6 Educational Online Activities For Rainy Day Fun Indoors
6 Educational Online Activities For Rainy Day Fun Indoors
One minute, the sun is up, and the sky is blue. The next minute, dark clouds roll in, and the rain starts to fall. The kids now have to put away the balls and bicycles to come inside. Another Saturday afternoon ruined for them. Or, so they think. As much as kids should enjoy outdoor time when they’re not in school, they can have just as much fun inside with the right tools.
The internet has endless possibilities for entertaining your children with educational activities, or they can play the good old-fashioned way like their parents did before the Internet was a household staple. Here are six activities you can introduce to your kids the next time the weather keeps them inside.
Play word games
Word games are a way to enhance your children’s vocabulary, spelling, and sentence formulation. You can pull out the old Scrabble board game or play online word games for free on Pogo. After you play these games, use the new vocabulary words for storytelling in written or oral fashion. https://www.scholastic.com/parents/school-success/learning-toolkit-blog/digital-word-games-kids.html
Experiment with science projects at home
Kids love learning with hands-on activities, and what better way to do that than with science? Baking can offer math and chemistry lessons with measurements and how different ingredients interact with each other. Try making elephant’s toothpaste using this recipe from Earth Science Jr. to watch a huge fountain of foam pour out of a bottle. http://earthsciencejr.com/make-your-own-elephants-toothpaste/
Exercise with a virtual fitness instructor
Being stuck inside doesn’t mean physical activity has to stop. Bicycling and skateboarding may not be indoor-friendly activities, but fitness is. Your children can burn off energy by watching exercise videos online and following along. https://childhood101.com/brain-breaks-7-youtube-channels-to-get-kids-moving-grooving/ Blogilates is an easy-to-follow Pilates program for adolescents and teenagers led by an energetic instructor. Since they’re going to find a way to get on YouTube, they might as well do something productive. https://www.self.com/story/blogilates-workouts-at-home-pilates
Watching a documentary online
Streaming services offer much more than cartoons and Hollywood blockbusters. These days, you can find a plethora of documentaries that the whole family will enjoy. All you need is a bowl of healthy popcorn (a top-notch microwave popcorn popper can help with that, as can some all-natural toppings) https://howtohome.com/kitchen/best-microwave-popcorn-popper/, http://www.allnaturalpopcorn.com/popcorn-seasonings.htm and some cold drinks! https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/g20518292/best-netflix-documentaries/
Play hide-and-seek or have a scavenger hunt
Remember playing hide-and-seek as a kid? You didn’t need any instruments except your own two feet and your voice. You can recreate the game with your kids and even play along for a trip down memory lane. Tip: Don’t forget to look for hiders inside the shower or behind the clothes inside your closet. After that game is over, keep the physical activity going by putting together a scavenger hunt with a list of items that need to be collected from around the house. Make it a little more challenging by providing riddles with clues rather than a stated list of items. https://www.scavenger-hunt-fun.com/home-poem-clue.html
Learn to code
Coding is a useful skill to have in this age of technology. Since many of us never learned to code, we can get online with our kids and learn together. Find a free online coding site from this list for kids of all ages in different subject areas, from building to gaming.
Your kids can have fun while getting an educational experience if you know where to look. They might not be open to sitting down with a textbook to learn the traditional way, but if you sneak in the lessons under the guise of a game, everybody will be happy. The world is at their fingertips with the Internet, but any activity can be brought offline for hands-on learning and practice. The rainy weather might even lead them to try a new skill that will stick for life.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
