Go on a rainy hike:
Just cuz’ it’s pouring doesn’t mean you can’t go on a fun hike! Grab your rain boots and jacket and pick a flat, easy trail so you won’t be slipping up and down (unless that sounds fun to you!). The rain will expose you to sounds and smells of nature that you may not experience on a normal sunny day.
Make art:
Mud is a marvelous medium for impermanent artwork. Make a mud-pie or a mud-pet with sticks and rocks wedged all around your mud clump. You can even slap some mud on your face and scurry around in the rain until it washes away. If that’s too much physical contact with mud for you, dip a stick in mud and drag it along, drawing on the sidewalk or driveway with mud and wait for the rain to wash it away.
Put on your own musical:
Does talking about this make you want to “sing in the rain?” If you happen to have the luxury of privacy, or if you’re not shy, put on some old clothes you don’t mind getting all wet and let your musical side shine! Twirling and belting out one of your musical favorites in the rain can be a freeing and pleasant experience, even if it is just for a few minutes.
For all of these undertakings, remember to have spare clothes and a towel at the ready for as soon as you get into your house or back to your car.
Always go inside immediately if you hear thunder, these activities are fun in the rain, not in storms.
Have an Indoor Treasure Hunt:
If you’ve got kids in the house, there’s no better way to keep their rainy day lively than with a treasure hunt. List down a set of clues for every player (try rhyming the clues for kicks), with each clue leading them to the next and, finally, to the treasure. Seal them in envelopes marking them with a clue number (i.e., “two of seven” or 2/7) to help the hunters keep track of their progress. Whoever finds the treasure first—a small toy, an IOU for a movie, maybe a cache of coins (regular or chocolate)—is the winner. Or have your kids play as a team to encourage teamwork.
Camp in the Great Indoors:
Although camping may not be your first thought when you think of things to do inside, who says tents have to stay outside? If you have a pop-up or small dome tent, it’s easy to set up camp for your kids indoors. If not, you can create tents by draping sheets over the couch. Make them comfy with airbeds, pillows, and sleeping bags, then follow through with an indoor picnic to be eaten “under canvas.”
Invent a (No-Batteries) Game:
One Story: Starting with “Once upon a time,” circle around the room and have each player add a single word/phrase to the story. Tip: It helps to decide on a genre in advance for instance, fairy tale, ghost story, etc. and go from there.
Improv. poetry: One person chooses a line of poetry, and the next must recite a line that rhymes with it, and so on. With this game your kids can become rap stars one day!
The “Yes, and” Monster! This game lets you invent an imaginary creature, with each player adding a new characteristic or personality trait to the previous person’s description. Each new idea must start with an enthusiastic, “Yes, and…” and continue to build on what’s already been described.
Enjoy the downpour!
