Rainy Day Activities for the Kids

Fourteen Great Ideas for Having Fun on the Yucky Days

New Hampshire Kids “Mommmmmm….. I’m bored!!!”

This is perhaps the most often heard household phrase on a rainy summer day. From a kid’s perspective, being trapped indoors for a whole day is nothing short of torture – especially if they’ve been living outside since school got out for the summer. Consider this checklist of rainy day activities to be a ‘parents’ survival guide’! Not only will you find great at-home activities, but there are also a great many out-and-about things to do with kids in New Hampshire as well! Ask about Rainy Day Activities for kids or share comments. To feature your business in NHLiving, contact us.

Kid’s Rainy Day Fun & Activities

	1. Play Board Games A rainy day offers the perfect opportunity to settle in at the dining table and play a few board games – something which doesn’t happen very often in an average, busy household. Parcheesi, Scrabble, and Checkers are three classic favorites.
	2. Host an Arts & Crafts Party Invite the neighborhood kids over and ask them to bring junk or leftover craft supplies. Everyone can work together to build one huge sculpture. Not only is this a great teambuilding activity, it will also clean out your scrap craft supplies a bit.
	3. Indoor Camping Kids know there’s nothing better than setting up camp in the living room. All they have to do is step inside and be instantly transported to an imaginative world full of forest fairies, whispering trees and silly ogres. Be sure to remember the flashlights and sleeping bags!
	4. Visit the Local Library Nothing beats curling up with a good book on a dreary day, and the perfect place to find a good read is always the local library. Most local NH libraries have exceptional childrens sections, and a library is always a peaceful place to spend a few hours.
	5. Go Bowling A great indoor activity for the whole family is bowling. In addition to the traditional game of 10-pin, the historical game of candlepin bowling is unique to the New England region. With a candlepin game, you have four small balls roughly the size of a softball, and the pins are tall and narrow – perfect for smaller hands.
	6. Create an Indoor Obstacle Course Transform the basement or living room into a quick, yet challenging, obstacle course for the little ones. Anyone can come up with a great course by using everyday household objects like hula hoops, sofa cushions, an ironing board and some straight-backed chairs. Be sure to award a prize to the most dexterous child!
	7. Volunteer Spending some time with the elderly, infirmed, or even homeless animals is a noble way to spend a rainy afternoon. Not only will children learn the value of community involvement, they will most likely enjoy the time spent helping others. Pet care at animal shelters or board games at nursing homes are great for the younger crowd, while pre-teens and teens can contribute to the local soup kitchen or homeless shelter.
	8. Catch an Afternoon Movie Nothing beats a large bucket of popcorn, a soda and a darkened theater for a drizzly afternoon. It’s very easy to find local showings of kids’ movies and most theaters offer afternoon matinees. Another alternative is live performance from area summer theater troupes.
	9. Bake Together Whether it’s chocolate chip cookies or a fresh blueberry pie, baking sweet treats is a fabulous rainy day activity for the kids. Make sugar cookies, and let the children decorate them with sprinkles and frosting.
	10. Create a Mural Grab a large sheet of heavy paper or thick canvas, tack it to a wall in the house, and give the children some brushes and tempera or acrylic paints. While not permanent, the opportunity to ‘paint on the walls’ is going to be met with great enthusiasm by the little ones, and it allows them to express their creativity on a large scale.
	11. Go to a Rock Climbing Gym Just as good as climbing a tree on a hot summer day, taking the kids to a rock climbing gym will give them the perfect opportunity to burn off some of that restless, ‘cooped in the house’ energy kids will develop on dreary days. Most gyms offer a range of difficulty levels for all ages, and provide safety equipment as well.
	12. Go to a Museum New Hampshire is loaded with a diverse range of museums for the whole family to explore. In addition to the regional, historical and educational museums of NH, there’s also the incredibly fun Children’s Museum of Portsmouth, the New Hampshire Aviation Museum, and the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium.
	13. Indoor Swimming There are many places around NH to go for a quick dip with the kids, and one of the benefits of an indoor pool is having a great time without any need for sunscreen or bug spray. Check into your local community center or recreation department, and you might even find some area resorts that will allow the public to use their facilities as well.
	14. Play In the Rain! That’s right! Bundle up in your rain slickers and galoshes, and get out there! Ask any child and they will tell you, nothing beats jumping in the puddles or rescuing earthworms on a rainy day! This is ideal for the warmer rainy days that are thunderstorm-free.