Any Good Rainy Day Activities for Two Year Olds?

Try giving him a few cups of chocolate pudding in the bathtub and let him go to town! :-) Fun, edible fingerpaint is the way to go and should keep him occupied for a little while!

You can also do this with Whipped cream or use a colored popsicle as a crayon.

S.,

I used to work in a two year old room at a Daycare and these are some of the things we did...

1. Finger paint with pudding
2. dry beans in the sand/water table (easy clean up!)
3. make masks and have a parade around making animal sounds
4. make musical instruments and have a "jam session"-paper plate tamborines, coffee can drums, tissue box guitar (with rubber bands), toilet paper roll shakers etc.
5. have an indoor picnic for lunch...eat picnic style food on a blanket on the floor
6. indoor campout - create a fake fire (we used paper towel rolls as logs and tissue paper for flames) "roast" marshmellows and have grahm crackers for a snack, take a nap in a "sleeping bag" in a "tent" (folded blanket for a sleeping bag if you don't have one and a blanket over a couple of chairs for a tent)
7. indoor volleyball or basketball with a balloon
8. cooking! - you add the ingredients and let the child mix, cookies, bread, or even fruit salad that you can eat together afterword
9. dress up in fancy clothes and have a "fancy" lunch/snack
10. Go to the "beach" - put on your swim suit and sandles, lay out the beach towel, play with a beach ball, swim in the tub, have ice cream for dessert

2 year olds love creative dramatic play so be imaginative and bring the summer sun inside even if the weather outside doesn't agree. I hope something on the list works for you and your child.

C.

Hi S.,

If you want to take Matthew out, check out www.kidwinks.com (which is my website) to find events and activities throughout the Chicago area. You can click on the Events calendar or look through the Ongoing Activities section under the Indoor Activities (you'll find about 100 museums, nature centers, indoor play areas, libraries, etc.). If you're on a budget, as most of us are these days, you can search for free events using the search box. We even have a Kids Eat Free calendar in the Restaurant section so you can click on a day to find out where kids eat free or at a discount on any day! Sign up for membership, which is free, and you can sort your search results by distance from your house. You will also receive our newsletter, which email to you each week with tips on upcoming events.

If you live near Northbrook, check out River Trail Nature Center on Milwaukee Ave. - it's fantastic! They have a huge room for crafts, play, reading, etc. plus another indoor room with animal exhibits. All free!

Hope this helps!

J.

My little guy loved these inside things when he was two...

-building forts in the livingroom
-fingerpainting with chocolate pudding
-helping stir the batter and making cookies/brownies, etc.
-playing hide-and-seek
-building with train tracks all through the toy room
-(amazingly!) dusting with a Swiffer Duster
-drawing on the patio doors with Crayola Window Markers
-talking to family on our computer's video camera
-ripping up construction paper into a million little pieces and gluing the pieces together to make a collage

If it is not a horrible storm like we've had this week, go outside and play in the rain! Puddle jumping and getting all wet is still fun, even for grown-ups.

I hope you get some great ideas!
A.

I just made some cute Father's Day crafts with a couple of 2 and 3 yr old in my home D.. I found a TIE template to print at: http://familyfun.go.com/printables/season/printable/fathe...

and let them decorate them with all kids of things. Noodles, stickers, beads etc. They turned out really cute and it kept them busy. I suggest printing them on regular paper and then gluing them to firm card like a cereal box or something similar as all the additives can way it down a little :)
Enjoy- Family Fun also has LOTS of other great rainy day ideas.

If you want to get out of the house for some free rainy day activities, my daughter had two favorites when she was that age. She loved going to the mall and riding up and down the elevator. She could do this for a really long time but be sure to pick a mall that's not busy. The nice thing is that at two, they won't try to get you to buy stuff for them. My daughter also loved going to the pet store and looking at all of the little animals. Good luck and let's hope that the sun comes out soon!

I would say cooking. Kids LOVE to cook! You could bake cookies or make cupcakes or actually get a head-start on dinner. Also, drawing and painting are great and it helps the time pass faster.

Water/ sand table**building blocks**make a tent: ie, bed sheet and furniture type.. and read a book in it..or have a picnic.. or rent good cartoon movies (like Disney) pop popcorn and have a movie day.

Or make your house work a game he can help you with. Can he "catch" the wet laundry..and put it in the dryer for you? It'll take you longer.. but if he learns chores are fun to help with.. might be good in the long run..

Hi S.,

I took my son recently to Kohl Childrens Museum in Glenview. It is awesome!!! We were there for 5 hours! It is $7.50 to get in and $6.50 for seniors there is $1.00 off coupon at Oaklee's Guide, so check it out.

S. T.

We always enjoyed cooking on rainy days. But there are more things that are out of the ordinary. We take masking tape and tape lines on the floor (carpet) and make a line to follow, see who can stay on the line. Also building a fort is great fun, some sheet or table cloths over the couch or a table (don't forget the flash lights)

Isn't this "summer" weather just horrible this year? :( I have a 20 mos. old & we have been stuck inside due to all the rain this summer. We spend time finger painting, coloring, reading. We also will drag out alot of toys that are in her closet she hasn't seen in some time to play with. Make a "tent" with a bed sheet over chairs & play underneath. My daughter also likes to help me bake. I also love the previous post with bringing "summer" inside.. great idea's! Good luck, hopefully the weather will start cooperating soon!

Google things like "crafts for pre-schoolers", "crafts for toddlers", "pre-school activities",

Get a FamilyFun magazine...it has tons of things to do with kids...I love it.

Go to the thrift store and look for books on things to do with kids.

Let him help cook meals and bake things with you and or his babysitter. Even get him a little apron that he can decorate.

Have him finger paint.

Put him in the tub with tub crayons.

Get him a Big Bucket of Leggos

Get him kid friendly games for the computer...my oldest learned to use a mouse at that age.

Go to the library and get educational dvds like Signing Time, Leap Frog and so on.

REad to him.

Get some sing-along-music

play doh, etch a sketch, coloring books, painting, children's scisssors cutting up magazines and paper, reading, dancing, singing, pass the parcel. Get the busy books series full of hundreds of activities for toddlers. Make sock puppets and act out little stories, very easy puzzles (eg. 4 piece puzzles), making cookies with mommy, making salad with mommy, pots and pans, pretend make cookies, scooping dried pasta from different bowls - sorting colored pasta, go on a hunt for things of one color all around the house, hide and seek as best they understand it (often quite amusing game to play with 2 yr old). roll the ball and catch the ball, teddy bears tea party