Some rainy day learning fun

Rainy afternoons can be down right terrifying when you have little children in the house. The chaos, tantrums and rowdiness is sometimes more than I can bear. So when the weather forecast calls for afternoon thunderstorms stop what you are doing and take a few minutes to work play with your little ones.

Hi Ho Cherry-o is one of my favorite games for toddlers. It covers all the basics, color recognition, sorting, fine motor skills, following the rules, counting and most importantly manners.

Encourage your little one to set up the game without your help. Have them sort the apples, cherries, blueberries and oranges into the matching color basket. Once they have done this have them put the fruit on the matching tree counting as they go. Picking up those tiny fruits and placing them on the tree is great fine motor skill practice and helps them with their coordination and dexterity. Explain the rules of the game and have your little one repeat them back to you. As you take turns spinning be sure to model good manners and taking turns with your little one....and no getting mad when you lose. Because you will lose. My daughter beat me 4 times in a  row! Playing board games often takes a backseat to video games and movies which is a shame because developmentally they play such an important role in your child's development. While technology is great and definitely has its place in the educational world sometimes you need to get back to basics and teach your children through personal interaction and modeling.

Some more of my rainy day favorite activities

Scavenger Hunt: Give your little ones a bucket or a bag and make a few lists. Suggested lists: Things that: are Red, yellow, green, have wheels, are edible, soft, hard, round, square, float, can be used in the kitchen, the possibilities are endless. Write them down on a card and mix all the cards up in a small jar. Have your little one pull out a list and give them 4 minutes to search the house finding items that would match their list. The more they find the more points they get!
Fashion show: Break out the purple eyeshadow and fancy clothes let your little one raid your closet for the perfect high heel shoes and have a fashion show
Design an amusement park: Have your little one get creative with their colored pencils, markers and crayons. Have them draw pools and roller coasters, animal areas and playgrounds. Then give them a box or shopping bag and encourage them to go around the house and find some items they could use to build their amusement park. Work with them to set it up...and let their creativity go wild!
Build a fort: Have your child draw out blueprints for their fort, labeling the parts and making a materials list for what they will need to build it. Then get to work helping them build their fort.
Pillow hop: Have your little one gather all of the throw pillows, if your house is like mine there are plenty to choose from. Arrange them in a row on the floor, practice counting by 1's, 2's, 5's and 10's as they hop to the next pillow.
Puzzles: Having your child put together a 35 piece or higher puzzle is a great way to get their brain working. It challenges them to think, problem solve and use clues to help them solve their problems.

Come and check out our Rainy Day Ideas on Pinterest

Leave a comment and let us know how you spend your rainy days with your little ones. We would love to hear your ideas!