The Ultimate Guide To A Perfect Rainy Day With Your Toddler
It’s a rainy day and your little one is at home. What should you do? We have compiled a list of our favorite rainy day activities for toddlers. These activities are perfect for those days when the rain just won’t stop and you need to keep your little ones entertained.
Whether you choose to stay completely dry with indoor activities or venture out to splash around in the rain with your little ones, we’ve got you covered!
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Get Your Toddler Wet Weather Ready With A Rain Day Kit
When the weather forecast looks unfavorable, it is important to have an alternate plan. An important part of that plan is to have wet weather gear if you are planning on doing any outdoor rainy day activities with your toddlers. So make sure your kids have a rain day kit.
A rain day kit should include ponchos, slickers, or raincoats, rain hats, and rubber boots. Don’t forget to grab a rain poncho for yourself too so you can stay comfortable in the rainy weather. A fun umbrella is always good to have too! Keep a towel or two handy, and close to the door for when you go back in the house.
What to Do on a Rainy Day When You Have a Toddler at Home
In this section, we will discuss some fun indoor and outdoor activities for a rainy day. Most of our rainy day activities are geared towards toddlers ages 1-3 but some will work great even with older kids ages 4,5,6,or even 7! We’ve come up with over 25 fun activities that will keep them entertained while they wait out the storm.
The Amazing List of 25+ Rainy Day Activities for Toddlers
Those dreary rainy and snowy days provide a great opportunity for getting creative and looking on the bright side. It’s all in how you look at things so turn a rainy day into a fun adventure! Here is a list of 25+ things you can do with your kids during wet weather.
Make a new recipe using the ingredients that are in your pantry – it’s the perfect way to use up some of those items before they go bad!
Play a game of “I Spy” with your child and talk about all the things you see inside. Or look through the window out at the rain to spy outdoor objects.
Read picture books about rain, thunderstorms, and other wet weather topics. (We are real bookworms here, if you are too, check out our Kids’ Books Category!
Coloring & Activity Books can provide hours of fun on a rainy day!
Don’t have an activity book on hand? No problem! You can find a ton of free printables and fun learning resources for little ones at carsondellosa.com. Just click on the free resources tab on their home page!
Have an indoor picnic with your little ones! Bring out all their favorite foods and spread them out on a tablecloth across the floor. Add some fun plates, cups, and utensils to make it feel like a real picnic!
Why not have a tea party with your little ones complete with fun fancy hats, costume jewelry, and their favorite stuffed animals or dolls to join in the fun?
Build a sky-high tower using building blocks or stacking cups. See how high you can make it. If you start your tower on a chair or a table you might even get it to the ceiling!
Make a list of your favorite nature things, like flowers, trees, or animals. Draw or paint some pictures of them!
Have a singing party AKA kid karaoke! Play the alphabet song, or sing songs about rain and snow!
Sing nursery rhymes together and act out the story. Forgot the words? No worries! YouTube channels like Dave And Ava, Cocomelon, or Super Simple Kids Songs will refresh your memory. Those are 3 of my favorite channels for toddler nursery rhymes.
Simple games like Simon Says or Red Light Green Light are great for developing receptive language and gross motor skills but are also just a lot of fun.
Hide a toy someplace in your house and have your child try to find it. Give them clues by saying “Warm, Warmer, Hot” when they get close to the object’s hiding spot and “Cold, Colder, FREEZING!” when they move farther from it.
Read a story together: Choose an interactive book or one with many pictures that you can enjoy. If your child is 3 years old or older, consider reading them a chapter from their favorite book. Maybe you could even take a trip to the library!
Not sure what your child’s reading level is? You can get a reading assessment and a ton of other awesome literacy resources for kids ages 2-12 with Reading IQ: Age of Learning. They offer the first month totally free so there’s nothing to lose!
Make some crafts: Gather your art supplies like glue, paper, foam sheets, and scissors, and watch your child create masterpieces!
