The recent rainy weather in Queensland and New South Wales inspired a Facebook post for suggestions for rainy day indoor activities. Those ideas (plus a few more) are below! Enjoy!
• Make Music Makers or Rain Makers. You just need a container with a lid or a paper towel roll and fill it with corn, rice or buttons. You then either put the lid on or use masking tape on each end. The children can then decorate their Music/Rain Makers.
• Scavenger hunt! With a prize at the end! Also, you can play this game by concentrating on one colour to find, i.e. find all the red things in the house etc.
• Set up a small tent in the lounge room! So much fun to watch TV in a tent!
• A micro-disco helps to blow of steam when you are trapped inside!
• Bathtub! If you have a crab, put him in water!
• Drink bottle bowling, you just need a few empty plastic bottles and a tennis ball.
• Batting a balloon around don’t let it touch the ground!
• Kicking around a “ball” – where ball is a scrunched up piece of paper (much easier on the furniture).
• Everyone loves play-dough, but even more exciting is GLOOP! Oliver certainly enjoyed touching it and even had a taste (it is only corn flour and water plus a drop of blue food colouring!).
Recipe is 2 cups of cornflour and 1 cup of cold water, pour the cornflour into a bowl and slowly add the cold water stirring constantly. Kids love this stuff and it just brushes off clothing as dry powder! It pours through your fingertips but you can make a pile with it. It’s crazy stuff! Divide the gloop in half and add different food colouring to each half then watch what happens when the two mixtures meet!
• Here is the playdough recipe for those who need it
Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup salt
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 teaspoon food colouring
Mix all dry ingredients, add oil and boiling water with food colouring, mix well. Store in an airtight container.
• Dressing up. Children love wearing their parent’s clothes, so keep some old hats, ties, handbags etc in a box for dress ups!
• Inside obstacle course!
• Finger shadows using a torch in a darkened room, see who can make the best bunny ears.
• Reading Eggs. This online resource can be accessed on a trial for 15 days from here. It is for children aged 3 and up and is an excellent resource for reading.
• Make a sandpit inside using oatmeal and a shoebox. Much easier to clean up and the oatmeal is easy to pour and scoop into buckets/cups etc.