FUN Rainy Day Activities for Kids

Guest Post by: Jenny Wise

Photo credit: Pixabay

Banish Rainy Day Boredom With These Online Activities

 Is rain in the forecast for your area this week? Rainy days with kids don’t always need to include endless hours of Netflix and video games. You can use those overcast days to provide some engaging, educational experiences for kids while they’re stuck indoors. Here are a few ideas to makeover your rainy day routines:

Practice Skills in the Kitchen

To survive a rainy day with kids, you’re going to need some tasty snacks. Why not get kids in the kitchen with you and have them help whip up some delicious treats? Cooking involves measuring, a practical use for math and can even include science. Look for recipes that are simple for kids to prepare and tutorials to help sharpen their chef skills. While you’re in the kitchen, be sure to go over food safety and how to handle kitchen emergencies. Keep a fire extinguisher nearby if you’re using the stove or oven and always supervise little ones when they are using knives and appliances.

Use Simple Ingredients for Art

Painting and drawing are perfect ways for kids to pass the time, so if you have some art supplies get them out. Stuck inside with no paints or pencils? Not to worry. You can make art using a few basic ingredients from your kitchen or bathroom. From shaving cream puffy paint to colorful conditioner clay, you likely have everything you need to unleash a child’s inner Picasso. To keep messes minimal, be sure to throw down a trash bag or newspaper and try making an artist’s apron from an old T-shirt to protect clothes. You can also create audible art with online music tutorials.

Teach Some Life Lessons 

Learning doesn’t have to revolve around traditional subjects. Teaching children about matters that will come up later in their life such as buying a home will better prepare them to make smart decisions. Real estate is a perfect topic to cover on a rainy day.

According to real estate brokerage site Redfin, “Real estate is a complex field that requires skills in math, science, English, social studies and home economics. By incorporating real estate-based lessons into your curriculum, you can help students gain valuable skills in practical math application, presentation giving, forming a persuasive argument, earth science and so much more.”

Set Up DIY Science Experiments

Science should be a part of any comprehensive lesson plan. Kid tend to absorb information better if they can get their hands dirty, so use those rainy days to complete some science-centric lessons. With a few simple items, you can teach children about a variety of scientific reactions such as edible glass. Use a paper airplane to learn about aerodynamics or create your own weather with a soda bottle tornado. Or, make some giant, foamy fun by whipping up some  elephant toothpaste. Kids will love watching their homemade “toothpaste” grow and expand into a monster pile of foam.

Talk About Weather 

If you’re stuck inside because of the weather, why not make weather the focus of your lessons? Weather can be an interesting subject for children to discover. Have children countdown between lightning and thunder to learn how light and sound travel differently. Set a chair near a window and have them observe the clouds in the sky. They can document every detail from size, shape and movement to better understand how weather moves around our world.

Burn Off Excess Energy 

Engaging young minds can help keep them focused, but you still need some ways to use excess energy. Clear the floor and have them follow along with some YouTube exercise videos. Give them a brain break by tuning into a channel that will teach them a simple yoga practice or get their bodies moving with some fun dance. Online workouts are a great way for anyone to stay in shape when they’re stuck inside, but kids can especially benefit from an exercise break.

A rainy day doesn’t have to mean a whole day is ruined. With an Internet connection and some ingenuity, you can put together some exciting, educational activities that kids of all ages will enjoy. So when those skies start to turn grey, get out this article and give kids memories they’ll always remember.

About the Author:

Jenny Wise is the owner and blogger at specialhomeeducator.com. She is a stay-at-home parent to 4 beautiful children. Her and her husband made the decision to home-educate when their oldest was four years old. During this journey, they have expanded their family, and faced many challenges along the way. With every challenge, they have experienced great rewards. Follow Jenny's homeschooling adventure at specialhomeeducator.com. 

Tired of Dried Out Markers, Missing Caps? No More!!!

Sick and tired of finding markers with the lids off and dried out, only to be thrown away?!! I was so sick of it that I finally retired my markers 2 years ago and only allow my students to use colored pencils and crayons now! Well thanks to "Magik Stix," markers are coming back to The Bender Bunch Classroom! 

These markers are a teacher's and parent's dream! I mean where have you been all my life!?

