What to do with kids on rainy day

Have family coming to town this Saturday. What is there to do indoors (it's suppossed to rain) for kids ages ranging from 1-12. I know, big difference. If you have a suggestion for younger ones and bigger ones we could do different things. Thanks,

 

Here are a couple of things I have done in the pasty few weeks due to rainy cold weather:

1) I had an indoor beach party for my 21mo, I put Bob Marley on, placed a bunch of beach towels down in his playroom, inflated a pool & poured a few bags of play sand. My kid played for hours and that's saying a lot for a toddler.

2) I had a cookie party, made sugar cookies last night, put a smock on him and let him decorate his own cookies.

3) Paint your own canvas. I went to an art supply store, bought a bunch of finger paint colors (that matched our home's color pallette) and did a layering technique of tissue paper, alum foil, wax paper, stamps, quick dry spackel, sponges, feathers. This is LOADS of fun and now I have personal artwork to hang up around the house.

 

A few indoor ideas...

*Color/Decorate Easter Eggs and maybe have an indoor egg hunt with plastic eggs?

*Check out Easter craft options at craft store (Michaels...) or online
http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/season/specialfeature/easter_crafts_ms/

*The Smithsonian Udvar Hazy Museum (Route 28) is a nice place to go with out of town family. No fee to get into the museum BUT is $15 parking. Last time we were there we arrived a few minutes after 4pm and the parking lot was lot free after 4pm though it is only open until 630pm. Personally, we've always found this was still plenty of time to wander around (unless you are interested in reading every plaque maybe?) The observation deck closes earlier so suggest check that out upon entering. Not sure if hours or parking has changed so may want to check first http://www.nasm.si.edu/visit/

*The little train at Dulles Town Centre Mall is cute for little ones...We were there on Saturday afternoon and were pleasantly surprised that there was no line for the train OR for the Easter Bunny and our 4 year old enjoyed both. The train is about 10 minutes thru the mall for kids and is $1.50. There's also a Merry Go Round (though we've never tried this so cannot speak for?) and a play area for kids in the mall near the Disney store. Of course, right by the mall is Chuck E Cheese and Chik Fil A play areas.

*Ashburn Ice House Ice Skating http://www.ashburnice.com/

*Bowling (Drainesville Road or Leesburg)

*Swimming at Claude Moore Rec Center http://www.loudoun.gov/default.aspx?tabid=841

Good Luck...hopefully the weather will clear up and you'll be able to have some outdoor fun as well.

 

Try the bowling with the gutter bumpers but change the rules. The object is to get the LOWEST score (it is not as easy as it sounds). This new type of bowling will keep kids of all ages interested. And it is a fun variation for the adults too.

 

Sport Bounce of Loudoun is fun for all ages, as is Pump It Up. A bit on the pricey side for open bounce times, but fun.

 

Ozgood, I LOVE that idea! I'm going to try it.

If you're staying in on a rainy day, make a gigantic fort out of all the blankets, books, and chairs in the house. That should be fun for the whole range of ages. Or if they're not getting along, have them make separate forts and launch soft toys at one another.

The older kids, if supervised, can find cool science experiments on You Tube that use common household ingredients you can try. Or kill time looking at dumb stunts, that's always fun for an hour.

Make bread...from scratch. Fun AND exercise AND nutrition AND math all in one.

 

how was the sand cleanup? i think my kids would get it everywhere...

 

Pretty easy clean up.

I put down a layer of newspaper (to protect the carpet) and then the beach towels in his playroom. When the beach party was over I picked up the towels and dumped the sand outside, the Dyson Vac worked wonders on anything left behind.

My little guy played for 2 hours, the best $6 I've spent. Total clean up - 15 minutes.

 

It's good to be prepared, but it may not rain at all. It's only Tuesday, the forecast could change. I never put much stock in the weather forecasts....it's caught me by surprise too many times...

 

Meteorologists and Economists - One of the few professions where you can be consistantly wrong but still continued to be employed.

Well there is congress also; but it is debatable whether that qualifies as a profession.

 

Looking for indoor activities for kids? Try Kidburst. It's a new site for kids activities in Northern Virginia.

http://kidburst.com/virginia/tag/indoors

The Air and Space Museum in Dulles is a good place for rainy (or really hot) days. Lots of room for little ones to move around, shuttle simulator for the older kids.