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While we know it’s great for children to spend time outdoors, it isn’t always possible, especially in the wetter months. That’s why we have collected 15 activities that are perfect for a rainy day. Not only are they fun, but they will also help you to improve your child’s communication skills.
“It’s all about making the most of spare time together, if you can’t go out somewhere, taking 5 minutes to play a game with your child. Spending quality time with your child and seeing it as a positive rather than a negative,” says Speech and Language Therapist, Alys Mathers
Rainy day activities for babies 0-12 months
1. Blowing raspberries
You could try blowing raspberries with your baby. Stick your tongue out, tighten your lips and blow! Remember the louder you want your raspberry to be, the further you’ll need to stick your tongue out. Blowing raspberries with your baby is a great way to bond with your child and an easy way to get them giggling. They’ll love it if you build their anticipation beforehand.
Alys suggests, “If your child makes any noises or gestures back, copy that noise. This shows that you noticed them joining in with the game.”
2. Noisy Play
Why not have some noisy play time with your baby? There are many things that you could use, like bells, toys, pots and pans or even try scrunching up some newspaper. This will help your baby spot where sounds are coming from, they will also enjoy listening to lots of different sounds.
3. Peekaboo
How about playing peekaboo with your child? You can build anticipation within your child by making a smiley face while keeping eye contact, before hiding behind a cushion or cloth. Wait for your child to make a noise. When they do this, quickly reveal yourself and say ‘peekaboo!’ Not only will playing peekaboo make your child laugh it will also help stimulate babies’ senses and build their sense of ‘object permanence’, the idea that objects and people still exist even when they’re out of sight.
4. Baby aerobics
Why not try some baby aerobics? Try some small movements like raising their arms and pedalling their legs. Your child will love to feel your touch as you play. This will also work to strengthen early bonds.
5. Babies’ treasure hunt
You could take a stroll around your house or flat to see which items grab your babies’ attention. Spend time looking and investigating what items catch their eye.
“Following your child’s lead, babies and children are much more likely to learn words for things that they are interested in,” says Alys
The words that you tell your child on your treasure hunt, may even end up being their first words.
Rainy day activities for toddlers 12 months-3 years
1. Copycat
Playing copycat is a great game to improve your child’s confidence, it also helps them to feel listened to. Try playing with facial expressions like ‘stick your tongue out’, ‘touch your nose’ or ‘do a big smile’.
2. Raindrop racing
Why not have a raindrop race with your child? Look out a window and each pick out a raindrop. Whichever raindrop gets to the bottom first wins! You can introduce them to words like ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ as well as ‘big’ and ‘small’ raindrops.
3. Ready, steady, go games
Don’t let the rain get in your way, there are plenty of ways to play ready, steady, go games indoors. You could have a teddy bear race from one side of the room to the other. Each take a teddy bear and go to the starting line. Make sure that your child waits for you to shout “go” before starting. This will help them to practise their listening skills.
“Games like this help to teach them to follow instructions, it helps to stop, wait and follow an instruction in a fun activity. This means they are more likely to learn,” says Alys.
Once your child is good at waiting for ‘go’, it can be helpful for things like crossing the road, and outdoor safety.
4. Taking turns
Taking turns is a great way to improve your child’s social and conversational skills, along with teaching them the importance of sharing. It’s all about finding a game your child enjoys, it might be blowing bubbles or drawing. Don’t forget to chat as you go, using phrases like ‘my turn and ‘your turn’
Alys proposes, “If your child finds it hard to take turns with one game or toy, try a different one. Sometimes if it’s their favourite, it might not be the best one to start with as they might be reluctant to take turns.”
5. Teddy Says
Why not spend this rainy day playing a game of Teddy Says? It’s a great way to introduce action phrases like ‘sit down’, ‘turn around’ and ‘put your hands on your head’. It will also encourage great listening skills, along with helping them to follow two-part instructions.
Rainy day activities for pre-schoolers 3+ years
1. I Spy
How about playing I Spy with your child by describing the items you see. You could start by saying something like “I spy something fluffy.” From there you can keep adding clues like what it looks like, where you can find it and what you do with it, until your child guesses correct. After this your child can have a turn.
“Thinking about words in more detail, such as describing what things look like, sound like, where they live or what you use them for, helps children learn and remember new words. For example, learning about mice and elephants, learning that one is big, and one is small. Focussing on description helps children get a good understanding of new words,” says Alys.
2. Throwing game
Why not play a throwing game even though you can’t make it to the park? You could use different sized boxes, bowls or bin baskets as your targets. It’s also a good way to improve your child’s focus skills while teaching them to follow instructions like ‘throw ball into box’ or ‘throw bean bag into the basket’.
3. Cosy corner
Building a cosy corner is a fun way to encourage your child to have imaginative conversations. By letting your child take the lead it encourages them to talk through what they are doing. What will they use to build their den?
4. Can you remember
This is a great game to improve your child’s memory, along with introducing them to new words. Cover three or four items and see if your child can remember each one. Don’t forget to ask them plenty of questions along the way. You could even try taking an item away to see if they know which one is missing.
5. Building an obstacle course
Building an obstacle course is a great activity for a rainy day. It helps to build your child’s motor skills and teach them about teamwork. Your child could help you to build the course, and then have a go at the course and learn words like ‘over’, ‘under’ and ‘through’. This doesn’t have to be overly complicated, you could just use pillows, a cardboard box or teddy bears.
Alys suggests “If you have space, keep the den up, let it be a safe space for your child. They might like to use it when they’re feeling worried or sad. Equally let them take the lead on if they would like you to join them in the cosy corner.”
