8 Creative Art Activities for Rainy Days with Kids
As a parent, rainy days can be very challenging because there is nothing worse than trying to alleviate your children’s boredom when they are restless.
Thankfully, you can always turn to creative art activities, which have the magical ability of keeping little hands busy and imaginations buzzing.
Your children don’t have to be budding Rembrandts, Michelangelos, or Salvador Dalis to enjoy creating art. They just need to be encouraged and allowed to freely express themselves through the materials you give them.
So, next time the rain is cascading down, don’t be tempted to just put on Netflix or give them prolonged iPad time. Instead, get them to partake in these fun art activities that will spark joy and bring colour to the drizzly grey day.
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1. Collage Creations
If you have old magazines, newspapers, or other publications you haven’t got around to throwing out yet, why not get the kids to create a collage from the pictures within them?
Aside from the publications, all you need is scissors, glue, and spare paper (ideally coloured), and maybe even give them a theme to kick start the activity.
Doing this has some developmental benefits, as cutting, pasting, and planning their art helps improve fine motor skills and creativity. Once they have finished, be sure to hang their masterpieces on the wall to celebrate their achievement.
2. Paint
Kids love to paint, so breaking out the acrylics or watercolours is always a good idea. Just make sure you cover any surfaces you want to protect before letting them loose with the brushes.
That said, should the thought of giving kids paint in your home break you out into a cold sweat, you should consider taking them to Pinot and Picasso creative workshops.
These workshops provide a guided painting experience for both children and parents to enjoy concurrently, and the best thing about them is that it’s an outing where the mess stays in the studio!
Additionally, you will all be allowed to keep what you make.
3. Paint Your Own Pottery
If the kids don’t want to go out of the house, and you don’t want them to paint on paper, then why not let them do so on pottery?
You can buy a range of items for them to paint, including small terracotta pots, ceramic mugs, or plates, which will help them bring out their inner ceramicist.
While it’s always good to let their imagination run wild, if they are struggling for inspiration, encourage them to paint seasonal themes like flowers, snowflakes, or sun designs. Consider using the finished pieces as plant pots, pen holders, gifts, or keepsakes.
4. Salt Dough Sculptures
Big kudos to whoever invented salt dough because it’s a wonderful activity to get the kids to do on a rainy day.
This simple, inexpensive activity allows kids to create their own sculptures, and all you require to make it up is flour, salt, water, and optional food coloring.
All you need to do is mix these ingredients into dough, mould into the shapes you want, and then harden them through baking.
Children can make a range of items, such as ornaments, figurines, or handprint keepsakes, which they can also paint for extra effect.
5. Upcycled Art Projects
If you want to teach your children about sustainability, then a great way to do this on a rainy day is with crafts made from recycled materials.
Basically, you can use whatever you have lying around the house. But some good examples include using cardboard boxes to make castles or race cars, turning old jars into painted lanterns, and crafting egg cartons into animals or bottle cap mosaics.
The more they get into this type of project, the longer they will be engrossed in doing it.
6. Edible Art
A clever way to keep the kids entertained and fed is to combine art and snack time in the form of edible creations.
This could involve decorating cookies or cupcakes with icing and sprinkles, making fruit skewers that look like rainbows, and using colourful cereal to create edible mosaics.
Alternatively, it can involve getting them to help you make healthy, artistic snacks.
Not only should your children enjoy the creative process, but they’ll no doubt love the tasty results, too!
7. Make Puppets
Puppetry has been entertaining children since the 5th century in Ancient Greece. So, why not tap into its legacy on a rainy day by turning everyday materials into fun puppets for your kids to creatively play with?
You can give your little ones anything from paper bags and socks to googly eyes and buttons to create the characters. Then, once they have been finished, encourage your children to use their creations in an improvised play.
8. Emoji Art
Kids love emojis, so there is a good chance they’ll be happy to turn them into art.
Emoji faces can be created with craft foam, felt, or paper plates, and once they have been made, they can be turned into a game.
This can involve putting the emoji on your foreheads and then trying to ascertain which one you have through a series of yes or no questions or simply playing ‘snap’ with them.
The great thing about this activity is that once made, your children can use them to express how they are feeling at various points later in time.
