What Can You Do With a Toddler On A Rainy Day?
Living in the not-so-sunny Pacific Northwest, I know how hard it can be to be stuck inside all day (or, worse, all week!) with an active toddler. Toddlers need tons of space to run, jump, climb, play, and explore each and every day, weather be damned.
That’s great when the weather is decent and you can just head over to the park for an hour. However, it’s less great when you’re stuck inside and your toddler decides to turn your bookshelf into a jungle gym and the back of your couch into a slide. (Cabin fever is no joke, guys!)
As a lifelong PNW girl, I’m not scared to bundle up and brave a bit of rain, rainboot-clad toddler in tow. (Splashing in puddles is a classic toddler activity, after all!) But sometimes the rain is too much – even for us PNW-ers – and we’re forced to make it work inside. With a hyper toddler who seems hellbent on ending the day in the hospital. Awesome.
So, How Can You Entertain Your Toddler When It’s Too Wet Out To Play?
Keep them busy with these simple & fun indoor activities, of course! I filled this list of rainy day activities with some of favorite toddler-friendly activities from my teaching days. That means, that all of these activities are low- or no-cost, easy to set up, and – most importantly – toddler-approved. (Oh yeah, and they’re all screen-free, too!)
Keep reading to learn how to keep your toddler busy on a rainy day!
PS. Want to save this list for a rainy day? Don’t forget to grab your free printable activity guide below!
21 Fun Indoor Activities To Keep Toddlers Busy on a Rainy Day
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1 | Create an indoor obstacle course with throw pillows and furniture
Add stepping stones or a balance beam to the obstacle course to make it more challenging!
2 | Break out whatever you have sitting in the recycling bin and some art materials, and let your toddler get creative
Toddlers can draw or paint on cardboard boxes, or even work on those STEM skills by building towers or other structures. Try reading the awesome book What To Do With A Box with your toddler for inspiration!
3 | Get cooking!
Find a simple recipe online and let your budding chef get to work in the kitchen (with your help, of course). You can find a list of toddler-friendly recipes here, plus ideas to involve them in the cooking process.
4 | Hang some poster board up on the wall and let your toddler make a “mural”
Just make sure you can trust them to keep their crayons on the paper, first! This one is especially cool with adhesive chalkboard wallpaper and colorful chalk if you’re looking for a fun and simple twist.
5 | Try a basic baking soda & vinegar experiment
Toddlers love watching the mixture fizz up! For another variation on this experiment, your toddler can try adding baking soda to a halved lemon – I like to add a little bit of kid-safe food coloring to the mix to keep the game going longer!
6 | Introduce a few basic yoga poses to your toddler – and don’t forget to join in!
If you’re not a hardcore yoga girl, no worries! Kid-friendly yoga cards are an awesome way to teach your child – and yourself! – yoga poses. I also love the adorably illustrated book You Are a Lion!: And Other Fun Yoga Poses!
7 | Have a stuffy dance party!
Grab your toddler’s favorite stuffed animals, turn up the music, and get moving.
8 | Camp out in your living room
Turn off the lights, grab a flashlight, and help your toddler build a pillow fort to “camp out” in until the rain stops (or at least until lunch). Looking for a more legit fort-building experience? Try using a fort-building kit like this glow-in-the-dark one!
9 | Whip together some homemade playdough
Your toddler will love making the playdough at least as much as they love playing with it. Here’s a simple playdough recipe you can make at home with just flour, salt, water, and food coloring!
10 | Create a toy car wash
Just fill a clear sensory tub (or whatever large, clear child-safe bowl you have at home) with soapy water and let your lil one get to work! Your toddler will have fun splashing and scrubbing while their toy cars get clean. You can also make a dish-washing station for your child’s play dishes and utensils, or turn playtime into baby doll’s bathtime – the possibilities are endless!
11 | Stack and build with cups
Have some old paper or plastic cups laying around from your kid’s last birthday? Break them out and let your toddler go wild. (And, yes, this is technically a STEM activity.)
12 | Speaking of cups, you can also set up a pouring and dumping station for your toddler
Keep it simple with two bowls of water, a few cups, and a towel. Or try something new by adding food coloring or scoopable toys to each bowl.
PS. If your toddler is really into water play, consider investing in a water table for their playroom. There are a million and one creative and fun water play activities out there for your toddler to explore!
13 | Play with masking tape!
The possibilities are endless, but here are a few ideas: Create a tape line or zig-zag pattern on the floor for your toddler to practice walking across. Make tape shapes, numbers, or letters to introduce pre-academic concepts to your toddler. Or play a gross motor game using tape as a sticky “spider web” (click here for instructions!)
14 | Get your toddler moving with some throwing practice
Practice throwing beanbags – or clean, balled-up socks – into the laundry hamper.
15 | Work on your toddler’s fine motor skills with an easy tearing and ripping activity
Dig back into the recycling and pull out last week’s grocery ads for some tearing and cutting practice. Encourage your child to rip and tear the paper, or let them work on their cutting skills with safety scissors. (Bonus points for talking about the pictures you see while you work!)
16 | Try to move like an animal with your toddler
How does a giraffe walk? A horse? What about a spider? If your toddler’s old enough, you can take turns choosing the next animal to copy!
17 | Paint while listening to instrumental music (and, yes, Disney soundtracks are allowed)
Encourage your child to pay attention to the music while they paint: Is the music fast or slow? Is it loud or quiet? How do they feel listening to the music? What do they think is happening?
18 | Use a movement dice with your toddler to work on their gross motor skills
You can find out how to make one at home here (or buy one here if you’re not feeling super crafty)!
19 | Organize a simple indoor scavenger hunt
For younger toddlers, keep it simple and stick to one item at a time – “something blue” or “a toy bear”. You can make the game a little more challenging for older toddlers by asking them to find 2+ items (“Can you find two things that are red?”) or introducing more challenging categories (“Find something that is cold.”)
20 | Recruit your toddler for a quick & fun “cleaning party”
Give them a spray bottle and some baby wipes or a toddler-friendly broom and get tidying. (PS. Don’t forget to thank your little one for their work!)
21 | Have a themed PJ party – even if it’s just the two of you!
Pick a theme and cozy up together, reading stories or playing games that tie into your theme. You can even whip up a themed drink or snack to share if you really want to get fancy.
Have Fun!
I hope you found some awesome new rainy day activities to try out with your toddler! Here’s one last pro tip (for now): Write your fave activities down on popsicle sticks and keep them in a special Rainy Day jar. Then, the next time it’s pouring out, let your toddler pull a popsicle stick out from the jar to choose a fun ~surprise~ activity for the day!
Until next time!
♥ Meg
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