Rainy Day Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Shaving Cream Paint, branded

By: Shauna Robertson

Yes, we live in Vancouver and yes, it rains about 50% of the time, but still rainy days seem to sneak up on me! I’ll have a thought in my mind that my toddler and I will be spending the day at the beach or the park and then I look outside and it’s raining. Boo! So we turn to the toys, and get bored within 15 minutes. So we turn to the books that we’ve read a million times over, no go. How about colouring? Well, that lasted another 15 minutes! So… what are we going to do for the next 3.5 hours before lunch? Here are some ideas of activities you can do that don’t involve going to the store to get lots of supplies; in fact you should be able to find what you need in your cupboard already:

Edible Finger Paints

I love this one because it’s safe for very young kids but fun for older kids as well!

Recipe

1 cup of corn flour
1/2 cup of cold water
2.5 cups of boiling water
Liquid food colouring

Mix corn flour and cold water together until you get a nice paste. Add boiling water half a cup at a time. It will be difficult to mix but keep mixing until you get a nice consistency. Divide the mixture into bowls, or mason jars work nicely if you want to keep the paint to use again. Add food colouring to desired colours and voila! The best part is that you can have your little one help you make the paint so now you have two activities for the price of one!

Edible paint, 640x480.jpg

Potato Prints

We used to do this in elementary school, but I don’t see why pre-schoolers can’t do it too!

Recipe

Potato(es)
Cookie cutter
Paints (you could even use the edible finger paints for this one)

Cut a potato in half (either direction works depending on the size and shape of your cookie cutters). Stick the cookie cutter into the potato and pull away the excess (they may need help with this). Blot the potato onto a paper towel to wick away the moisture. Pour the paint onto a plate so that they can dip the potato into it and stamp it onto a piece of paper. The best part is their face when they see the shapes appear on the page!

Shaving Cream Paints

Now that your little one is nice and messy from all the painting, it’s time to clean up but why not make it more fun with shaving cream paints!

Recipe

Shaving cream
Food colouring

This one is super easy, all you need to do is divide up your shaving cream into different bowls or I like to use plastic sandwich containers and add food colouring. Now they’re free to paint up the walls of the bathtub and the best part? It disappears with water making clean up a breeze!

Shauna is a mama to an adorable two year old boy, 14 year old cat and 8 year old dog, wife to an amazing husband, part time photographer, a reality tv lover, and hockey enthusiast living in Vancouver. When she’s not spending time playing with her family she loves to daydream about future vacations or lose the world in a book or movie. Catch up with her at Lavender Lemonade Photo.

You May Also Like