Bored at Home? Rainy Day Activities for Kids

The summer is winding down and the kids will never admit that they are ready to go back to school, but the cries of "I'm bored" have become louder and are uttered more often. You can redirect the boys and girls to put down the controllers and go play outside, but when the thunderstorms roll in, you have to find something to do inside the house that they will find engaging. We have searched the Web and come up with some ideas to save your sanity as summer winds down.

• Reward them with their own toys: Most of our kids have so many playthings that they forget about the ones that they don't play with on a regular basis. So here is an idea born from Real Simple that we adapted. Have an indoor treasure hunt, but have them find those toys that have fallen out of favor.
• This one is more fun for the little ones, but let them have a dip in the bathtub. Get all the tub toys together, but instead of an actual bath, have them wear their swimsuits and play in the water.
• It's just rain. So if the weather is not dangerous - with thunder and lightening, go play in the puddles. You can do this just in front of your own house or you can go to a local park. The people at Pilcher Park Nature Center in Joliet love it when the kids play in the rain. Or, if it is raining on and off all day, wait for a break in the rain, go draw in chalk on the wet sidewalk and talk about how different it looks. Then watch it wash away.
• Build a blanket fort. They are fun. And as adults, we probably forgot how much fun they were. You can help your kids to build a huge one in the living room and then dive under the covers with them and a flashlight and read a book or tell ghost stories.
• Have an indoor picnic. Go all out. Spread out the blanket, take the food out of the picnic basket you would have used had you been going to the park. For an extra bit of fun, bake homemade cookies before lunch or dinner and bring them on the picnic.