Yep, go ahead and get that mixer out, bust out the chocolate chips and make some cookies or muffins or both! My kids love helping with baking and mixing and eating chocolate chips and this is a very rewarding activity.

• Baking is a sensory activity–tasting and smelling and feeling the batter
• Baking or cooking food requires them to follow directions
• Kids get to participate in something they don’t normally do on a daily basis
• Lastly, they get to eat something at the end of the activity!

When I do a baking activity, I usually get out all of the ingredients first and then have them help me measure and stir. We also have 2 learning towers so both kids can do their thing without fighting over the learning tower.

This inside idea for when the weather is bad is a simple one: You can build a fort with pretty much anything: couch cushions, blankets, pillows, use a bunk bed, or under the dining room table. We use a combination of our couch, sheets, and our Nugget couch. The kids have a great time playing inside the fort. We do not make these every day ya know so the novelty is just so much fun for them.

I don’t know about you, but I really love the Dollar Tree. You can get a nice-sized pack of glow sticks there for JUST a dollar! Whaaat?

At any given time I have about 4 packs of glow sticks, necklaces, balls around our house for a cold or rainy day activity. All you need is a dark room, some music and some glow sticks and you have yourself a glow stick party.

These are pretty epic in our house. The kids regularly ask to have a glow stick party and I happily oblige because a glow stick and music is fun for me too…as you can see. This is actually a picture of my sister and me at a Halloween glow stick party we held last year. We all have fun!

The kids love to play hide and seek, but we really need two adults to help with this because they need help with the hiding and the seeking.  This is great to play when both of us are around, but just in case it is only one of us we can also play hide the cookie.  This is a game that my mother-in-law made up for them.  One person hides a cookie from our play kitchen and the other person has to go find it.  Silly of course, but they like it.

Go Noodle is so fun! We use this quite often in the winter when it is too cold to go out and the kids need to get some wiggles out of their system. We scoot the coffee table over, clear the dance floor, and boom—a fun dance party for everyone. Go Noodle pairs movement, positivity, and cute messages in their songs, and it is free!

You can use Go Noodle on the website or download the app. Sometimes we pull it up on a computer and sometimes we mirror our phone to our tv using the app. Whichever way you choose is user-friendly.

Our favorite songs are:

Peanut Butter in a Cup

A-Moose-Ta-Cha

You can also find Go Noodle songs on YouTube. Go Noodle seems to cycle their songs so if your kids want a specific song you can search for it on YouTube.

Related, but not on Go Noodle, my kids also love these other songs:

The Floor is Lava

We are the Dinosaurs

Have we met?

Did you know we have picnics almost everyday?

Yes, yes you knew we have lots of picnics outdoors. Well then guess what we do when the weather stinks, we have indoor picnics too.

I’ve filled up a lovely tray of foods and serve it on a coffee table or the downstairs train table while we watch a movie. Sometimes we eat in a fort because you can combine these cool ideas, ya know!

This photo is from one of our indoor picnics in June because of the cicada infestation that we had. My children demanded a picnic so we had one in the basement.

There are some really cool playgrounds that are indoors in the Columbus area–that’s where we are. I bet if you do a simple search you can find some in your area too. If you are in the Columbus, Ohio area.

Here are a couple of awesome ones that we have tried:

This one is pretty cute. It’s in the Worthington Mall, which is a smaller shopping center. It’s a good one to visit and then get some Panera afterward.

Polaris Mall Zoo Court Play Area: This is great because it is different. There are many animals that are the structure. The kids are enclosed around a seating area for parents so you can park the stroller (and yourself) and let them play.

Westerville Community Center:  I actually haven’t taken my kids here, but I’ve been with other kiddos and it’s a great facility with a cool, free playground.

I’ve talked about the subscription box we get monthly here. This is a great box with learning activities and crafts. So many are great for a rainy or snowy day when you can’t get outside.

My kids also love watercolors. I do too! Watercolors are an easy thing for me to get out for them and they have a great time messing in the colors and the water.

If you don’t have either, get out some dried beans or popcorn kernels a plastic container and some kitchen tools and they’ll have the best time. It’s like you planned this amazing activity for them and all you did was get out some beans. Best.Parent.Ever.  Also, get yourself a coffee…you deserve it!

We love our local libraries. Sometimes we will venture over to the library for storytime or pick out a few books and read in a big chair there when the weather is bad. One of our libraries has a bunch of puzzles and other toys that my kids love. Plus you can pick up some books to take home while you are there. I definitely recommend getting on your library webpage to look at their listed events. You’ll find storytimes, music classes, other events. If I’m struggling with what to do with the kids, this is a great free activity.

This photo below is during an event where someone brought in reptiles.

Um, I’m sorry, what’s that? Yes, go outside anyway. You can probably find some portion of the day where you can get out when the sun is shining and it’s a bit less cold or when the thunderstorm has cleared and there’s just a drizzle. Bundle up, put some boots on or grab an umbrella and find some window of time to go out if you need your kids to blow off some energy. I promise you will not regret it!

One particularly annoying indoor day with my kids I decided to let them go out to run around. They had the best time, we all laughed and got very very messy. We came in, took off all of our wet things, changed, had lunch and then they napped that afternoon. Everyone was happy. This is also one of their favorite memories–isn’t it funny how some of the best memories are totally unplanned activities?

I hope these ideas help you out on the next rainy or snowy day. Please add a comment to let me know if you have any other ideas that you use with your kids on bad weather days. I’m always looking for new ideas for kids when it’s not the best weather out.