When a rainy day comes and you are stuck inside, kids are stuck inside with you. Things can get tense. And while the Pinternet is full of fantastic ideas on how to entertain your children, no one says that it has to be complicated. There is no reason to run around collecting supplies you won’t touch again. There also isn’t any reason to break the bank paying to go to museums in your area. Of course, we limit screen time in our house, as we’ve mentioned, so it takes a little creativity to keep their minds entertained while stuck inside. But here are some tricks we’ve learned –
Here are (easy) Rainy Day Activities for Kids:
1.  Stick your kids in a big bubble bath with toys and let them enjoy it for awhile! Add new toys in every five minutes (measuring cups from the kitchen, Tupperware, etc.).
2.  Fill the sink with water and hand out some spatulas. This might make a splashy mess but it’s just water.
3.  Blow up the air mattress. This idea is courtesy of my friend and it is brilliant. Blow up your air mattress and let the kids bounce. One of us in the family worries that this might pop the air mattress, but on day eighteen of straight rain during summer vacation, WORTH THE RISK.
4.  Bake cookies.Â
5.  Go to the gym.  Even though membership can be pricey in some cities, it is a great relief as well as an opportunity for the kids to socialize when gyms have childcare. If you can’t/don’t have a gym membership do a DVD at home. Les Mills On Demand has a free kids series that is fantastic, and the whole family can enjoy.
6.  Get outside anyhow.  Strap on their rainboots, go out and splash!
7.  Have a movie day. Snuggle up on the couch, get blankets and bed pillows, once we even got in our PJs, pop popcorn, and watch a favorite.
8.  Do a scavenger hunt inside. Either send them searching for things hidden in closets, or take toys and hide them then provide clues. No need to make this complicated, but it can be fun.
9.  Paint, color, or thumbprint art. There is no rule that says that each experience a child has with art has to be an amazing new one. Bring out a bin of paint, some big pieces of paper, and paint next to your child.
10.  Make music.  Some of my kids’ favorite instruments are an old sippy cup straw they can blow through and an oatmeal container filled with beans.
11.  Read. Read books with your kids and talk about them, like you would in a book club. (Check out our list of 65+ Chapter Book Series for Kids if you want to get started.)
12. Go to the library. If you aren’t already familiar with your library, get so! Not only are there books all around, but the environments are usually set up for kids’ exploration.
13.  Play hide and seek.
14.  Get puzzling. Find some activity books, have BrainQuest on hand, or pull out a puzzle from storage. There are also many sites to print sheets, like this one at education.com.
15. Play board games.
16. Dance! We have regular family dance parties to the Pandora Radio for Kids station.
17. Create an indoor obstacle course. This is great for older kids: allow them to plan it and then time them going through. Get some ideas here.
18.  Build a fort.
19. Listen to a podcast. Our favorite (given our kids’ ages) is Brains On. Book Club for Kids targets middle schoolers.
20. Make your own show and record it. Have kids create their own play/podcast/TV show, act it out, and record it!
21. Make pizzas.Â
22. Get out a world map, and plan a trip. Our kids love looking at countries, researching them, and planning where they would go. Let them dream.
Then, when the weather turns, we have wonderful places to go!