Rain, rain don’t go away! Indoor or outdoors, we have a full list of Rainy Day Activities for kids. Get inspired by these 18 things to do in the rain that will keep the whole family busy and entertained.

Rainy Day Activities

Moms, the weather outside is frightful, and your kids are restless. It’s raining buckets, and that usually means we’re lazy indoors. The next thing you know, your kids are saying “I’m bored!” on repeat. Days like this can be tough for kids and parents alike. Rainy days can be a bit of a bummer, but they don’t have to be! It’s time to gather up some creative ideas for outdoor and indoor rainy day activities you can do with your little ones.

Indoor Games

If you looking for stay at home boredom busters, make sure you download our 17 Indoor Games for Kids. Really creative and out of the box games your kids will enjoy. Warning, laughter included.

Without further ado, enjoy these 18 things to do in the rain that will keep the whole family busy and entertained.

17 Indoor Games Printable Download

Rainy Day Activities Outdoors

It’s not that we don’t like the rain, but sometimes it leaves us feeling trapped inside with nothing to do. The good news is that there are plenty of things to do outside on rainy days! You just have to put on your rain jackets and boots, grab an umbrella, and be okay with getting a little wet. It’s all in good fun. Here are some ideas you can take out in the rain with you.

Disclosure: If you have a thunderstorm with lightning in the forecast, these are not advised.

Go on a rain walk with the kids. If you’ve never done this before, you’ll love seeing their delighted expressions as they listen to the rain, feel it on their skin, and see how different things look when they’re covered in rain droplets. Have you ever seen a spiderweb covered in the rain? It’s fascinating! | Still Playing School

Learn three easy ways to paint with rain so you can create a one-of-a-kind work of art on your next rainy day. You’ll need paper, a tray, liquid watercolors, markers, and water-soluble crayons. Color or paint your designs, put them in the tray, and take them outside in the rain to see what happens! | Picklebums

Let kids splish and splash in puddles to their hearts’ content. Puddle play is a terrific way to enjoy the outdoors on a rainy day. Just make sure the kids are properly dressed for it. Provide dishes, buckets, shovels, pipes, and other implements to encourage exploration and creative thinking. | Megan Zeni

Speaking of puddle play, the perfect rainy day isn’t complete without a little puddle jumping. It’s a great opportunity to talk about how puddles are made, what makes them dry up, and what makes the water ripple. | Fireflies and Mud Pies

Every kid should know how to make a mud pie. Instead of fussing about the mess, encourage your kids to mix up some water and dirt to make thick mud perfect for plopping into pie plates. Decorate the pies with flowers, pretty rocks, leaves, sticks, and other items found in nature. | Rhythms of Play

What better time to monitor the weather than when it’s raining? Use the ideas here to make a simple rain catcher with a “weatherman” wooden spoon that measures how much rain it has collected. | Rainy Day Mum

Here’s another version of a rain gauge made using a jumbo test tube, craft foam, and a few other craft supplies you probably have on hand already. Empty it every day and record how much rain you get over the course of a season. It’ll be fun to see how much the rain can vary from one day, week, or season to the next. | Life Over C’s

Go outside and make some sidewalk chalk art in the rain. Kids will be surprised to see how much more vibrant the colors of the chalk are when it gets wet. | Fun-A-Day

Combine sidewalk art and puddle play with this fun color puddle splash activity. You’ll need to be okay with the possibility of stains or else make sure the colors are completely washable before diving feet first into a color-filled puddle. | Lemon Lime Adventures

Sight word puddle jumping is a fantastic way for little ones to learn their sight words. When you pair movement with study, it helps the brain form new connections to the material. If you plan to do this one in the rain, you’ll want to laminate the words first. | Fantastic Fun and Learning

Rainy Day Activities Indoors

We understand that sometimes you just can’t get outdoors to enjoy the rain even though you’d like to. With the rain coming down outside, it’s not always easy to find something fun to do indoors.

But forget TV or video games—it’s time to get creative! Lucky for you, there are plenty of indoor activities to keep everyone entertained. Here are some ideas to help you get started: You can play board games with friends and family, build things out of Lego blocks or K’Nex pieces, read books together or paint pictures. There is also no shortage of craft projects that can be done by the whole family, such as making slime or tie-dye t-shirts.

We’ve listed even more craft ideas below. Some are rain-themed, while others are not. Just grab a few friends or family members, some snacks, and get ready for some quality time spent together in the comfort of your home.

First, make sure to print our indoor games for kids. These activities can keep your kids entertained, especially with a larger crowd! One great solution is Minute to Win It Games. All of which can be played inside with larger or small crows.

Curious little scientists will love this simple rain cloud in a jar experiment. You can set it up in just minutes using a jar, water, shaving cream, and food coloring. Just as clouds get too heavy and release rain, this shaving cream cloud will release the food coloring when it’s too heavy. Use blue food coloring or make a rainbow cloud with lots of different colors. | The Best Ideas for Kids

This easy rain craft for kids is simple enough for toddlers to make, but preschoolers and kindergarteners will enjoy it, too. You’ll need some cotton balls, construction paper, glue, and paint to make a cloud pouring raindrops all over the page. You could also let your kids use their fingerprints to make the raindrops instead. | Crafts on Sea

After the rain comes rainbows, and this fizzy rainbow experiment will have your kids eager to find their own! Turn Jell-O into fizzy fun with a bit of baking soda. Then, you’ll be able to do the classic baking soda and vinegar reaction we all know and love. Plus, by using Jell-O, it’ll smell amazing! | Fun-A-Day

Preschoolers can practice counting with this rain-themed sensory bin featuring cottony clouds, blue glass beads to represent raindrops, and sparkly gold pipe cleaners to make lightning. Kids will love all the different textures here—soft, fluffy, smooth, rough, etc. | Fantastic Fun and Learning

Have an indoor scavenger hunt with items you’d typically find around the house. For example, you’ll look for something that’s red, something to eat with, something with a nose, and so on. This free printable makes the scavenger hunt super easy. Just print it, grab some pencils, and everyone’s all set to go. Add a timer to make it more challenging. | Hey, Let’s Make Stuff! (see a full list of More Scavenger Hunts for Kids too.)

Rock painting is a great activity for a rainy day. Then, once it stops raining, you can add the rocks to your garden or hide them around your community if you have a local rock group. It’s always so fun when someone finds your rock. What a cool way to brighten someone’s day! | Sixth Bloom  (see more Rock Painting Ideas for Kids too!)

Build a fort in the living room! It makes family movie night a lot more fun, and it’s also a cozy hideaway for kids to go to read their books or enjoy some quiet time. | Messy Little Monster

What better time to make something for a friend than on a rainy day? DIY friendship bracelets are easy, fun, and thoughtful. You’ll need some embroidery floss in various colors, buttons, and scissors. Have a blast designing something unique for each of your BFFs or siblings. | Crafts by Amanda

Now you have loads of rainy day activities and things to do in the rain to keep you busy anytime it starts pouring outside. Pin this list to save it for later!

When the sun starts shining, take these DIY Backyard Games to the yard. These backyard games bring the kids to the yard – see what I did there!? Pin to Pinterest.

Don’t forget our full list of Kids Party Games – indoor, outdoor, classroom and more. Pin to Pinterest.

WHAT’S TRENDING? Take your kids on a BACK TO SCHOOL SCAVENGER HUNT for their school supplies.


Also access our Free Frugal Coupon Living Printables to help you find joy through embracing the chaos of motherhood more easily!



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