The seller of these, "Pencilgrip.com" guarantees these markers will not dry out with the cap off for 7 days, but that's an understatement! I tested a marker from this pack while traveling across country this past week and check out these results!

 I'm actually on Day 15 now (not pictured) and this marker, WITH NO LID, is still writing perfectly, as if it were brand new!!! Amazing! I can't wait to see just how many days I can go!! 

You can get these in sets of 12 for $9.99. That may seem a little pricey, but when I did the math and figured how much I was spending on regular markers before I retired them, the dried up markers I was throwing away, or even the ones that caps didn't get placed on tightly enough that dried up, I'll actually be saving money! Magik Stix are definitely my new "go to" marker!!! Now if they could just make these available in DRY ERASE, how awesome would that be?!!

The Pencil Grip, Inc. also has some amazing paint markers that I love! 

These paint markers are literally solid tempera paint and the best thing ever!! My students can paint with no mess, no brushes, no water, no smocks!!! :)

And it's smudge proof and dries instantly!! My students want to paint every day now with these Kwik Stix and I don't mind because they are absolutely mess free!

The "Kwik Stix" are available in primary, neon, and metallic colors and are $11.99 for a 12-pack! They also have a classroom pack available that includes 96 stix that I'm planning to purchase here. 

These also make excellent Christmas gifts! I just ordered for my nieces and nephews!

While shopping for my markers, I also found a great selection of pencil grips too that might be worth checking out! 

But back to these absolutely AMAZING markers and paint sticks that I'm in love with!!! The Pencil Grip, Inc. is giving away a set of "Kwik Stix" and "Magik Stix" to one of you!! Enter below to receive a set to try out with your kids!!! 

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Simple Tie-Dye T-shirt Tutorial

Tie-dye t-shirts are so fun and easy for kids to make and make a great summer school project too! What I love too is that not only is it impossible to mess them up, there are no two alike. And while there are many ways to create tie-dye shirts, I'm going to show you how I do it in my classroom! 

Here's what you'll need:

A paper plate

Gloves

A white t-shirt

Two Rubber bands

Four plastic squirt bottles

Fabric Dye (4 colors)

Salt

Hot water

Step 1:

Lay out your shirt and pinch it in the center.

 Step 2:

While continuing to pinch the center, twist the fabric in a spiral motion until you have gone all the way around the shirt.

 Step 3:

Place two rubber bands around the shirt as shown; one vertical and one horizontal. This also serves as divided sections for your students to place each color without mixing the colors.

Step 4:

Mix the fabric dye as directed on package. Any of these work, but I prefer the liquid dye as you do not have granules to dissolve. 

However, Tulip does have a much better color selection.

Step 5:

Pour each color into a separate squirt bottle. Another thing nice about the liquid dye is you can skip the step of pouring it into the bottles and just mix it right in the bottle.

Step 6:

Using the sections as color dividers, squirt one color in each section as shown, saturating the fabric, but not saturating to the point that colors run together. (Bottles may be too hot to hold without gloves or an oven mitt)

Step 7:

Toss your shirt in a plastic grocery bag, tie to seal, and sit overnight. 

Step 8:

Remove from bag, leave rubber bands on and toss in the washing machine. Wash in cold water, using no soap. If doing as a class, you can wash them all together at the same time. 

Step 9:

Remove from washer, remove any rubber bands that may be left, and toss in the dryer until dry.

Ending results!

Here is another color combo we did!

 Ending Results!

So I've shown you the spiral or sunburst effect, which is my favorite, but there are so many other ways to rubber band the shirt to get different effects. 

Here is another method I played around with. This one uses no rubber bands. Just dip or squirt dye on each end, the top and bottom of a shirt.

 Results!

I'm telling you, you can not mess these up! There's no one way to wrap your shirt! Be creative. You can also pinch and grab sections all over the shirt in random spots and rubber band them for a circle effect all over shirt. 

Two more tips: I recommend if using a brand new t-shirt to wash it first or wet it and wring it out. I have found that the dye sometimes beads off of new shirts and does not absorb into the fabric as well. 

If doing with your class, you can have students bring in their own t-shirt, or I purchase a large package of fruit-of-the-loom t-shirts from the boy's/men's section. 

Get creative and have fun!!

Head over to Mrs. King's blog for more summer projects from other teachers or share your own summer projects with us!

