We are coming out of Winter, Spring has officially sprung, and that means those warm summer days will soon be upon us.
Except we live in England. So it could mean warm summer days, but it could also mean lots of clouds, rain, drizzle, hailstones… you don’t need me to explain Britain’s mercurial weather to you.
It’s annoying when you’re expecting sunshine and it rains, but when you have several kids 3 weeks into the 6 weeks Summer holidays, it’s hell.
I’ve been through this a few times now, and last year I decided that rather than fighting it, I should accept it. If it’s sunny, great, kick the back door open, get the ice lollies ready, and let them go mad in the garden. If it’s raining, who cares? Get the wellies and raincoats out and let them play in the puddles.
Basically, I had home based activities ready whatever the weather, and it turned out to be a much more enjoyable way of handling things. The best bit? They were all free!
So here I am passing on those ideas to you.
Sunny Weather Activities
Let’s start optimistically, shall we?
When the sun is shining everybody is happy, but you still need activities to keep your kids entertained.
Obstacle Course
You can use anything around the house to create an obstacle course. If the kids can go under it, through it, around it, or over it, you can use it. Just set things up around the garden and explain the route the kids need to take.
You can time them to get a winner if you want to add a competitive element.
The good thing about the obstacle course, is that once you have set it up and they have had a go, you can leave them to rearrange it and set up new routes and obstacles for each other.
I can usually get a good hour out of an obstacle course.
Water Fight!
I know, we complain about the rain then soak each other with water as soon as the sun comes out.
But water fights are so much fun!
If you have water pistols or water balloons then great. If not, use some plastic bowls or cups, use the hosepipe, use anything that holds water and won’t break if dropped.
You can go two ways with a water fight: pre-planned and organised, or total chaos. Both are great. Just have a few towels handy for when they want to go back into the house.
Rock Painting
Let’s clam things down with some rock painting.
I’m assuming you have paints and brushes, all parents have paints and brushes, right? If not, they aren’t expensive. A couple of quid.
This activity breaks down into two parts:
- Rock hunting
- Rock painting
We like to create little rock families, so we go out and find stones that look alike but are different sizes. However, there are no rules here, so if you want to find a big flat one and paint a house on it you go for it.
Nature Scavenger Hunt
This is a good one for the park too, but if you have the right sort of garden with plants and a bit of insect wildlife you will be grand.
All you have to do is give the kids a list of nature based items to find, then send them off on their merry way. It doesn’t have to be a race, but it’s probably more fun if it is. Whoever gets everything back to you in the fastest time can win a small prize. Some Haribo or whatever you have in the treat cupboard.
Keep it simple: a green leaf, a dandelion head, a pebble smaller than a 10p piece and a forked twig. You know your garden better than me so pick things they can realistically find.
Windy Weather Activities
Maybe the sun is around but not exactly beaming down and there is a chill in the air.
Don’t let that make you keep them indoors, this is what coats are designed for. Get an extra layer on them and get them outside.
Bubble Chasing
Kids love bubbles, don’t they? It’s universal. I’ve never met a child who wasn’t thrilled by them.
Well, blow them on a windy day and the effect is multiplied. Mine go mad chasing bubbles in the wind, and they don’t seem to get bored of it for ages, either.
You don’t even have to blow them yourself. If you hold the stick in the right direction the wind blows them for you. This is something else the kids can learn to do to extend the fun.
Kite Flying
Going old school for this one.
Kite flying is a contentious subject in our house. I have very fond memories of kite flying on the beach, but my other half says it never works and the kids just get upset.
Well it’s not my fault he is useless at kiting. Or kit flying. Or whatever the technical term is.
Kite kits are very cheap, but you can make your own with bamboo, string and some paper or very thin material. Making the kite is a great way to extend the activity, but the results aren’t always effective. Use your own judgement here.
Paper Aeroplane Competitions
Teach the kids about wind direction and watch them launch their self made paper aeroplane s into the sky.
Like kite flying, this can lead to frustration if it isn’t working, but teaching your children how to make better paper planes is a nice little moment. Well, watching my fella teach them was a nice little moment. I had no idea what I was doing.
