There’s more to do on a rainy day than watch television and play board games—or are they bored games? Kids need physical activity to get their wiggles out and stay healthy, but when gloomy weather rolls in, they have to take refuge indoors. Soccer games and jump rope contests aren’t quite suited for indoor play, but you can turn a dreary day into a cheery day with these creative and educational activities for the whole family.

My Favorite Rainy Day Place

For a fun art project that will get the creative juices flowing faster than rain in a storm drain, try this activity. First gather these supplies: construction paper, yarn or stapler, paper towels, markers, glue, cotton balls, dry rice, aluminum foil pieces, salt, water colors, markers, and chalk. Find a location suitable for a messy art project, and cover the surface with newspaper for easy clean up.

Instruct the kids to think of their favorite place. This could be their room, a vacation spot, or even somewhere they’ve never been, like the moon. They will need to draw their chosen locale on a piece of construction paper. When everyone has finished his masterpiece, it’s time to stir up a storm! Choose from these applications to make rain fall on the favorite places. Paint a blue coat of watercolor over the entire picture, then sprinkle salt on the wet surface. When the piece dries, the salt will have soaked up some of the paint and left spots that look like rain. They can use small pieces of balled foil or rice, glued randomly on their picture, to symbolize raindrops. For clouds, apply the chalk, and rub it with a paper towel to create a wispy sky, or pull cotton balls into thin sheets and glue them to the paper.

Have each artist make a story entitled, “The Day it Rained in My Favorite Place.” Let them make as many pictures as they want, then bind them all together with staples or yarn to create a keepsake book to look at on the next rainy day.