It’s raining outside, and the kids are bouncing off the walls. Go ahead and whip out one of these rainy day activities for kids.
It’s a rainy day out, and you need some fun activities to keep the kids from bouncing off the walls.
I hear you!
Check out these awesome indoor activities kids and preteens will love on a rainy day (they might even forget that it’s raining outside because of all the fun they're having).
Rainy Day Activities for Kids
Let’s focus all that energy your kids have with these rainy day activities for kids.
1. Set Up a Blind Taste Test
Kids and preteens absolutely love a good blind taste test.
I did this Pop-Tart blind taste test with mine, and he got the flavors ridiculously wrong (which made us all giggle).
I’ve also done marshmallow flavor blind taste tests (Peeps) and candy cane blind taste tests. There are lots of options here.
2. Mix It Up Color Exploration
Years and years ago – like when my son was a preschooler – I came across this fun article with a really cool activity: color exploration in a DIY kit.
And I haven’t come back to it until recently.
Even though my son is now 9, he and his friend really got into exploring colors through different mediums (paints, Play-Doh, etc.).
They had a lot of fun! The book was a hit, too.
3. Magnetic Poetry Word Station
Do you remember those fun magnetic poetry word sets that you could use to create poetry or weird sentences with?
I still have mine from when I was a teen! Though I had to search for them for about 20 minutes.
I keep them in a metal tin, and decided to create a word station for my son.
He got to use the words as he wanted to – and boy did he get goofy and creative!
4. Grow Potatoes in Buckets
My child is so fascinated with growing things – anything – that we can eventually eat.
Currently, he's saved his allowance and purchased a cacao tree from Hawai’i. He also has a tomato plant, an outside bonsai tree, and a few other pots with veggies he’s trying to regrow.
We rent, and do not have good sunshine in our small backyard.
BUT, I thought we could grow something in buckets on our personal front sidewalk. I came across this potato bucket video, and he immediately asked for potatoes to try spudding.
Well, the potatoes grew spuds, then we transplanted them about two months before this photo above was taken. A total success!
5. Online Candy Factory Tour + Candy Tasting
I think it’s so cool we live in an area where you can tour factories and processes online.
In fact, I created a whole factory tour article + free printable around this.
This summer, my son is going to do a virtual factory tour, prep for it with the printable, and then I’ll buy the product ahead of time so that he can taste what he’s witnessing being made.
6. Make Candy Mini-Versions of Food
Mini versions of everything seem to be popping up everywhere right now.
I found these awesome Japanese food kits where you make mini-looking versions of regular food…out of gummy candies.
They are so cool looking!
My two nieces had a blast with them.
7. Morse Code Beaded Bracelets from DT
Morse code bracelets are so neat – and you can get all the supplies from Dollar Tree!
It’s fun to teach kids about Morse code, and their eyes light up when they see they can make their own codes that no one else will understand.
Here are more crafts for kids, like a puzzle cube soap.
8. Design a Luxury Watch
My son started getting into luxury Rolex watches (oh my word!).
He watched several interesting videos about how they’re made, and then I whipped out his drawing notebook and told him to go ahead and design his own.
That was a lot of fun!
I told him to both write out a bullet list of his ideas (brainstorm), AND to start drawing what he would like it to look like.
9. State Flower Seeds Project
My son got this 50-states puzzle in 1st grade that he was completely enamored by…so I thought up an interesting project for us to start indoors together: attempting to grow a state flower from all 50 states in the U.S.
We’ll have to get lots of those little pots and soil. Then we’ll need to research the state flower for each state, and actually get seeds for them.
A good bit of work, but I can see him really getting into this project (plus there’s room to learn so much about the U.S. states).
We’ll also get a set of state flag stickers to put on each pot, and he’ll start learning the state flags.
10. Dollar Tree Art Camp
I love how this woman put together a week-long art camp using nothing but Dollar Tree supplies.
Definitely something I’m going to do this summer! The next idea is going to be on Day #1.
11. Squeegee Art
I was visiting our local library recently and found this really cool new idea (to me, at least): squeegee art.
Well, don’t you know the Dollar Tree sells canvases, canvas holders, paints, and squeegees? How perfect.
I thought it would be the perfect activity for when my son’s cousin came to visit for several days.
It was a real hit!
One final bit of advice: rainy days can hit kind of unexpectedly where we are, so I like to order/purchase any supplies I need ahead of time and have them ready to go. You might want to do the same. If nothing else, you’ll feel like a prepared parent (instead of like you’re always three steps behind) – and that’s worth gold in my book.
Amanda L. Grossman
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