Monday, April 1, 2013

April Showers Bring May Flowers

We've all heard the poem “April showers bring May flowers.” The popular saying is associated with patience and dealing with negativity to receive a positive outcome in the end. However, when you have kids, the meaning is more literal. Nothing is worse than having energetic, cabin-fevered children stuck inside during a rainstorm.

Don’t let the foul weather slow your kids down. Here are some fun activities to do with your children outside in the rain. Unless it’s lightening outside, there’s no harm in getting a little bit wet.

4 rainy-day activities for kids:

1). Go puddle tap-dancing. Put on the rain coats, buckle up the galoshes, grab the umbrellas, and go outside to dance! See who can make the biggest splash. Challenge your kids to a puddle tap-dance competition!

2). Color yourself. Grab washable crayons, finger paint, body paint, and paint yourselves. Go crazy! When you’re done, go outside and wash it off in the rain. Repeat if necessary.

3). Go camping. Pitch a tent in your backyard. Once the rain starts, zip up and enjoy the sound of the raindrops hitting the tent. Read stories, play board games, and create flashlight shapes on the walls of the tent.

4). Unleash your inner Picasso: Use rain to create art. Put several colors of powered tempera paint into empty containers with plastic shaker tops. Give your tot a heavy sheet of construction paper and encourage them to sprinkle a few colors onto the paper. Lay a trash bag on the ground in the rain and help your children put the powered papers on the bag. Watch the rain do the rest! Once your tot is happy, take the pictures inside to dry.

Regardless of what you do on a rainy April day, here are some cute rain-inspired baby gear for the special little girl or boy in your life: