Free shipping on USA orders over $129!
Ideas (indoors or out) for rainy days?
- This topic has 8 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 8 months ago by
.
Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
- Posts
Here in Michigan, we’ve been seeing a lot of rainy days. I know CM says rain is no reason to keep children inside … but some days, that would mean taking two toddlers out in a torrential downpour! Or some days, even if the rain is light, the weather is quite chilly, and I’m not comfortable with them being cold and wet.
But I notice a TREMENDOUS difference (and not for the better) in their behavior if they don’t get outdoor time. Any suggestions? So far, we’ve just sat on the porch and watched the rain. If it’s warm enough, we run around in it and splash in puddles and such. But I just don’t know what else to do with two busy little guys (3 1/2 and 20 months) otherwise!
We have a membership to the YMCA – ours has a huge playstructure – and we go there so they can run around…. your kids are a little young for the playstructure, but there is a gym at ours too, and there are times with toddler riding toys and other stuff like that out…. or swimming is great.
And I have to admit that for my older kids (ages 6 and 4), we have a WII so that I can let them do WII sports as well… (I’m in Canada, and there are too many winter days that I don’t want to go outside…)
My guys just have too much energy if they don’t get someway to wear it off….
I think our Y has something like that, but unfortunately it’s not in the budget right now! I think one local community center has a free playtime a couple times a week that’s just $1 a kid … it’s nothing terribly exciting, but at least it’s a lot bigger than our house!
For indoor play at the young ages of your little guys, a bath sometimes occupies them and satisfies the need for adventure. Even playing in the kitchen sink works well.
Setting up some games like obstacle courses, relay races, throwing paper balls in a bucket from a distance, dropping pennies from a height into a jar, etc. can work well for little kids. We like the game of hiding an object in the room and then the other person has to find it with with clues like “getting hotter, getting colder.” That game can go on forever as the kids almost always love to play over and over! Or you could play games like “find something in the house that is green. Now find something that is round, etc.” (Folowed by, “Now put it back” LOL!)
Simon Says is always fun. A kid version of charades is fun, too – the players take turns acting like an animal and the other people have to guess what it is.
One game I really liked as a child was my mom put a bunch of items in a pillow case and I had to reach my hand in and guess what they were. I also remember my mom rearranging rooms on rainy days and I thought that was really exciting when younger (I still do!). Those indoor days might be the time for making forts under the dining table and making these types of projects “special” for rainy days.
For bad weather days, I do encourage you to get the kids outside even if it’s for a short spurt. There is something invigorating about being outside in “bad” weather. I know some days it’s really not possible, but most days at least a little bit of time can be spent outdoors. (And yes, I know that sometimes bundling up the kids and dealing with wet clothes takes more time than the outdoor time itself!)
We live in rainy Western WA, so if we don’t go outside when it rains, we’d be inside from October through May!
My children love going out in the rain because they are used to it. Sometimes it’s only for 10 minutes, but just the change of scene and the fun of splashing around really does make a difference in the how the day goes.
Nanci
Oooh, those are great ideas!
The other day, we had a tremendous rainstorm … we’d been out on the porch watching the rain (which wasn’t so bad at first), and Matthew (the eldest) decided to run around in it. Eli and I joined in, and then it just started to POUR! After that, we were soaking wet and rather chilly, so I threw the boys in the bathtub to warm them up. It was actually an awful lot of fun, though not an experience I’d care to repeat on a daily basis 🙂
Sanveann- You might also, since your guys are so little, set aside some toys that you only allow them to play with on rainy days.
Also, baking cookies together or even just having hot chocolate after you come in from the rain is great fun.
Nanci
Just one mention about the YMCA….
If you can’t afford a Y membership, you can book an appointment to get assistance with the membership fees. We get our membership for a lot less than the normal fees, and it includes our swim lessons, access to other lessons, and access to the facilities. This is in Canada, but I’m sure it is the same in the States…
Suzuki, I did see some info about that on my local Y’s website. Unfortunately, it’s not that we don’t HAVE the money, it’s that it’s all budgeted for other things! Even if we did qualify, which I’m very sure we don’t, I wouldn’t want to take it away from someone who was genuinely need.
Nanci,I like the idea of rainy-day-only toys!
Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
- The topic ‘Ideas (indoors or out) for rainy days?’ is closed to new replies.