This article was written by the lovely Jenny Wise of specialhomeeducator.com. It has great ideas for children 6+ when the rain is just too heavy to venture out. I hope you enjoy it!
It’s way too rainy to go outside, and your children are stuck in the house. They’re complaining about being bored, and you’re ready to tear your hair out. Let’s face it: no one wants their children playing video games and eating junk all day. So, how can you keep them entertained when the storm clouds roll in and they can’t venture outside? Here are some ideas to help.
YouTube Exercise Videos
A great way to help your children release some energy while stuck in the house is to get them to exercise in front of the TV or computer screen. YouTube has a variety of exercise videos created especially for children. Yoga, cardio dance, and circuit training are just a few of the options available. Yes, running around outside is preferable, but exercising indoors is the next best thing.
Brain Breaks
Websites like GoNoodle let children get their wiggles out by engaging in fun physical activities. Dance videos, obstacle courses, and stretch tutorials are great ways to get your children moving even though they can’t run and play outside. Forbes reports that GoNoodle promotes “physical activity, active learning, heightened engagement and enhanced focus.” Children get to run, dance, jump, and stretch without even leaving the house.
Online Drawing Tutorials
If you have any budding Picassos in your home, you’ll definitely want to try online drawing tutorials for children. Go to YouTube, and you’ll find hundreds of videos offering them step-by-step drawing instructions. Whether your children want to learn to draw dragons, cute little bunnies, snakes, or anything in between, you can probably find a tutorial online.
Engineering Activities
How about letting your children play with Lego when they’re trapped inside the house all day? According to Earth Science Jr., when children build with Lego, they improve their problem-solving skills, creativity, and spatial skills. They also learn that it’s okay to mess up and try again. You don’t have to own a set of Lego. Children can build using virtual Lego on the site PublishYourDesign.com. HomeAdvisor.com also offers dozens of construction and design activities that have math applications hidden inside of them. Your children will have so much fun putting them into practice that they won’t even realize they’re brushing up on their math skills!
Get Cooking
Children love making yummy treats in the kitchen, and it’s the perfect way to relieve boredom when there’s a storm outside! Find simple, no-bake recipes online that children can make. Not only will they have fun cooking, but they’ll also have a great time eating their culinary masterpieces.
The kitchen can also be used to create fun stuff that isn’t edible. Search for easy playdough recipes online. Using common household ingredients, children can help mix up a batch of the dough and spend an hour or two sculpting a work of art.
Online Music Tutorials
Maybe your children love music. Foster their love for music by letting them try an online music tutorial. Whether they long to play the guitar, violin, piano, or any other type of instrument, online music tutorials are merely a click away when you use the internet. And if you have younger children, try PBS Children for fun music-themed games that will cultivate a love for music.
Computer Coding
If your children have dreams of becoming computer programmers, let them learn to code with a free tutorial found on sites like Code.org or HourOfCode.com. When children play the games on these sites, they learn the basics of computer coding that can someday lead to a career as a web developer or web designer.
Ideas for Dog Lovers
If your children love dogs, find dog-themed lesson plans online. Pair hands-on activities with a dog-themed book. Create dog puppets to retell the story or have your children prepare a PowerPoint discussing what the book was about. Perform a quick search online, and you’ll find lots of lesson plans relating to dogs, including these lesson plans from the American Veterinary Medical Association.
The wind is howling, the rain is falling, and your children are stuck inside, but that doesn’t mean they have to be bored. Find online exercise videos and art or music tutorials to keep your children happy and engaged. Encourage them to use their engineering skills to create magnificent structures. Cook in the kitchen or give them the gift of music. All of these ideas can help cure children’ cabin fever, and save your sanity too!