Fun at-home activities for children on rainy days
Has the dull and wet weather ruined you and your little one’s trip to the park? Maybe their sports session has been cancelled due to heavy rain.
Whatever the reason, sometimes they need to be entertained indoors to cure their boredom. That’s why you should keep some fun at-home activities for rainy days in your locker.
So, what can you and your tot do while the weather is bad? Let’s take a look…
Indoor fine motor activities for youngsters
Some rainy-day projects are excellent for enhancing your child’s fine motor skills, as well as being super-fun!
Fine motor abilities refer to the coordinated control of the small muscles in areas including the fingers, hands and eyes, which are essential for helping young ones to write, get dressed and manipulate objects.
Here are some of our favourite fine motor skill-building activities that are perfect for doing indoors:
Arts and crafts
Craft activities' benefits are two-fold: they help develop your tot’s fine motor abilities while allowing their imagination to run free. Set up a child’s table and chairs for your tot to comfortably sit and try things such as paint-by numbers, drawing, making sock-puppets or bead jewellery making.
Playdough
Most children adore playdough as it offers a unique sensory experience as well as a chance to go wild with creative model-making. Plus, it’s also excellent for strengthening muscles in the hands and fingers.
Building blocks
Stacking colourful foam blocks intrigues toddlers, all while engaging their fine motor abilities, enhancing hand-eye coordination and introducing them to cause-and-effect when their creations fall.
Gross motor activities for toddlers
To ensure your special one is developing as they should, why not try some indoor gross motor activities while the weather is bad? Gross motor skills are the full-body movements essential for confidently completing even the most basic physical actions, such as walking, running and climbing.
See how you and your child can spend indoor time bettering their physicality, all while enjoying themselves:
Build an obstacle course
Let your toddler take on a thrilling and exciting test in a safe place with an at-home obstacle course. They’re easy to build - all you need to do is arrange a series of soft foam elements for your child to navigate through. This could include anything from tunnels, ramps and steps.
Yoga
When the weather is bad, why not introduce some zen into your kid’s playspace with yoga? This is something parents and children can enjoy together, which can contribute to better focus, strength and stress management.
We recommend placing a padded play mat beneath your toddler to provide cushioning underfoot.
Make an indoor foam playground
The perfect solution for a rainy day is a small indoor playground for your youngster to explore and enjoy. Foam playgrounds feature a range of foam elements and often a colourful ball pit filled with smooth plastic balls, which are fun to splash around in and throw.
Cognitive activities for rainy days
Kids need to develop their cognitive skills so they can gather and process information, which includes thinking, problem-solving and memory.
These tasks can encourage your child’s cognitive abilities, all while curing boredom:
Puzzles
Solving chunky jigsaws or wooden peg puzzles actively engages a young person’s mind, which is great for improving problem-solving skills, patience and concentration - not to mention that they’re heaps of fun, too!
Memory games
Memory games are highly beneficial for cognitive development. Simon says, spot the difference and ‘I went to the shops and bought’ all require your tot to engage their brain to focus and concentrate.
Set up a treasure hunt
Another way you can keep your children occupied indoors while elevating their cognitive skills is by organising a treasure hunt. From the get-go, they’ll have to think outside the box to solve clues and observe their surroundings to find the treasure they seek.
After piecing the clues together and being rewarded, your toddler can also understand the importance of perseverance, even when faced with a tricky challenge.
Imaginative games
Imaginative and creative development is massively important when it comes to emotional understanding and expression, socialising and relating to others and improved mental health. It can also unlock passions, skills or interests as they reach school age, such as drama and creative writing.
Check out these enjoyable indoor activities that promote imaginative play:
Playing make-believe
Kids love to invent narratives and pretend they’re someone or something else - it’s one of the fundamentals of being a child!
Don’t put any rules in place and let your toddler take the lead with the story creation, as this will allow their creative side to run free - you might even find that you discover your inner child while joining in the fun.
From galloping around on horseback as a knight of the Round Table to jetting off to space for a crucial rescue mission in another galaxy, who knows where their imagination might take you!
Storytelling
The weather outside won’t dampen your youngster’s appetite for crafting stories that are truly their own.
The folded story game is a superb storytelling game that parents and tots can enjoy together. It also helps to improve your tot’s vocabulary and literacy skills from a young age. All you need is a piece of paper, a pencil and an imagination that knows no bounds.
Begin the game by writing a few lines of a story - it can be anything. Then, fold the paper so it reveals only the last sentence. Pass it to your child to read the sentence, and they can then add to the story with their wacky ideas. This repeats back and forth until you decide to write an ending. Lastly, conclude the game by reading the full story out loud - we promise you’ll enjoy lots of laughs!
Create a den
If your treasured one doesn’t already have an awesome den, a rainy day is the perfect time to build one! You could start by turning an existing play tent into an exciting retreat by adding plush pillows and blankets.
Or you can build one from scratch using bed sheets to form a fort. Hang the sheet over two rows of kitchen chairs with their backs facing inwards, creating a ceiling.
Then, stock the fort with your tot’s favourite snacks, comfy blankets and teddy bears - anything needed for hiding away for hours on end!
Contact KiddyMoon today
For high-quality children’s furnishings and play equipment, choose KiddyMoon! We stock everything you could ever need to enhance your tot’s space, from wooden climbing frames to foam playgrounds and more.
To speak to a friendly team member, feel free to call us on 0800 208 1435 or email us at contact@kiddymoon.co.uk, and we’ll assist you in any way we can.