Between having two children and being a preschool teacher, some might say I’ve learned a thing or two about kids. And sometimes, epically on rainy days, you got to think about how you can maximize fun and not leave the house or spend a lot of money.

Varying Ages

All of these crafts may be fun for all ages. Some of these crafts, might also require some adult guidance at first. But they are all great ideas for a few moments of fun (or more if your child ends up loving it!) Some of these are ideas I’ve gotten from past teachers I’ve worked with, others I found on pintrest, and some were ideas I kind of created myself. Also included will be the playdough recipe we use at my house and at work.

Salt Art

This one is epically cool if you have black cardstock. The concept is as simple as creating a design with wet glue. Then you pour salt over the design, shake off the extra, and let it dry. The extra fun comes from when it dries, if you have watercolor paint, you can paint it! In my classroom we have little pipettes we also use to drop color onto it, as it helps their fine motor capabilities.

Bird Feeder

This one can be a good one for those sensory seeking friends. Using a paper towel tube and peanut butter or Crisco, you can wipe either over a paper towel tube , and then cover in bird seed and hang in a tree for a neat and homemade bird feeder. Now, when I did this activity with my students it was brought to my attention that this only works if you hang it in a way where the birds can perch and peck at it.

Coffee Filter Tye-Dye

Using markers, color all over your coffee filter. Afterwards, with a spray bottle your able to spray the coffee filter with water, to create a fun tie dye looking experience. This recipe can go even further if you wanted to cut the coffee filter into a shape first, and then color it and spray it.

Making Playdough

This is a really fun recipe to have your children help make. It is a playdough recipe that you cook, but in the end its so soft and fun to play with that to me its worth it. This is the same recipe that I use and make with 16 preschoolers. You can add essential oils to this to make it smelly playdough, or glitter to make it pretty playdough. The possibilities are endless. The one recommendation I do have is to not make it with whole wheat flour. I made green playdough with whole wheat flour, and it looked absolutely disgusting. Save yourself the trouble and trust me on this.

Next time you go to have fun with your own children just remember: It doesn’t have to be complicated!