or other construction blocks can help your children:

• Test ideas
• Learn persistence & patience
• Develop spatial awareness
• Achieve a sense of accomplishment
• Explore their curiosity
• Gain a self-confidence

Since my children are young, we use the larger Lego Duplo blocks which are easier for them to manipulate and better for me because they are not easily lost or swept up by the vacuum. There are many themed sets, but I recommend the standard 85-piece Deluxe Brick Box for years of enjoyment.

#4: Tea Party or Picnic

Indoor Picnic- Just because you’re inside doesn’t mean you can’t have a picnic! Spread a blanket on the floor and enjoy some of your favorite snacks! Or for something more formal, try having a tea party!

Having a tea party or picnic can help toddlers and young children to improve:

• Manners (“Please” and “Thank you” are a must!)
• Table etiquette
• Fine motor skills
• Patience

Having a tea party or picnic can help your children:

• Learn to share
• Learn to set the table
• Try new things
• Learn how to sequence (what you need to do 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.)
• Learn to serve others

I suggest having your children help to prepare the snacks for your indoor picnic or tea party. It starts to teach them the “work before play” concept.

#5: Make a Fort

Get some blankets and pillows and make a fort! This works well in the living room or other large rooms with lots of large furniture to drape the blankets over.

Building a fort can help toddlers and young children to improve:

 

• Problem-solving skills
• Creativity
• Imagination
• Focus
• Patience

Building a fort can help your children:

• Learn to plan
• Learn to make repairs
• Help them find inventive uses for everyday items
• Gain a sense of accomplishment

If you want an option for your children to have more physical activity, a great variation of building a fort is to build an obstacle course. Then see who can make it through the obstacle course the fastest!

#6: Dress-up or Fashion Show

Dress up – Put on some of your favorite clothes and have a fashion show!

Playing dress-up can help toddlers and young children to improve:

• Imagination
• Creative thinking
• Memory
• Fine motor skills

Playing dress-up can help your children:

• Learn to act out scenarios
• Learn about colors and color matching
• Learn about proper attire

One of my hobbies is photography, so once every month or so we have a family fashion show where my children get to dress up in several outfits to model while I get to practice my photography. My children love choosing which clothes to wear for their photo session!

#7: Singing

Not only is it a great way to have fun, but singing is a great way for children to express themselves.

Singing can help toddlers and young children to improve:

• Confidence
• Memory
• Auditory perception
• Respiratory muscles
• Breathing

Singing can help your children:

• Build their vocabulary
• Learn sentence structure
• Understand pitch and tone
• Start learning to read musical notes

Some songs are also great for getting children to get some physical activity as well. Songs like the “Chicken Dance Song” and “If You are Happy and You Know It” get my youngest children to dance while singing. It is fun for all!

Conclusion

That concludes my list of “7 Great Rainy-Day Activities for Small Children”. A lot of oldies, but goodies. Feel free to leave a comment with other great activities that you and your children like to do on rainy days.

One last thing and it is probably the most important. Please make time to do these and other activities with your children. Please turn off your phone or tablet and put them out of sight so that all of your attention is focused on your children. Your children notice this, and it tells them that they are more important than anything else. This means the world to them, and they will remember it for years!

Need more ideas for indoor and outdoor activities for children of all ages? Check out my post “Best Classic Screen-Free Activities for Kids“. Please also take a look at my other Parenting Posts for inspiration and ideas!