Things to Do with Kids at Home: Rainy Day Activities for Indoor Fun

Turning Rainy Days Into Meaningful Moments

Rainy days can transform an ordinary afternoon into magic, as long as you have the right mindset and a few activities ready. Children live within the natural cycles of the universe, which is an ebb and flow of in-breaths and out-breaths. Like all beings, children need moments of energetic bursts, jumping and exploring outdoors, and equally, moments of calming and rejuvenation indoors. When we enter a rainy day with this mindset, it can be a reminder that recharging ourselves can be joyful and brilliant, if we do so with patience and zeal. I hope this guide blends creativity with practicality, offering low-stress ideas parents can set up quickly while supporting learning, connection, and fun.

Skip the Screens!

When the sky turns gray, many families see an increase in restlessness. Try turning the rainy day into a moment to slow down and create space for quality time together. Reducing screen reliance is a real struggle, one that I too face, especially on long, raining indoor days. These simple indoor activities can be done with parent involvement, or independently, supporting creativity and cognitive development without requiring elaborate setups.

When things feel hard, and the sun is hiding behind a rain cloud, remember that sometimes children need a nudge to get started with their play. If I sit down with my children and begin helping them with a set up (with dolls, cars, legos, any toys), they will follow suit. Slowly I can get up and walk away, leaving them to play for hours. A bit of imaginative spark can also help children free play. A very simple puppet play, or a story, can guide them into the imaginative world of dragons, fairies and lead them to create a world of their own. And when the fun is all played out, just a gentle reminder that we are only human. Offering a bit of screentime on a rainy day should not make even the most Waldorf of Mamas feel as though they have failed. We all have moments when screentime can offer positive breaks and educational content. I try my best to offer shows and movies that are aligned with my values and ideas on life, while also choosing low-stimulation televisions and limiting the amount of time my children are on screens. 

Here is a list of Low-Stimulation Television Options that are Mama Approved ~ 

• FernGully: The Last Rainforest

• Song of the Sea

• Little Bear

• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

• Charlotte’s Web – Real Actors

• Brambly Hedge – Youtube

• Ponyo 

• Paddington Bear – Real Actors

• Stuart Little – Real Actors

• Julie Donaldson The Gruffalo – Not Low Stimulation but morally good

• Disney’s Tinker Bell – Not Low Stimulation but morally good

• Franklin 

• Once Upon a Forest

• The Borrowers – Real Actors 

• Thumbalina 

• The Secret of Kells

• Faeries

• Anne of Green Gables Kids – Youtube

• Berinstein Bears – Treehouse Direct on Youtube

Beeswax Modeling Clay 

Some activities are classics for a reason. Indoor scavenger hunts, blanket forts, and simple science experiments tend to keep kids absorbed because they feel both familiar and exciting. Craft areas are another easy indoor activity which encourages creativity without needing much supervision. One indoor activity we love on a rainy day is Beeswax Modeling Clay. 

A rainy day is the perfect time to offer your child warm, aromatic beeswax for modeling. Beeswax is a secret, eco-friendly mom hack for keeping little ones entertained anywhere. One summer, while stranded on an island near Portland, Maine, a small bag of beeswax kept a group of children happily busy for over an hour. 

How to Model with Beeswax~

Warming the wax is part of the fun. Start by holding it between your hands or under your arm, or warm it briefly in the microwave for a few seconds or on the stovetop for a few moments

Once it’s warm, create. Begin with storytelling to spark imagination and inspire your child to mold fairies, mushrooms, forest creatures, or natural objects. Then let your child shape and mold their ideas with the non-toxic, eco-friendly beeswax.

A Child’s Dream Beeswax Modeling Clay

Rainy Day Basket

Another simple idea for your home is dedicating a small basket to rainy day activities. In our home, this basket lives up in a tall cabinet, and is not played with unless an adult brings it out. Keeping these activities for special occasions, (such as a rainy day, or I often will bring this out to a restaurant), keeps them extraordinary and creates excitement.  The beeswax clay lives in this basket, along with a few special puzzles, nature cards and some special stones for counting or creating patterns. 

Rainy Day Game

Our favorite rainy day game is called Acorns are Hiding

It goes like this ~

Have your child, or children sit in a circle together on the floor. Close a small acorn, or something special of your choice, in your hand. With eyes closed, begin singing the Acorn song. Guide the children to close their hands into tight fists. While singing, transfer the acorn or special object to one of the children’s hands and gently remind them to keep their hands and eyes closed. Once the song is over, the children open their eyes and guess which child has the Acorn hiding within their hands. This is a simple “hiding” game that brings lots of fun. 

Acorns are hiding, hiding, hiding, Acorns are hiding everywhere. Sharp eyes will find them, bright eyes will find them, Acorns are hiding everywhere.

Activities on a Budget

If you don’t have a basket with special games, here are a few simple, inexpensive ideas for a rainy day with littles. Remember, that there is magic in the mundane. 

• Drink warm tea together
• Finger knit
• Make cookies
• Build a fort
• Dress up 
• Go outside in the rain and jump in puddles
• Tell a story ~ Or read a story aloud like The Many Adventures of Winne the Pooh 
• Take a bubble bath

One Last Rainy Day Activity ~ Playing with Magic Wool

One of the earth’s quiet gifts is the soft, gentle fleece of the lamb. Wool carries a kind of everyday magic—warmth from a living creature, lightness from the meadow air, and the promise of becoming anything a child’s imagination whispers it to be.

Place a deep basket of wool before young children and watch as they sink their hands into it, letting play arise as naturally as breathing. A tuft becomes a drifting cloud, a tiny bird, a friendly forest sprite—whatever their dreaming hearts decide. A simple story shared in a warm voice, with a small wisp of wool shaped into a fairy or a snowflake, can kindle this play even further.

Tales such as Rumpelstiltskin or The Three Spinners remind us how long wool has been woven into human stories. Children delight in the whole journey of wool—carding the raw fleece, washing it clean, twisting it into yarn, shaping it through wet-felting, and, as they grow older, discovering the quiet concentration of needle-felting.

There are endless possibilities waiting in a single basket of wool. And on a soft, rainy day, when the world feels hushed, it is the perfect time to gather the wool, sit together, and follow wherever the magic leads.

________________________________________________

Stormwinds send the clouds a-whirling

Rain comes rushing, swishing, swirling

Raindrops downwards dance and spatter

Pitter patter, pitter patter. Jarman 

– S. Jarman

Explore Jordan’s other Waldorf Inspired Activities for Kids!

Fall baking recipes with apples

Children’s books for Autumn

Coloring activities for children