Rainy Day Ideas

Why Are Rainy Days So Hard?

Outside play is important for young children. Outdoor play time should be a daily part of your child care schedule. When children play outside they get a chance to use their large muscles and burn off some extra energy. Children need this time to help them to control themselves during the hours spent inside. Without this time, many children will “bounce off the walls,” becoming wild, silly, and resistant to repeated requests to stop their behavior. Because outdoor play fosters physical development and improves self-control, experts recommend that children have outdoor time for thirty minutes or more each day. But sometimes, if the weather is not cooperating, it’s not possible to take children outside.

It’s important to have the flexibility to change your plans when the weather isn’t cooperating. Make sure you have a few tricks up your sleeve! When you can’t take the children outside, choose activities that include active physical play. Active play helps prevent “rainy day fever.”

What To Do On Rainy Days

There are two types of activities you can select: sensory play and indoor movement activities. First, we’ll explore the value of sensory activities and look at some examples. Then we will look at how you can plan for energetic physical activity indoors in a very limited space.

Sensory Activities

Sensory activities are very important for young children. Children under the age of five learn through their senses.

A sensory table or “touch table” is a way to give children sensory activities and keep the mess to a minimum. Why should we go to the trouble of offering messy activities like sand and water? Children learn so much from playing with sensory materials: pouring, measuring, building, and imagining help children grow cognitively, physically, and emotionally. These activities are also soothing and refreshing for children, and can help children approach the rest of their day refreshed and better able to control themselves.

Sensory tables are sold by educational supply companies, but you don’t need to buy one. A large tub works well. You can buy a large plastic storage container with lower sides, and put it on the floor or on a low table. Put an old tablecloth on the floor underneath to make cleanup easier.

A fresh sensory table activity on a rainy day will help keep children’s behavior positive. Collect these materials to try in your sensory table, and offer a new and different one to add interest on a rainy day:

Water with baby shampoo and dolls
Ice cubes
Snow
Sand
Shaving cream
Leaves
Bird seed
Corn starch and water (a unique sensation)
Torn paper
Old magazines and scissors

It is not recommended to use food for play with children who are under age three, or with children who are still putting things in their mouths. For older preschoolers, try these:

Pasta
Rice
Oatmeal
Cornmeal
Mixed dried beans (great for sorting, too)

You can extend the play by adding things that turn it into dramatic play:

Plastic animals (arctic animals with ice, pond animals with rocks and branches, sea animals with water)
People figures
Toy cars

Note: Watch children carefully as they play with smaller items. Children can choke if they put these things in their mouths. Anything that is small enough to fit through a toilet paper roll is a choking hazard.There’s another reason, beyond safety, to watch the children carefully as they play. You will gather new ideas of what to add to the play and can ask key learning questions:

“How many cups of rice fill this bowl?”
“Is your car going over or under the bridge?”

Indoor Movement

Indoor activities are fun and build creativity. But the problem with indoor large muscle movement is space. Children bump into each other easily in a limited space. But you have everything you need to solve this problem in a roll of masking tape. Masking tape on the floor can help you make a space for each child to move without bumping into anyone else, and it can help you to direct traffic so that children move in ways that prevent accidental bumps. Make one large circle on the floor. Children can move around the circle in one direction for these activities.

Pretend to be an:

Elephant
Mouse
Snake

Make circles of masking tape on the floor twelve inches in diameter, one for each child. Make a space between each circle so that children can move their arms without touching anyone else. Teach children to stay in their spaces.

Ask the children to pretend to be:

Popcorn
A baby bird hatching from an egg
A drum player in a marching band

Make a line of masking tape on the floor. Children can:

Walk on the line
Crawl on the line
Skip on the line (Have the children who are waiting their turn clap a beat while they watch.)

Don’t Forget Parades And Picnics—Two Great Indoor Activities

Parades and picnics are perfect on a bright, sunny day. But did you know that parades and picnics are great indoor activities too? Try a parade on a rainy day. All you need are some pots and pans and large wooden spoons for the children to use as musical instruments. Or the children can make simple musical instruments; shakers can be made by putting rice or beans in an empty container. A film canister works well and is just the right size for little hands. Be sure to tape it shut so that there aren’t any surprise spills. You can make tambourines out of two paper plates and dried beans. Just put dried beans between two paper plates and staple around the edges to secure. Children love to decorate these with stickers or markers. Drums can be made of empty oatmeal containers. Cover with paper and let the children decorate as they choose.

Note: This activity (making instruments) is for older preschool children. Be aware that young children can easily choke on rice and beans. Children need to be watched carefully when doing these activities.

If you had planned a picnic at a local park and rain interferes, don’t worry. Tell the children you’ll just have an indoor picnic instead. Take an imaginary walk to the park. Have the children close their eyes. Describe what they will see, hear, smell, and touch. Let them add to the adventure. Plan indoor games and activities suggested in the lesson and finish up with a picnic lunch on the floor. (After all, you already had the food packed!) Picnics indoors are exciting and with a cloth on the floor are easy to clean up. And the best part? No ants! The children will remember this day, and you’ve taught them an important lesson on how to deal with disappointment.

Summary

Child care providers can replace outdoor play with sensory activities and indoor active movement on days when outdoor play is not possible. These fun activities promote development and help children maintain self-control.

Assignments

1. Why is sensory play a good activity when outdoor play is not possible?

2. Why is indoor active movement a good activity when outdoor play is not possible?

3. What three sensory activities have you tried with the children?
What did you notice about their behavior during and after the activity?

4. What three indoor active movement activities have you tried with the children?
What did you notice about their behavior during and after the activity?