If you want to be more involved in the process, try a painting kit like this pretty watercolor butterfly or make some homemade playdough.!
Toddler and preschool rainy day craft ideas are endless and you can find a gazillion of them on Pinterest.
How about a fun bubble bath? Crayons for the bath, bathtub fingerprint, squirting bath toys, or floating bath blocks for the tub are all great choices.
Give their dolls/babies a bath. In our case, we didn’t have many dolls but our son would bath his dinky cars while standing on his step stool. We just filled up the bathroom sink with bubble bath, and gave him a little washcloth and an old toothbrush. It kept him occupied for a long time! You could use a large Tupperware if the bathroom sink won’t work for your little one.
Sand kits (Ages 3+), play molding sand and molds can be fun. Spread out newspaper on the kitchen table to catch all the mess, or better yet, play with the outside in the rain! We love this sand table from Little Tikes.
Have a Play-Do party. Make simple balls or shapes using cookie cutters or use a Play-Do activity set for hours of fun. We love the Play-Doh Dr. Drill ‘n Fill Dentist Set (for ages 2 and up).
Play dress up: Get out the old clothes from your closet that you don’t wear anymore and let your toddler wear them around the house! They’ll love taking on new roles as different characters and it will give you a break from being in charge for once!
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Dance party! Crank up your favorite dance tunes and show off your moves. Your toddler may look at you like you’re a little crazy but have fun with it. If you have a toy microphone, even better. Toddlers love the sound of their own voices. If you don’t have one, simply play pretend. A hairbrush or a wooden spoon can make a great make-believe microphone!
Make an indoor tent or a “fort” by draping blankets over chairs, tables, or whatever furniture works for you. Crawl into your “secret hideout” with a flashlight and some books. This one is a classic and fun for toddlers and even bigger kids. Our 6-year-old still loves it when we make a fort.
Open up your Tupperware cupboard and let them have at it! They can stack and unstack the different-sized containers to their heart’s content. It also can double as a decluttering project for you as you go through the cupboard. I can’t be the only one whose plastic container collection takes on a life of its own right?
Check with your local library or community center to see if they offer any rainy day activities for toddlers or rainy-day play ideas for kids.
A quick Google search for indoor playgrounds or indoor play spaces for toddlers near me will give you some other options for a fun time.
Try some easy toddler gardening. Plant some bean seeds in Dixie cups and explain how the little seeds will soon sprout and grow.
Pom pom push: Take a plastic container and cut holes in the top and let them push the pom poms through the holes Cut holes in the top of a plastic container and have your toddler push the pom poms through the holes. Make it more challenging by coloring around each hole with a marker and see if they can match the pop pom to the corresponding hole.
Play in the rain! (Not if there’s lightning in the forecast, obviously.) Gear up with ponchos, raincoats, or a cute toddler rain suit and get out there! And don’t forget the rain boots! (Not if there’s lightning in the forecast, obviously.) Catch raindrops on your tongue!
Jump in puddles, make mud pies, play in the sandbox, or get creative and draw with sidewalk chalk or washable paint on the driveway. See how fast the rain washes away the paint.
Keeping with the outdoor theme, have a dig in the garden and look for worms! Wooden spoons or plastic sand shovels and buckets are great tools for this toddler rainy-day activity!
Make The Best Out Of A Rainy Day With These Fun Activities For Toddlers!
Remember, a rainy day doesn’t necessarily have to be a bummer! Always look for that silver lining in the clouds…I hope this rainy day list of activities and games gives you some inspiration for keeping your toddlers, preschoolers, (or even bigger kids!) happy and occupied when wet weather rolls in!
Until next time, K.
Kelly is the founder and creative force behind Just Our View From Here. As a first-time mom over 40, she brings a fresh perspective to parenting and family life on her blog. Kelly also explores a wide range of lifestyle topics in her writing, including fashion, beauty, self-care, and well-being.
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