Five Things Friday: 5 ideas for fun on a rainy day

Editor’s note: “5 Things Friday” is a weekly feature in SheSays that will run on – you guessed it – Fridays. It will focus on quick tips, ideas, activities and more – all in bunches of five. If you have a “5 Things Friday” suggestion, contact us at shesays@forumcomm.com.

If you and your kids are stuck inside on a rainy day, it doesn’t take long for everyone to go a little stir-crazy.

Here are five things you can do to avoid vegging out in front of the TV all day.

1. Go mountain climbing

   Just because you can’t go outside doesn’t mean you can’t have an adventure.

   Tear apart the living room furniture and pile the cushions in the middle of the room. Cover them with a blanket and let your kids go mountain climbing.

   This is a great activity for toddlers through early elementary students. They’ll have fun, burn energy and awaken their creativity imagining all kinds of scenarios.

2. Throw a dance party

   Kids love it when their parents get silly, so clear the floor, crank the tunes and let loose. For added fun, string some flashing lights around the room and grab some instruments (even if they’re just pots and pans) from around the house.

3. Become an entomologist

   This time of year I can usually find a ladybug or something crawling up my walls. Instead of squishing it or before letting it go outside, trap it in a jar with a hole poked through the lid so your kids can watch the bug crawl around the jar.

4. Make an indoor sandbox

   Get a large shoebox and fill it partially with sand. We used leftover sand from a craft project. Your kids can build mini castles or have a prehistoric adventure with plastic dinosaurs.

   For easy clean-up, spread newspapers under the sandbox so any sand that finds its way outside can easily be poured back into the box.

5. Go on a scavenger hunt

   Make a list of items for your child to collect from around the house.

   This is a great game to reinforce reading skills in early elementary students, but preschoolers can play along, too, if you give them a list with pictures.

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