A rainy day with a toddler at home doesn’t have to mean a long, frustrating stretch of screen time. With a little planning, rainy days can turn into some of the most fun and memorable days you have together. Whether you want to pull on rain boots and head outside or stay warm and dry indoors, there are plenty of ways to keep a toddler happily busy from morning to afternoon.
This list covers my favorite rainy day activities for toddlers, including outdoor ideas for brave families and simple indoor activities that don’t require a trip to the craft store. I’ve pulled together what actually works, not just what looks good in a photo.
Outdoor rainy day activities
Heading outside in the rain might feel counterintuitive, but toddlers often love it. A good rain jacket and a pair of waterproof boots go a long way. Here are a few outdoor activities worth trying on a drizzly day.
Rain art
This one works best during a light drizzle rather than a downpour. Place a sheet of heavy paper or watercolor paper outside and drop dots of food coloring onto it. The rain spreads the color across the page in unpredictable, beautiful ways. The result is a one-of-a-kind piece of art that your toddler helped create using nothing but nature.
If you don’t have food coloring, try chalk pastels, washable markers, or even colored drink crystals. They all spread color when wet. To protect your deck or patio, slip a baking sheet under the paper before you set it out.
DIY rain gauge
A DIY rain gauge is a simple, satisfying activity that doubles as a science lesson. All you need is an empty plastic bottle and a permanent marker. Together, you and your toddler mark measurements on the side of the bottle, then set it outside to collect rainwater throughout the day.
For younger toddlers, this is a great introduction to numbers and measurement. For older kids, you can add a layer of learning by tracking rainfall over several days or making a simple chart together. It takes about five minutes to set up and gives your child something to check on and talk about all day long.
A rainy day nature walk
Rain brings out creatures that you rarely see on a sunny day. Worms surface on the sidewalk, frogs appear near puddles, and snails come out of hiding. A slow walk around the block or through a nearby park gives your toddler a chance to notice things they might otherwise miss.
Bring a small notebook or just use your phone to take photos of what you find. When you get home, you can look up the animals together online or find a picture book about them at the library. This kind of outdoor learning sticks with kids in a way that planned lessons often don’t.
Puddle jumping
It sounds obvious, but it’s worth saying. Puddle jumping is genuinely good for toddlers. It builds gross motor skills like jumping, balance, and coordination. It also builds confidence when kids learn to trust their bodies in unpredictable terrain. More than that, it’s just plain fun. If you have waterproof gear on, there’s no reason to hold back.
Indoor rainy day activities
At some point, everyone comes back inside. Here are the indoor activities I reach for most often on wet days. Most of them use things you already have at home.
Build a fort
Blankets, pillows, couch cushions, and a few chairs are all you need. Building the fort together is half the fun. Once it’s done, your toddler can use it for a picnic, a pretend campout, a quiet reading nook, or whatever story they’ve decided to tell that day.
I find that fort-building leads to at least an hour of independent or imaginative play once the structure is up. Hand your toddler a flashlight and a small stack of books and they may not come out for quite a while. That’s a win for everyone.
Get crafty with what you have
Rainy days are a good time for child-led crafts. Instead of following a specific tutorial, pull out a box of materials and let your toddler lead. Old cardboard, markers, tape, scraps of fabric, stickers, and yarn can become almost anything. We’ve made puppets, masks, play houses, and instruments this way.
A plain cardboard box is one of the best craft supplies you can offer a toddler. Look at it together and ask what it could become. The answer will usually surprise you. These kinds of open-ended projects build creativity and keep toddlers busy long after the initial making is done. You can find more inspiration in our collection of easy crafts for kids.
Bake something simple together
Baking with toddlers is messy and slow, but it’s also one of the most satisfying rainy day activities you can do together. Choose a simple recipe, like muffins, cookies, or a fruit crumble. Pre-measure the ingredients ahead of time and let your toddler do the dumping, stirring, and mixing.
You can also involve them in washing fruit, tearing herbs, or pressing cookie cutters into dough. These small tasks build fine motor skills and give toddlers a real sense of contribution. The payoff at the end, eating what you made together, makes it feel like a complete experience.
Treasure hunt and indoor games
An indoor treasure hunt is one of my favorite ways to spend a rainy afternoon. Hide a small toy or treat somewhere in the house and draw a simple map together. Use pictures instead of words if your toddler isn’t reading yet. Then follow the clues together, playing up the drama as much as you like.
Rainy days are also a good time for board games and puzzles. Let your toddler pick from the game shelf. Follow their lead on what sounds fun rather than steering them toward what you think is most educational. A simple game of matching or a floor puzzle can hold a toddler’s attention for a surprisingly long time.
If energy is running high, put on music and have a dance party. Freeze dance is always a hit. So is following a leader in a makeshift marching band around the living room.
Read together
A slow rainy afternoon is one of the best times to read. Stack a pile of books on the couch, make a warm drink, and let your toddler pick what to read first. There’s no agenda needed.
If you want a resource that’s full of structured rainy day ideas, the book 101 Things for Kids to do on a Rainy Day by Dawn Isaac is worth having on the shelf. It covers crafts, games, baking, and more. Kids love flipping through it and choosing what to try next. It’s been a reliable source of activity ideas in our house for years.
Reading aloud regularly also supports early language development. You can find more ideas in our early literacy tips for parents if you want to build on that habit beyond rainy days.
Try a science experiment
Simple science experiments are perfect for rainy days because they feel exciting without requiring a lot of prep. A volcano experiment using baking soda and vinegar takes about ten minutes to set up and produces a reaction that toddlers find endlessly satisfying. The walking water experiment is another favorite. You set up cups of colored water connected by paper towel bridges and watch the color move between them over time.
Other good options include a DIY lava lamp using oil, water, and a fizzing tablet, or a sink or float experiment using a bowl of water and random items from around the house. These activities teach basic science concepts while keeping toddlers genuinely engaged.
Set up an indoor obstacle course
When your toddler has energy to burn and going outside isn’t an option, an indoor obstacle course is one of the best solutions I know. Work together to set up a course using couch cushions to jump on, chairs to crawl under, a balance beam made from a strip of tape on the floor, and anything else you can think of.
The process of building the course is part of the fun. Once it’s set up, toddlers will usually run through it over and over, sometimes for much longer than you’d expect. You can change the layout each time to keep it fresh.
Make homemade playdough
Homemade playdough is one of those activities that covers a lot of ground at once. Making it together involves measuring, mixing, and a little bit of kneading, which are all great for developing fine motor skills and following simple instructions. Once it’s made, your toddler has a new sensory material to play with for the rest of the afternoon.
The basic recipe uses flour, salt, water, oil, and cream of tartar. You can add food coloring to make whatever color your toddler requests. Making it at home is cheaper than buying it, and it tends to last just as long when stored in a sealed container.
Making the most of a rainy day
The best rainy day activities are the ones that match your toddler’s mood and energy level on that particular day. Some days call for something physical like an obstacle course or puddle jumping. Other days are better suited for something calm like baking or reading. You don’t need to do everything on this list in one afternoon.
If you’re looking for more ideas beyond rainy days, the activities for toddlers page has a wide range of options for all kinds of days and seasons. A little variety goes a long way when you’re home with a toddler and looking for ways to fill the time with something worthwhile.
Rainy days really can be some of the best days. The slower pace gives you a chance to be present and creative together in a way that busy, sunny days sometimes don’t allow.
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