We’ve had a lot of rainy days in Sydney lately, and that has meant many days stuck at home and kids getting restless. It has been a good chance for my kids to get out their art and crafts, as well as toys they don’t usually get to play, which are great rainy day screen-free, indoor activities.

However, I remember that, when my kids were toddlers and preschoolers, their attention span was shorter. I would have to think of many short activities to occupy them.

I found it quite exhausting constantly coming up with ideas for indoor activities for them. It’s hard as a parent to be “on” the whole time and it’s nice to have activities that they can do themselves without too much supervision. Here are my suggestions for some fun and engaging rainy day crafts that younger kids can enjoy.

Do you have cardboard boxes lying around the house waiting to be turned into toys? Our kids love an empty cardboard box, or two or three! We have made forts, train carriages, and even a colour sorting toy at Christmas!

You can cut out a door, a window, to peep out of, add cushions, a small chair and a tea towel for a curtain.

How about turning a box upside down, for a tea party with their toys?

The box itself can be a craft activity. Give the kids a set of paints, and they can paint the inside of the box and turn it into an aquarium, doll house or a treasure box. Add some towels inside and the box becomes a bed for their favourite toys.

Whenever we go on holidays, we try to make use of the recycling that we generate on the trip and turn it into paper based craft activities. Instead of bringing a lot of toys, we bring a set of colouring pens, glue stick, masking tape, and scissors. We end up using the cardboard packaging, egg cartons, and paper towel rolls that would go in the recycling, to make new toys to play with.

Do your kids get bored of their toys even though they have a house full of toys? On a rainy day, they can get tired of their own toys pretty quickly. Think beyond the toys designed for a specific game or purpose, and let them have plenty of unstructured play. Some of the most creative moments come from playing with toys in different ways, and using every day items to play with. One way I have tried this is to provide a basket with some items which aren’t regular toys, and see what they would to with it.

Watching TV shows like ABC Play school, gave us lots of ideas of how to play with everyday items which aren’t “toys” but can be used as in creative play, make believe, develop manual skills and learning. Some of the things you can use are:

• muffin trays
• cupcake cases
• pom poms and spoons
• clothes pegs
• socks to make sock puppets and dolls
• ribbons

Moreoever, I found that using craft materials and things lying around was more fun than the actual toys after a long morning at home and could take the activity much further than a regular toy by itself. Soon we discovered toys “tucked into bed” in our slippers and shoes at home with a tissue covering it as its “blanket” and this still occurs in our house!

How many different things can you do with these pebbles, some toys, and rice or beans? Turns out, a lot!

We’ve put them all into a tub and subsequently used them for counting, sorting into colours, measuring, spooning into containers, and imaginative play. Think sand box play, but a lot less mess and easier to pack away!

Supplement or substitute with: cotton balls, pasta, pom poms.

Be prepared it will scatter on the ground, but I’ve found that we take it out on the balcony on a rainy day, and they have an hour or so of sensory play, to the background of falling rain.

For any excess mess, have a dustpan handy you can easily sweep it all up. Or, enlist the kids to help you!

• Using cushions and blankets – we played musical stepping stones and musical chairs with cushions
• Make your own rattle / shaker
• Make your own streamers/ ribbon stick
• Dancing with scarves of different sizes

Depending on how busy you are, you can involve kids in preparing a meal. There are many steps in meal preparation, besides the actual time at the stove top or oven. You could get your child involved in:

• writing out the recipe or making a shopping list
• looking at recipes and planning a meal
• finding or selecting the ingredients from the pantry or fridge
• washing or preparing the ingredients
• measuring, adding and mixing in the ingredients
• decorating and presenting the meal!

• I would try to draw up a schedule of the day (using pictures or age appropriate simple words) on a mini whiteboard or piece of paper.
• If your living space is small, work out a few play ‘zones’ so that your child can rotate through a few different activities.
• Toy organisation really helps – more about this in the next post!
• Prepare beforehand or have a craft box ready for any craft activities! If you have everything in place, there is less mess and potential spills and mishaps. Keep a plastic table cloth in the craft box if you have any painting activities.
• Glue sticks are less messy, although you may need white glue like Elmer’s glue to stick onto cardboard.
• Foster creativity and collaboration, rather than following a set to-do list. Work together and invite your child’s own input and ideas, rather than trying to achieve a perfect craft.
• You may have to help to pre cut things, otherwise use toddler and preschool friendly scissors such as these ones here which we use at home
• Masking tape (also known as painters tape) is easy to use and is strong for holding together cardboard crafts and I find it easier and safer to use than sticky tape (Scotch tape, cellotape).  older kids can tear it themselves. I also like it because it can be painted over.
• MOST importantly, enjoy the time together. They won’t remember what craft you made, or game that you played, but they will remember that you spent time and had fun.