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1. Keep the rainy day blues at bay by creating an indoor obstacle course using painter's tape and string. They'll feel like super cool spies trying to maneuver through the hall without touching the string while burning off a ton of energy in the process — a real win-win!
2. On the subject of painter's tape, if you've got a roll of it lying around, design a basic Hopscotch grid on the floor so they can enjoy this classic schoolyard game even when the weather sucks.
3. Or snatch a vibrant hopscotch rug to brighten up the room with fun colors and play. Maybe you can even teach little Fido to hop through the boxes too!
4. Bring the playground to you with an inexpensive Pop2Play foldable indoor slide, which is perfect for when the kiddos are begging to go to the park and don't seem to understand that you have to work from home and not from the park. This pops up in mere minutes and then folds flat for easy storage after playtime.
5. Burn off some of that endless kid energy with an ~eggs-ercising~ game: hide written activities in plastic eggs so when they open an egg, they have an energetic little task to do. It's part egg hunt, part gym glass, which are two of their favorite things, right?
6. Mesmerize kids with this sci-fi-looking flying orb that flashes lights while floating in the air before eventually boomeranging right back at 'em. Is it magic? Sorcery? Aliens? Who knows what they'll decide, but the one thing we do know is that they won't be bothering you as long as they're playing with it!
7. For the little mischief-makers who like to run around throwing things (all kids?), supply them with Crayola Globbles for a house-safe hurling object. According to reviewers, these sticky globs don't leave any sort of residue on walls or ceilings. Hallelujah!
8. Looking for a yummy kitchen activity you can do together? Make some sweet swirly lollipops by melting candy melts and then pouring the ooey gooey chocolate into a squeeze bottle, which can then be used to create all sorts of loopy designs. Lastly, don't forget the best part of all — eating them!
9. And for the older aspiring bakers, this miniature baking set is just what they need to start whipping up pastries and confections all by themselves. The baked goods may be tiny, but their confidence in the kitchen will be HUGE.
10. Let them become archeologists for the day with this super ~cool~ ice block excavation activity (and you probably won't even have to go out and buy anything for it). Simply fill a plastic cup with water and tiny treasures like mini dinosaurs, plastic coins, or other small toys you have lying around, and pop it in the freezer for a bit. Once they're frozen, let your little digger uncover the goods with a small kid-safe hammer or water gun filled with warm water.
11. Or, excite little science nerds and let them smash some rocks with this National Geographic geodes kit. Kids truly love any excuse to bust out the hammer and start hitting things.
12. Enjoy all the fun of Play-Doh without forking over a ton of adult dough, aka $$ — just make your own instead! It's really easy, plus you can make all sorts of colors, *and* you can even recruit the kids to help, giving them yet another fun activity to do.
13. Check out this Melissa & Doug activity book for another great way to keep their hands busy. All they'll need is a pair of kid-safe scissors and maybe some table space, leaving you free to work distraction-free.
14. Remember how much fun you used to have with scratch art? Let them in on the secret and get ready to see all the wildly cool and colorful artwork they create using their new rainbow scratch paper art set.
15. Assemble a themed "busy bag" for a fun and unique rainy day challenge. Collect a bunch of random items that all have something in common (like the blogger's glow-themed bag below!) and then see what their budding minds can come up with. Build, play, create, the possibilities are endless!
16. Struggling to come up with ideas for that busy bag or box? Get some inspiration from this value pack of 500+ puffy stickers...or just give your kid some stickers as is, and they'll be busy for hours just sticking, peeling, and re-sticking 'em all over the playroom.
17. Entertain your child for hours all without lifting a finger when you set up a bubble machine. They'll get to enjoy a magical bubble wonderland while you can finally get some of those important adult things done...or maybe just go to the bathroom in peace.
18. Challenge your little one and their friends to the goofiest game of hind-and-go-seek by hiding this Silly Poopy's Hide & Seek toy. Once you've hidden the fake rainbow-colored poo, it'll yell out "yoo-hoo" and give other hysterical clues about its hiding place, meaning you won't get roped into the game yourself but can still take some credit for playing with them. This is truly a must for kids (or adults, TBH) who love toilet humor.
19. And while we're talking about things that light up, create a ~kid's club in da tub~ by tossing a few glow sticks in the water. Just be forewarned, bath time will be such a party that they probably won't want to leave (aka get out, get dressed, and go to bed).
20. Need a fast and fun way to get those wiggles out before bedtime? Set up a last-minute battle in your backyard or living room with these Banzai Bump N' Bounce Body Bumpers. Silliness, hilarity (and hopefully exhaustion) will ensue!
21. Enjoy an afternoon out in nature while also getting artsy and creative. On your walk through the yard or local park, collect some rocks then use paint pens to draw cute (and/or creepy) rock bugs.
22. Or, skip all the prep work and opt for a rock painting kit instead. They'll have just as much fun creating ~rocking~ artwork and then you can head to the local park afterward and spread them about to leave uplifting messages of positivity for other park-goers. ❤️
23. Make learning sight words fun and frazzle-free by playing this exciting sight words Bingo game! I don't know about you, but I'd much rather play a game to teach them new words than try to teach them memorization skills.
24. While we're on the subject of learning letters and words, transform the ball pit into something that's secretly educational by using a Sharpie to write the ABCs on the plastic balls. Next, come up with some easy and fun games to test and practice their letter recognition, such as placing alphabet balls in their matching bucket!
25. If they love playing games, but only on digital screens, swap out the iPad for this wooden puzzle to give them a hands-on, IRL version of Tetris instead!
26. When you're about to snap from the broken record of "I'm bored," this *crunchy slime* recipe will save your sanity! It's messy for sure, but they'll be squealing with delight and definitely not bored (thank god) as they squish and squeeze it.
27. Or wow them with a unicorn slime kit that boasts over 25,000 5-star reviews (!!!) so you don't have to bother making any messy slime yourself. They'll love it, and you'll love how busy it keeps them!
28. If slime and other messes strike your carpet, fear not! Just bust out a realistic Dyson Ball toy vacuum that features pretty decent working suction and put your little helper to work. If they want to clean even more floors because they're having so much fun, even better!
29. Looking for a building challenge that isn't Legos? Well, all you need is some spaghetti and marshmallows! Seriously, they'll be able to build all sorts of cool and complex structures using just these two pantry items.
30. For another building and engineering activity, challenge them to construct intricate marble-run structures. My brother and I used to have endless fun creating our mazes and racing our marbles!
31. Save yourself the headache of dealing with rambunctious kids and just bust out a pack of parachute toys to keep them entertained. These are ingeniously designed not to tangle even after being tossed again and again from the top of the stairs and balcony, so they won't even have to ask you to "fix it."
32. When in doubt, board game it out. The whole fam will be laughing hysterically after a few rounds of this fast, silly, and simple Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza card game, and I guarantee absolutely nobody will be bored.
33. Finally, slip these games for the road in your bag to make sure they're kept busy during long car rides and road trips, because otherwise, all they're gonna do is ask "Are we there yet?" on repeat followed by "I'm bored."
The reviews for this post have been edited for length and clarity.