We Love Rainy Days!

We love rainy days! And, yes – we still go out. It’s all about the puddles for us. We get our raincoats on and our wellies and off we go.

Here are some ideas for activities that you can do on a rainy day.

Put up a pop up tent to play in and create a cosy reading area. Listen to the sounds of rain tapping on the canvas and read a book about rain.

Little Cloud by Eric Carle is a lovely story which introduces different types of clouds.

Splish! Splash!: A Book About Rain (Amazing Science: Weather) explains the water cycle in a really simple way.

The Rainy Day by Anna Milbourne is another picture book which explains a little bit about the water cycle.

Rain by Sam Usher has amazing illustrations. It also says, ‘There are good and bad things about the rain.” which is a good discussion point.

Visit the library and see what other books you can find that are about rain or feature a rainy day.

Sing a song about rain. There are lots of nursery rhymes about rain.

Go for a walk and jump in the muddy puddles. This one is definitely a favourite for my children. Take an umbrella. I don’t know why, but my daughter loves to walk holding an umbrella. If you have little ones, put the rain cover on and take them for a walk so that they can listen to the sounds of the rain on the cover and watch the rain drops sliding down. My youngest finds this really relaxing and sometimes falls asleep.

Build a den. Talk about materials that are waterproof and how we will stay dry.

Use the rain to create different sounds. Experiment using different materials to see how the sounds of the rain change.

Measure the rainfall by creating a rain gauge.

Feed the ducks – they don’t mind the rain! Remember that feeding bread to ducks can be harmful. Defrosted frozen peas and torn up bits of lettuce are a better option.

Use sticks to draw in the mud.

Experience the rain using all of your senses. Ask your children how the rain feels on their skin. Does rain have a taste? How does the world smell when it rains? Has the world changed colour in the rain? How does the rain sound?

This one is more of an indoor activity but you can use the rain in your art work. Decorate a piece of paper or card with pens, food colouring or paint. Then put the paper outside in the rain to see what happens to the colours. There are more ideas on Pinterest. Follow me to see more ideas: www.pinterest.co.uk/natchildminder.

A rainy day is a perfect day for hunting for mini-beasts. Look especially for worms and snails.

Get out the magnifying glasses. Look carefully at the rain drops, especially on leaves, flowers and spiders’ webs.

When it’s stopped raining, take advantage of the wet grass to do some mark making. Draw shapes and letters on the grass using your feet.