Let Your Aides Take the Lead!

From time to time, my aides will show me an idea they found for a craft, science experiment, or class recipe. I usually just say, "Oh I love it!" Or "What a great idea!" But I never do anything with it. Let me add that I have the BEST paras EVER!!!! 

Then, last month one of them showed me a couple pictures of some Christmas crafts she had found that she thought the kids would love. I was super busy and probably didn't show much interest. I felt bad about it later and decided to take a look and then I saw the pictures in the trash can. I went home that evening feeling really bad about it! 

I thought about how much I, myself, love doing crafts and planning fun activities for my students. How fun it is to stalk pinterest and the Internet for fun ideas....and how especially fun this is during the holidays! 

And I thought, they obviously love it too!!! Of course, it's fun! 

I came in the next morning and asked them if they would be interested in each taking a day to be responsible for a Christmas craft the following week. They would plan it, purchase the materials, and carry it out with the students. They were no doubt super excited and answered yes without hesitation! 

And I must say they both came up with some fabulous ideas and I could tell they both had so much fun!!! :) And so did the kids of course, and I really enjoyed being able to just sit back and enjoy!

Para #1 did a little science with the kids. You all know how crazy we are for science!
Their sparkling water and cotton candy science ended with a fruity raspberry drink!  

She also made friendship tea with the kids from scratch....and they got to make a batch for a family gift as well!

Para #2 did this!

They glued peppermints to their initial and then ribbon was added to make a Christmas ornament.

I have already designated them a day next week to plan a winter craft. I'm so happy I did this! They love it, it's fun for them, and now I only have to plan 3 activities instead of 5!!!

I can't wait to see what they come up with next week!! :)

Give it a try with your paras!

....And be sure to scroll down to the next post to check out my giveaway that ends tonight at midnight PST! 

Thanks a Bunch, 

Simple Mother's Day Gift & SpEd Giveaway!

Mother's Day is Sunday!!! My class made these today! They may seem a little silly, but I love how they turned out....and of course they're silly, they're made with silly straws, silly! :)

Here are the items you'll need...plus a hot glue gun, not pictured. I was able to purchase everything at Walmart believe it or not!

 The rest is pretty self-explanatory! I used 2 1/2 inch pots and they were only 77 cents each.

Just glue the foam ball inside the pot, insert the straw in the center, glue in moss, and decorate! Be sure to get the foam flowers that are sticky. This requires no gluing for your students and makes for a clean, mess-free craft and no drying time! 

We also made these little seed packets that I had printed from TpT last year! Each one is filled with a pack of flower seeds also purchased from Walmart. This printable is from "Teachings a Hoot." I don't have the direct link to this product, but {here} is the link to her blog. 

So that's Mother's Day this year in my classroom! I think the most favorite Mother's Day gifts my class have ever done are what we made last year....cookbooks and ceramic potholders! You can check that post out {here}. But since I have the same students each year, I have to always change it up! 

And did I forget to say HAPPY TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK TO YOU?!!!

These four items you see are just a smidget of what is in this care package that my team over at #weteachsped have put together for one lucky special education teacher!

OVER $100 worth of must-haves!!
And you can enter right HERE!
Hurry....only 23 hours left!
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May In A Click & Inspiring End of Year Ideas!

May is already slipping away and it's only the 3rd!! There are so many exciting and fun activities to do this time of year that you've probably already got a list a mile long! But if you are still looking for ideas, you've come to the right place. My "May in a Click" offers some great ideas for Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day, and end of the year activities! Everything you need to spice up the month of May is just a click away! Go {here} to download the clickable version of the image above. Each image will take you directly to the freebie or activity link. 

I'm also linking up with Pawsitively Teaching and Inspired Owl's Corner to bring you a few more ideas for the month from my top Pinterest Picks! 

 

Adorable Mother's day craft that is super easy even for little ones! A little note or poem could also be attached!

Just love this idea for giving each student our end of the year DVD or a mini album!!! 

And a super cute end of year gift idea or Teacher Appreciation gift for your colleagues or teacher friends!!

I hope you have fun with these ideas!!!

Find more great ideas by checking me out on Pinterest!!

Visit Traci's profile on Pinterest.

Let the summer break countdown begin!