Only crazy people love rainy days stuck in a house full of kids! Luckily, I’m the craziest of all! We have the most fun on rainy days. With three kids under 4 years old, rainy days become a sort of marathon. I have a tried and true rainy day schedule to fit all households and I would love to share it with you! And in times of desperation, I have my go to guide.
Firstly, on rainy days you can always count on one thing – sleeping in! Yes! Ok, maybe “sleeping” is a strong term. Maybe we do a little more lying in bed later than usual. On rainy days, I always make an exception for TV time. So, morning cartoons are the way we start our rainy days.
We all pile into the “big bed” as we refer to mine and my husband’s bunk. We flip on Disney Jr. and snuggle as long as we can take it. And maybe we’ll even sip on some OJ, milk for baby, and munch on blueberries while we watch the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse crew tackle some odd conundrum.
At any rate, we’re slow to shed our jammies and we enjoy every second of it. In a world where “hectic” is typically the word of the day, rainy days make for the perfect break in the action.
Once we drag ourselves from bed and head out into civilization (we’ll call it the kitchen) we are happily prepared for a fun day indoors. Rainy days are a great day to try new things with your kids. We always start with a fun take on breakfast.
I let them lead the way with whatever their imaginations allow. It’s great to put out a few things like pancake mix, fruit, bread, butter and jelly and let them come up with a meal for everyone. We have three kids, so we let each one pick an ingredient. Don’t tell anyone, but I actually choose for John since he can’t talk yet.
Needless to say, we’ve had some interesting breakfasts on rainy days. My favorite was pancakes with melon and strawberry jam. Hey, I have eclectic tastes.
Next we clear the melon pancakes from the dining table and set up for craft time. If you’ve got a couple of kids, you most always have the necessary crafting components already in your house. No need to buy anything specifically for crafting time!
I have a giant bin in the kitchen for “collected” supplies for crafting. When the kids have popsicles, I stash the sticks in there. I always have a few toilet paper or paper towel rolls in it.
Any kind of box is great to keep for crafts (i.e. cereal boxes, Amazon boxes – you know you get them, shoe boxes, etc.). I love using cotton balls and macaroni for decorations and have made more cardboard robots than you could imagine. It just takes a little brain adjustment to look at all your trash like potential fun for your kids. That doesn’t sound great… but it really is!
Sometimes, instead of making those types of crafts, we make fun ones for our skin and bath time instead. We have made lip balms and bath bombs which the kids really enjoy after and also love to give away to their friends.
We always make time for reading and storytelling in the afternoons. I love to have the kids tell their own stories, even though they always make me go first. They come up with some really good ones sometimes.
You can even write down their stories and put them all together in a storybook just for them. Then you can read them on another rainy day. By the time they hit kindergarten, you could probably get them published! Don’t forget to have your kids illustrate their stories too before putting them in their book.
When Daddy gets home in the evening, we try, and I emphasize the word try, to play some sort of game that we can all enjoy. Hungry Hungry Hippos, Legos (I’m a master builder), or even Domino’s (with our own rules, of course).
Playing games with three little ones is a challenge, but if you throw all sense of “proper” play out the window, then it can be quite entertaining. I try to let them take the lead! This way, we all get to participate in the rainy day fun before everyone is too knackered, especially Mommy and Daddy!
So there is your perfect rainy day schedule. After lunch, dinner, snacks, and if you’re lucky – a nap, your day will be completely packed with fun, and a little relaxation, all in one!
