Rainy, cold, or blistering hot days with toddlers can be challenging. They want to go outside and play, and you would love to send them out to burn off energy, but the weather is not cooperating. It does not take long before everyone starts to feel a little stir-crazy.
Living in a rainy part of Texas, I know this feeling all too well. When the rain just will not quit, having a few go-to indoor activities can make all the difference. Here are five simple ways to keep your toddler entertained indoors on those long rainy days.
Rainy Day Indoor Activities for Toddlers
These easy, low-cost activities are designed to help toddlers burn energy, explore creatively, and stay engaged when going outside is not an option.
1. Build a Fort
This one is the easiest way to keep toddlers entertained! Throw a bed sheet over your kitchen or dining room table, arrange some blankets and pillows underneath, and stock the space with books, flashlights, coloring books, and crayons. Congratulations, you are now the coolest mom ever. Kids LOVE forts, and they are likely to play in one for a good period of time. I like to set up a fort around lunchtime on rainy days and let them have a “picnic.” They love it, and I love it—win-win!
2. Make a Mess
Kids love to get messy (can I get an amen?). There are two ways I have found that allow kids to explore their artistic side while minimizing the mess and keeping cleanup to a minimum for me. The first is to hang up a large piece of brown kraft paper on a wall using painter’s tape. Put a tarp or a sheet on the floor beneath the kraft paper. Set out a few plastic cups full of washable kids’ finger paint and let them create a mural. The second way is to set up your finger paints in the bathtub and let the kiddos go to town “decorating” the tiles. It’s fun to let them get messy and creative without creating a lot of cleanup work on your part.
Related: Easy and Fun Low-Mess Crafts for Kids
3. Set Up Simple Games
Spend two minutes searching Pinterest, and you will find a year’s worth of simple games you can create and set up for your toddlers for cheap or free. Here are two of my favorites:
Balloon Tennis
Supplies:
- 2 paint sticks
- 2 heavy-duty paper plates
- hot glue
- balloon
Instructions:
- Hot-glue a couple of paint sticks to the back of some heavy-duty paper plates.
- Blow up a balloon.
- Teach your kids to hit the balloon back and forth to each other and challenge them not to let it touch the floor.
Felt Fishing
Supplies:
- several sheets of colored felt
- small washers
- magnet
- yarn
- wooden dowel
- hot glue
Instructions:
- Cut out colorful fish shapes from felt.
- Hot glue two fish shapes together with a small washer sandwiched between them.
- Tie a length of yarn to a wooden dowel rod.
- Tie or glue a small magnet to the other end of the length of the yarn.
- Go fishing!
Related: Best Family Games for Kids and Parents
4. Get Sensory
Toddlers love to experience different textures with their fingers. Sensory play is one of the best ways to entertain a toddler and is crucial to a young child’s learning. Here are two quick and easy ways you can make a fun sensory experience for your toddler:
Glitter Flubber
Supplies:
- One 4-oz. bottle of Elmer’s glue
- 1/2 tsp Borax
- 1/4 cup warm water
- plastic cup
- bowl
- food coloring
- 1 tsp fine glitter
Instructions:
- Empty the glue into your bowl. Then, fill the glue bottle with water, shake it, and dump it into the bowl.
- Add your food coloring and glitter and mix well. Set aside.
- Put 1/4 cup warm water into your plastic cup and add the Borax, mixing until the Borax dissolves.
- Pour the Borax mixture into the glue bowl and start mixing. When it gets too hard to stir by hand, start mixing and kneading with your hands until the mixture becomes pliable.
- Store in a small Tupperware container.
Always supervise young children during sensory play and wash hands after handling homemade materials.
Rainbow Rice
Supplies:
- 1 shallow plastic bin large enough to hold a TON of rice
- several large plastic bags
- 15-20 pounds of white rice
- white vinegar
- food coloring
- small cups, measuring cups, spoons, small toys, funnels (optional)
Instructions:
- Put about 5 cups of rice in each plastic bag.
- Add 2-3 tbsp white vinegar and 30-40 drops of food coloring to each bag.
- Seal each bag and shake it until the food coloring is evenly distributed throughout.
- Open the bags and allow them to air-dry overnight (reduces the vinegar smell).
- Pour each bag into the large bin carefully to make a rainbow.
- Add small cups, measuring cups, and funnels for pouring, and hide small toys for your kids to “discover.”
- When your kids are done playing, snap the lid on the bin and store it away for the next rainy day!
Related: Sensory Bin Ideas: What They Are and How to Make Them
5. Dance in the Rain
When all else fails, if it’s warm enough and there’s no lightning, grab the rain boots and umbrellas and let your kids jump in some puddles and dance in the rain. My kids think it’s the best thing EVER when they play in the rain with their umbrellas. Sure, they may get wet and muddy, but this rainy day activity will allow toddlers to get outside and get some wiggles out. Just be sure to keep some towels nearby when it’s time to return inside!
Rainy days do not have to feel overwhelming or boring. With a little creativity and flexibility, time spent indoors can still be fun and memorable for both you and your toddler. Keep a few of these ideas in your back pocket, and you will be ready the next time the rain rolls in.
