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Rainy day activities for toddlers & preschoolers

 
Looking for fun rainy day activities for toddlers or preschoolers? Things you can do indoors when it's raining outside? Have a go at doing some of these ideas. Being stuck inside with young children on cold wet days is hard on both children and parents. Here are some fun, cheap and educational things that you can do that use everyday materials you have around the house.

Looking for fun rainy day activities for toddlers or preschoolers?

Things you can do indoors with them when it's raining outside?

Have a go at doing some of these ideas with them. Being stuck inside with toddlers and preschoolers on cold wet days is hard on both children and parents.

Here are some fun, cheap and educational things that you can do that use everyday materials you have around the house.
 

Rainy day activities for toddlers & preschoolers

 

Activities for toddlers & preschoolers using balloons

 

Not only are these balloon activities lots of fun, they also support problem solving & perseverance.


Wiggly balloon activity
 

1. Take one balloon and insert inside another, keeping the two ends together.

2. Take the end of the inside balloon and put it over the cold tap.

3. Slowly fill the balloon with about 200mls of water and tie the end.

4. Blow up the outside balloon and tie.

5. The balloon will wiggle as it rolls across the floor.

6. Get your toddler or preschooler to try playing inside soccer with the balloon or rolling the balloon around obstacles.
 

Playdough balloon activity
 

1. Pull the neck of one balloon as wide as you can and push in as much playdough as can fit, then tie the balloon off.

2. This makes a great stress ball to squeeze and roll around.

3. You can use shop-bought or homemade playdough for this activity.
 

Balloon tennis activity
 

1. Make two bats for your toddler or preschooler from rolled up newspaper or you could use fly swats (available from $2 shops).

2. Use a blown up balloon as your ball and use string as a floor marker or line for your kids to hit the ball across.
 

Balloon soccer activity
 

1. Blow up one balloon and tie it on a length of string long enough to reach from the top of the door frame to the floor.

2. Tape the string to the top of the door frame.

3. Now your toddler or preschooler can play with the balloon by kicking it.

4. The balloon won’t go far as it is attached by the string.
 

Activities for toddlers & preschoolers using bubbles

 

These fun indoor activities with bubbles will help your toddler or preschooler with their co-ordination and concentration.

1. Using a pot of bubbles or a bubble machine, see how many bubbles your toddler or preschooler can pop with their hands before they hit and ground. Then see how many they can pop with their feet.

2. Popping bubbles provides opportunities for young children to practice hand, eye and leg coordination that they need to play group games and sports.

3. You can use either shop-bought or homemade bubble mixture for this activity.
 

Rainy day craft activities for toddlers & preschoolers

 

These craft activities help encourage creativity in toddlers and preschoolers.
 

Photo puzzles activity
 

1. Find old calendar pictures or photos that you don’t mind cutting up.

2. Get your toddler or preschooler to glue the pictures to light weight cardboard.

3. Draw cutting lines over your pictures and cut into puzzle pieces.

4. Depending on the age of your child, a picture cut into regular large shapes will provide less of a challenge than a picture cut into smaller irregular pieces.

5. Pictures can be made more durable by covering them with sticky-backed plastic.
 

Lacing cards activity
 

1. Take medium thickness cardboard and using a hole punch, make a series of holes around the outside of your cardboard.

2. Using a shoelace, get your toddler or preschooler to practice threading the lace through the holes.

3. Add variety by changing the shape and colour of the cardboard and make patterns when punching the holes.

4. Add complexity by numbering the holes in order of how they are to be threaded, or use lines and arrows for your toddler or preschooler to follow.

5. Threading activities help to develop your children's finger strength and dexterity, as well as hand eye coordination.
 

Making placemats activity
 

1. Place mats for the dinner table make an excellent present for grandparents and friends, or they can encourage a reluctant fussy eater to stay at the table for longer.

2. Get your toddler or preschooler to do some of their best artwork or collage to create their placemat and then laminate it for protection.


Picture shopping list activity
 

1. Get your toddler or preschooler to make a pictorial shopping list for use in their play shop or for when you go to the supermarket.

2. Cut out and paste pictures from supermarket mailers onto a large sheet of paper.

3. Write the name of the grocery item beside the picture or see if your preschooler can write it themselves.

4. Perhaps go for a grocery hunt at home to find the items you have cut out. Talk about what they are used for.

5. Make your toddler or preschooler aware of the writing and numbers on the cut out pictures too. See how many letters and numbers they recognise.

6. Shopping lists are a fun way of providing numeracy and literacy practice.


Alphabet & number scrapbook activity
 

1. Take a scrapbook and give each page a letter of the alphabet or a number.

2. Search through old magazines or supermarket flyers to find examples of the same letter or number. Then cut them out and get your toddler or preschooler to paste them on the correct page.

3. To add complexity, find pictures of items that start with each letter like a picture of cheese for letter “c”, or find three blocks of cheese to represent number three.
 

Pretend play activities for toddlers & preschoolers

 
Play shops
 

1. Playing shops is always popular with toddlers and preschoolers.

2. Save packaging from everyday household items for them to use in their shop.

3. Make your own play money and make pictorial shopping lists from supermarket flyers for them to use.

4. Perhaps help your children to think of a name for the shop and make shop signage.

5. Take turns at shopping and serving customers.
 

Play hairdressers, doctors or vets
 

1. Set up a hairdresser or doctor type scene with things that you have around your home or in the fancy dress box, or even visit your local charity shop to get a variety of hats, scarves, and bags for your dress up box.
 

Games for toddlers & preschoolers

 

Playing games with toddlers and preschoolers helps to promote taking turns and working alongside others.
 

Simon says
 

1. A real favourite amongst young children and good for supporting listening, responding and physical coordination skills.
 

3-legged races
 

1. Try to use something soft and elastic to tie your toddler’s or preschooler’s legs to their friends. Using stockings or scarves works well too.

2. Mark out a course and see which team can get around the course in the fastest time.
 

Treasure hunt activities

1. For your treasure hunts, hide things around your house for your toddler or preschooler to find.

2. You could also use a treasure map or picture card to help them find the clues.
 

Physical activities for toddlers & preschoolers

 

Physical activities will help to develop your toddler’s or preschooler’s small and large muscles and their co-ordination.
 

Obstacle course activity
 

1. Make an inside obstacle course using boxes, tables, chairs, floor cushions, buckets, mats and balls.

2. Arrange your challenges in a circuit, providing as many different physical challenges for the materials you have, such as, a box can be a crawling tunnel, walk along the rope, roll over the cushions and get them to hop when they reach the mat.
 

Make your own huts
 

1. Huts make an excellent indoor activity for pretending to be on a camp, for having morning tea inside, exploring with torches or storytelling.

2. Throw blankets, sheeting, or old curtains over a large table, then place something soft inside like floor cushions or blankets.

3. Large boxes can also make great huts, which toddlers and preschoolers can paint or draw on.

More kids activities articles to enjoy:


Source: This article has been written by Creators, a nationwide service offering quality home-based care and education. Creators are passionate about seeing every child’s unique talent being recognized and nurtured.
 

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