It’s also an opportunity to teach them about wind direction and momentum, you know, just so you can pretend it’s educational.
Rainy Weather Activities
“There’s no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing”, and let’s be realistic, you’re going to have at least a week’s worth of rain this Summer, if not more.
Don’t let it spoil your day, instead, tell the kids about your rainy day activities in advance so they are excited to try them next time there is a downpour. You’re all going to get wet and muddy, but accept it and I promise you will have fun.
Rain Dancing
It has to also be warmish for this one – we don’t want you catching pneumonia.
You know those sunny days where it unexpectedly chucks it down for a solid 10 minutes then stops and acts like nothing every happened? Everyone remembers a day this happened when they were young, and I’m willing to bet you jumped up and down and danced in the rain. Maybe you even took your shirt off.
Encouraging your children to run wild in heavy raid is so out of character for a parent that it makes kids lose their minds. And it’s glorious to watch.
So long as they are somewhere safe, let them run around in their pants and get absolutely drenched. Just be warned that it will take them 15 minutes to calm down afterwards.
Mud Kitchen
Embrace the mess.
If you don’t already have a mud kitchen, build one. Get some old pots and pans, or use toy ones if they have them, and get busy making mud pies, muddy frothy coffees, mud soup… just let them chuck mud around for a while.
This is a bit like regressing to messy play when they went to nursery.
So long as they have the right coat and shoes on most things they are wearing will be wipe clean. You can chuck the muddy pots and pans in the shower to wash them out, ideally at the same time as the kids.
Leaf Boat Races
This is a personal favourite of mine.
You can run leaf boat races in any weather really, but if you ask me, it’s most fun during light rain. I don’t know why, but there is something awesome about raindrops splashing down around the ‘boats’.
We have a stream not far from us, but of course, if the rain creates a temporary stream in your garden or in the gutter outside you could use those.
You just need to pick a leaf each then set them off in the water and follow them. Set a finish line if you like, or don’t, it doesn’t really matter. It’s great fun just watching them travel.
Puddle Jumping
Peppa Pig has a lot to answer for, but she did have one thing right: jumping up and down in muddy puddles is glorious.
Find somewhere with plenty of puddles and set you little ones off jumping over them or in them, it’s up to you. They’re going to get wet anyway so you may as well let them jump in the puddles.
See who can jump the water out of their puddle fastest. See who can make the biggest splash. See who can find the deepest puddle. Make anything up. The kids love it.
Top tip: Have spare socks handy!
Snowy Weather Activities
You’re less likely to experience snow in summer, but you never know.
Snow Ball Target Practice
I’m not talking about a snowball fight here, that would hardly be a ground breaking idea.
Instead, set up some targets like you might see at a funfair. A snowball coconut shy, or the game where you knock down the cans to win a prize. We use super hero figurines on the wall in the garden.
However you do it, you can then have a competition to see who can knock them down the quickest, or the most often.
Snowball bowling is a similar idea, but in my experience the snowballs don’t really roll, they just break up.
Ice Block Excavation
If it is obviously going to freeze over night, set a few containers of water outside with a couple of small toys in them.
The next day they will be frozen solid, and the kids can have fun chipping them out to rescue them. Or smashing the ice on the floor if they are anything like my children.
Following Footprints
There are two ways to do this:
- Animal prints
- Human prints
So basically, if there are no animal footprints to follow, create your own.
Encourage the kids to find animal footprints and then follow them to see where they went. What did the bird/cat/dog do? Was there more than one? Why do you think they went over there? That sort of thing.
The hard bit is keeping the kids from making too many of their own prints before they have had a chance to find others, but it encourages their imaginations when it work.
Frozen Bubbles
Yes, we’re back on the bubbles.
Did you know, that if the temperature is below freezing, bubbles will freeze when you blow them before they hit the ground?
It has to be very cold for this to work, and for best results you should mix some corn syrup in with the bubble solution. If you get it right though, frozen bubbles are magic.
You will need to wrap up warm though because it needs to be like, -6 or something.