Bethesda Country Day School

Looking for the best rainy day activities to keep your little one entertained? Rainy days don’t have to be dull! There are so many fun indoor activities for toddlers and preschoolers that encourage creativity, movement, and hands-on learning. If you’re searching for things to do on a rainy day, we’ve got you covered with these engaging and easy-to-set-up ideas.

Build a Blanket Fort

Gather lots of blankets and pillows into one room. Pull in some chairs and ottomans for structural support. Partner with your child to build the fort, encouraging them to think about balance, weight, and structure. Once it’s all set up, bring in some books and a flashlight or some toys to keep your child entertained. This simple activity encourages problem-solving and imaginative play!

Sensory Bins

First, pull out some large bowls and containers, or a large flat bin if you have it. Fill the containers with any dry cereal, pasta, beans, or other dry materials you have on hand. Add measuring cups or regular cups for filling and pouring. You can also add small toys to ignite their imagination. In no time, they’ll be creating their own small worlds! Sensory play is great for hands-on learning, dramatic play, and developing math concepts like comparing and measuring. *Supervision is required for younger children when using small parts.

Indoor Obstacle Course

This activity is great for working on gross motor skills and getting the wiggles out. You can make an obstacle course in one room or spanning several rooms! Do you have any hula hoops in the garage you can bring in? How about a jump rope? Some wrapping paper tubes? You can use all kinds of objects to create obstacles for your child to climb, crawl, jump, and run through! Encourage your child to complete the course several times and ask them for ideas on how to create new challenges.

Coloring on the walls

Yes, we know this is a big no-no, but hear us out. Tape some parchment paper, old wrapping paper you’ll never use, or any other kind of large paper to a wall with open space. Provide your child with crayons, chalk, washable markers, or watercolors, and let them create! Kids will be so excited about this activity that they’ll want to make sure to follow the rules so they can do it again!

Action Songs

There are some great action songs your child can listen to and move along with. Some of our favorite artists for this are Laurie Berkner (“The Goldfish,” “We Are the Dinosaurs”), Greg & Steve (“The Number Rock,” “I’m Going on a Bear Hunt”), and The Learning Station (“Shake Your Sillies Out”). Engaging in these songs develops coordination and gross motor skills and encourages your child to practice following directions.

Balloon games

Play balloon hockey! Blow up a balloon and grab two cardboard tubes or clean fly swatters. Face your child in a head-to-head competition to see who can get the balloon into the goal first! You can also play “keepy-uppy,” where you and your child work together to keep the balloon from touching the ground. These simple games help develop hand-eye coordination and provide lots of giggles!

To the races!

Have a large cardboard box? Take a flat piece from that and you’ve got a car ramp! Add in some toy vehicles or balls and prompt your child to race them against each other. Show your child how to balance the ramp on different inclines and encourage them to explore what happens when the incline changes and cars are pushed gently and with more force. This hands-on activity builds early STEM skills as children explore gravity, cause and effect, and motion. To tie in math skills, number or color code lanes for your child’s cars to drive on.

Imagination Station

Keeping in the cardboard box theme, encourage your child to come up with a plan on what to create or pretend with a cardboard box. Then, help them bring it to life! If it’s a smaller box, perhaps it’s an animal habitat. If it’s a large box, maybe it’s a store where they can sell goods. Can it be a car that they drive their stuffed animals around in? Or maybe some wings to help them fly? The possibilities are endless! A simple cardboard box may seem ordinary, but it’s a timeless favorite that sparks creativity, problem-solving, engineering skills, and more!