Stuck at home on a rainy day with nowhere to go? Find 21 fun and entertaining rainy day activities that you can do with your little ones to get over boredom.
Don’t we all love rainy days? Watching the rain pour outdoors while you get to enjoy a hot cup of coffee while laying on your couch, is a dream but what if along with this you also have a one year old who is just too bored and driving you insane! Sounds crazy rite? Honestly, rainy days are beautiful but the fact that you cannot take your little ones outside for a walk or let them play in the garden is hard to deal with.
After living in Buffalo for more than 8 years now, we have always been embraced with heavy downpour during the month of July and August. I have always enjoyed this time to the fullest as the weather starts to get cooler and we are surrounded by the smell of fresh wet mud, but lately trying to engage my baby while it rains outside has been a struggle. Since lately we have been having quite a few of these rainy days, I am sharing with you a few fun activities that I have been doing with my little girl to keep her engaged at home and to maintain sanity at home.
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Indoor Rainy Day Activities for one year olds
1. Pasta sensory bin
Take a small plastic box and fill it with boiled pasta and some toys. Let your little one enjoys smashing the boiled pasta and trying to pick it up with his toys. Safe sensory bin for kids who like to pick and eat everything from the floor!
2. Play with shaving foam
Pick a sensitive and fragrance-free shaving foam and make your little one sit in his highchair to avoid the mess. Give him some shaving foam on his hand and on his highchair table and let him explore the foam and handprint the foam on the table. Messy but can keep little ones engaged for long.
3. Give the toys a wash
Little one’s love giving their toys a wash. Take a bucket fill it with water and a drop of tear-free soap. Put all your little one’s toys in the bucket and give him a brush to let him play while having fun cleaning his toys. The best place to do this is on the wooden floor which can be easily wiped off or in the bathtub.
4. Play with cardboard box
Pick an old and empty cardboard box and remove one side of the box. Let your child sit in the box or color it on the outside using crayons. Also, another great game to play with the little ones while they sit in their box is peek-a-boo! Babies love this game and it always brings a smile to their face.
5. Hand painting
Make your child sit in the highchair and place a white construction sheet in front of him. Put some washable hand paint on his hand and let him have fun printing his hand on the paper. As babies loves to eat everything around them make sure to pick a toxin free washable hand paint for your little one.
6. Bake a cake
Kids just love all the mess and if the mess involves something sweet then it’s a party for them. Involve your baby in making the cake batter and let him have fun enjoying mixing and licking the bowl. I have been able to click some of the sweetest pics of my daughter while doing this activity.
7. Listen to music and dance
Play some of your child’s favorite nursery rhymes or upbeat music and have fun dancing to the tunes.
8. Storytime
Take out the books and read a story loudly to your kids. Little ones love the tone change and the expressions that they watch in you when you imitate the characters in the books.
9. Give the little one a massage
My favorite! Heat some coconut + olive oil and spend time massaging your baby. While you do that you can sing a song to them, help them exercise or tell them a story. Great exercise for their motor skill development!
10. Make a miscellaneous texture box
Pick a big bowl or container box and fill it with things with a different texture like a woolen cap, comb, silk scarf, lentils, etc. Let your child explore the box by feeling the different texture with his hands.
11. Blow bubbles
This activity is everyone’s favorite. Have nowhere to go then settle down on your couch and blow some bubbles on your little one’s face. They will love chasing them!
12. Play with utensils and vegetables in a bowl
I used to often give my daughter some potatoes, carrots, or small utensils in a big bowl. She used to spend hours taking all the things out of the bowl and then putting them back in it. A great and easy activity to keep babies engaged for long!
13. Paint in a Ziploc bag
Squirt a few drops of different washable paint in the Ziploc bag and seal it properly. Using a masking tape the Ziploc bag to a window or a table. Let your child have fun mixing the colors in the Ziploc bag in the plastic bag. Best way to have a mess free painting session!
14. Peeling tape from the floor
Tape your painters tape on the floor and let your child pull it out from the floor and learn to stick it back.
15. Bubble wrap walkway
Using painters tape, tape the bubble wrap to a wooden floor in your home and let your little one enjoy jumping and running on the bubble wrap. It is a great sensory activity for kids.
16. Tape used paper towel rolls and give your little one pom-poms to pass through it
I used to love this activity. Don’t throw away the used paper towel empty rolls but instead stick them to a window or a wall. Give your child pom poms or pasta and let them have fun transferring things in the paper towel. ** Make sure that your baby does not swallow the small parts. Since I had this issue with my daughter, I would always give her homemade playdoh balls and let her have fun putting it in the hole.
17. Crush old newspaper
Have some old newspaper lying around. Let your child have fun crushing and tearing them!
18. Stack empty cans
Give your child old cans lying around the home to build a tower. Make sure that the cans do not have any pointed ends.
19. Put up a puppet show
Put some old socks in your hand and put up a fun puppet show to entertain your little ones.
20. Play with play doh
Let your little kids imagination run wild with creating fun shapes using play dough. It is one of my daughter’s favorite activities. I also give her a few playdough tools like a rolling pin, cutters, etc and she spends hours having fun with it. Also if your kid is anything like mine who likes to eat everything off the ground, then you can check out this easy to make homemade playdough recipe that is toxin-free and safe to play with.
21. Pillow walk
Line up some pillows on the floor and help your child walk on them. Let them have fun falling and rolling on the pillows.
Outdoor rainy activities for one year olds
Need some activities to enjoy the rainy and cool weather outside?
22. Muddy handprints
Once the rain has stopped, you can let your little ones have fun creating muddy handprints on a piece of cardboard. You can collect some wet mud in a bowl and let him sit on your porch and have fun creating the mess.
23. Jump in the puddle
Jumping in the puddle is little one’s favorite activity. Once the rain has stopped, take your child for a walk and let him have fun jumping and playing in the rain puddles.
24. Transfer water from containers
Give your child some small containers and a big bowl of water. You can give him things like a spoon or a small cup to transfer water from one container to another.
25. Play in the rain
It’s a lot of fun and great fun activity for the parents too. You can also add to the fun by getting some water sprinkler mats or water tubs where your little one can sit and play with the water.
26. Rainy day walk
Put on some raincoats or carry an umbrella and take your little one for a walk around the neighborhood to enjoy the rainy weather.
I have loved doing all these activities with my daughter and they have been a great help to me in keeping her busy on a rainy day. I hope all these activities are helpful to you as well!
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