The rain… ah, the rain.  We get so many dry sunny days in California that the rain is a novelty.   When it comes, we often forget what to do and how to behave.   While it’s sometimes fun to stay indoors, curled up with a movie or good book, that’s not always realistic…  especially when you are living with children. 

When the rain starts to fall, not only do I get antsy being inside all day, but the kids do as well. It’s imperative to have some plans in place to avoid cabin fever. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing more appealing than being inside a warm home, eating popcorn, drinking hot chocolate, and listening to the rain hit the windows. But if the rain keeps coming, everyone gets a case of the wiggles. Provided you aren’t too upset about mud and as long as you can be appropriately dressed for the moisture, there’s no reason why you can’t spend time outdoors.

Young children especially love the rain. You don’t have to stray far from your front door to have some adventures and create memories. If you don’t mind investing in some waterproof pants, jacket and rain boots, your kids will be well covered for an hour of puddle jumping. Nothing beats this activity! When my children were young, they would race back-and-forth on the street on our block, hopping in the puddles.  They performed all sorts of silly jigs in the ponds being created around our home, mud flying everywhere as they danced in the garden.  My job was to be the safety referee.  Keeping them dry was not the point of this activity; rather I had to run damage control to keep them veering their bodies into the street.  Their eyes naturally drifted to the impressive mini river in the street gutters.  If given the chance, they’d toss their bodies into this urban creek.

As children age, puddle jumping evolves with them. Instead of splashing with their feet, they use their bicycles and scooters.  The spray from the tires soaks both them and me!  However, by dressing appropriately, this process is expected and encouraged.  Waterproof clothing makes all the difference in the enjoyment level for all parties.  No one likes to be drenched and cold.  In our neighborhood, we search for streets that have tree roots pushing up the sidewalk.  The combination of moguls and dips creates endless entertainment and maximum splash.  One major benefit of being outside on a rainy day is that the whole world prefers to stay indoors, so the streets and trails have less foot, road, and bicycle traffic.  The world is your playground!

For children less excited about bicycles and more science and craft-minded, a fun project in the rain is to create watercrafts.  Boats can easily be formed out of food storage containers and aluminum foil.  They can experiment with different sails and various designs.  With close supervision, these vessels can be raced in the street gutters.  Simply floating these creations in standing puddles will also entertain your children for extended periods of time. 

This is also a good time to bring out any beach toys you have.  Kids have fun measuring the water in the buckets and seeing just how much rain they can collect. As the dirt softens up, they can easily probe their hands through the soil or use shovels to create volcanos, valleys, and riverbeds.  They can evaluate how well their masterpieces withstand the rain.  Young ones love to experiment with nature and talk about their findings, and the rain brings out the best opportunities!

The rain is truly magical and brings out some new, interesting critters. Personally, I am not a fan of worms, but my young boys go bananas when these wiggly creatures emerge from the Earth.  They love to search for the fattest worm and then chase me with it!  Slugs, snails, and other slimy entities come out from their hiding places as the earth dampens.

In our home, we find that any accessories associated with the rain provide marked enjoyment. My older son loves umbrellas! The one he drags around with him is bent and broken. It’s been pulled inside-out in the wind, and he has knocked it against walls and trees enough times that the umbrella is barely functional at this point. But it does still serve its purpose: it keeps him dry and entertained.  With any slight discussion of rain, he excitedly runs to grab his umbrella in preparation!  As a child, I recall my own enjoyment of owning my own umbrella.  Mine was see-through, and I absolutely adored it! I remember the smell of the plastic, and nothing was more exhilarating than seeing the raindrops hit the top of the umbrella and drip down the sides. From a sensory standpoint, it was exciting to see the rain landing above my head but not to feel it. 

If you are hoping to stay dry but need a change of scenery, consider taking the children for a drive to a location to watch the rain.  If you have a moon roof, even better.   You can pick up McDonalds and eat in the car while watching this natural movie play out.  Where I live, one of my favorite rainy day activities involves driving to the beach to watch the waves. In no way do we get anywhere near the coastline with our bodies.  While sitting in a car a safe distance from the beach, we sit and watch the waves pounding the shore.  The children love to yell as they spot the biggest waves!  This serves the dual purpose of entertaining the children while providing them with a healthy respect for just how powerful and dangerous open water can be. Fun activities make great lessons.

Rain doesn’t have to a bummer.  It’s the earth’s way of taking a shower, and it brings new adventures.  Best of all, it’s free!

Laura D