Author: Kimberly “Kimi” Ramos, Executive Assistant Director
Whether it’s rain, cold weather, or a pandemic keeping you and your family at home, children are left feeling restless and bored stuck inside the house. If you’re out of ideas to keep your child entertained, you’ve come to the right place!
Here is a 1-hour lesson plan including 5 rainy day activities to promote child social-emotional, motor, and language skills that you can do with your child.
#1) Emotions Check-in: PErsonal weather report
(10 minutes)
It may be difficult for your child to identify and express their emotions. I like this personal weather report to check-in with students about how they are feeling. This provides them with relevant visuals and the language to describe their current internal state. Ask your child questions like: “Are you feeling happy like a sunny day? Are you feeling sad or tearful like a day with rain showers? Are you feeling tired like a gloomy day with overcast? Are you overwhelmed or anxious like a blustery windy day?”
It is also important to teach your child that much like how we cannot control the weather, sometimes we must sit with our feelings instead of trying to change them. There is no such thing as a “good” or “bad” feeling. Each emotion is normal part of life that comes and goes. Even if your personal weather report is stormy with downpours today, there is a bright and sunny day tomorrow.
#2) Warm Ups: Rainy day actions (10 minutes)
Give your child simple directions to follow to warm up their listening skills and their bodies. These will also encourage vocabulary and imagination.
Shine like the sun: Standing up, extend both arms overhead until palms of your hands meet. Lower hands in front of your chest.
Fall like rain: Extend both arms straight up. Wiggle fingers or shake hands while bending over until hands meet the floor.
Blow in the wind: Place on foot against the inner ankle, calf, or thigh of your other leg. While keeping hands on your hips, gently sway side-to-side. Careful not to let the wind knock you down. Switch feet.
Clap like thunder: Stomp your feet while clapping your hands together. Bring your knees as high as you can to make your thunder boom even louder.
Splash the puddle: Jump up and down.
Stretch like a rainbow: With your feet shoulder-width apart or farther, lean to your left with your right arm extended overhead. Switch arms then sweep your left arm up and across to reach toward the right side. Every time you switch arms/directions, have your child name a different color of the rainbow.
#3) Dance: “Drip Drop rain” (5 minutes)
This is the upbeat song incorporates body parts (head, shoulders, tummy, and toes) and relevant vocabulary to teach balance and coordination. The repetitive lyrics and simple movements make this dance accessible for children of many ages and skill levels. To encourage pretend play and have even more fun, have your child put on their raincoat while dancing and singing along!
#4) Story time: “Who likes rain?” by wong yee (15 minutes)
“Who Likes Rain” by Wong Herbert Yee is a great book to read to children on a rainy day. It is about a girl who ventures outside to explore who does and who doesn’t like rain. Animals like fishes and frogs love the rain, but dogs and cats do not. This story is filled with fun rhymes and lyrics that are sure to keep the little reader engaged.
Video Read-Aloud of “Who Likes Rain?”
#5) Art project: paper plate rainbow (15 minutes)
There’s nothing better than an art project to keep your child busy while also exploring colors and textures. This project uses items that you may already have at home!
Materials Needed
Paper plate
Cotton balls
Liquid glue
Tweezers or clothespins
Strips of colored paper
Activity
Cut the paper plate in half OR into the shape of a cloud
Glue all of the colored strips along one edge of the “cloud”
Cover the rest of the “cloud” in glue
Use the tweezers/clothespin to pick up cotton balls and place them onto the cloud
Leave in a safe place to dry
Visit our page Art Project Lesson Plans to find more themed art projects that you can do at home with your child!