6 Rainy Day Outdoor Play Ideas

Does a rainy day have to mean staying indoors? Not for Wildlings!

Some of our best days in the forest are rainy days, because kids love getting muddy and splashing in puddles.

With another La Nina spring/summer upon us, those of us on the east coast of Australia are prepping for wet months ahead. But that doesn’t mean we have to stay indoors when it’s raining and pouring.

There’s still plenty of fun to be had outside if we’ve got the right gear and the right mindset.

First of all, dress for the conditions. In short, you probably want a rain jacket and gumboots, but if the weather is warm and your kids are up for it, there’s nothing wrong with playing outside with ordinary clothes on. If you don’t have gumboots, it’s perfectly fine for kids to play in old sneakers, and it’s always fun to watch their reaction as their socks get wet. They get used to it after the first minute or so, then it’s back to playing.

The important thing is that we give them permission to get wet and muddy, and support them as they explore the rainy day with all their senses.

And be prepared for wet, tired, wild but happy kids afterwards!

1.       Puddle hunt

These boots were made for puddle-jumping… is there a greater joy in life than jumping in muddy puddles? Or watching kids do it? We think not. So get those gumboots on and head out on a puddle hunt, walk around your garden or suburb and find the best and biggest puddles for jumping in. Make it a competition if you like, or see if you can get to twenty, then fifty, and so on.

2.       Build a dam or bridge

It’s amazing to sit back and watch kids get absorbed in a building project. At Wildlings our creek is always changing shape, but no matter how deep or shallow it is, there’s always a dam or bridge getting built. Kids love the challenge of balancing on a log across a stream or hopping from one steppingstone to another.

It doesn’t have to be in a creek, it could just be a bridge over a large puddle, or a dam built out of pebbles capturing a small trickle down a slope. The scale doesn’t matter, but building encourages kids to look at their environment in new ways, seeing resources where before there were just sticks and rocks. This is a great group project, with plenty of space for Wildlings of all ages to join in.

3.       Mud pies

If you haven’t got a mud kitchen yet, what are you waiting for! Whether you’ve got a full outdoor play kitchen set up, or just a few pots and pans, playing with mud is endless fun. Our mud kitchen consists of old cake tins, muffin trays, pots of all sizes, colanders, measuring cups and basically anything we can find at the op shop for holding liquid, stirring or scooping.

It doesn’t need to be fancy, because it’s going to get covered in mud anyway! And if you don’t have any of these, then don’t worry, you can still make mud pies with your bare hands.

There are no limits when it comes to mud! But beware those mud monsters when the play is over – have a strategy. Whether it’s hosing them down, putting towels in the car, changing clothes or wiping feet before hopping straight in the shower, make your life a little easier by having a plan.

4.       Make a rain gauge

This is an excellent idea if you know there are a few days of rain coming. There are lots of ways to make a rain gauge, but the simplest involves cutting the top off a plastic bottle, inverting it inside the bottle and marking measurements on the side. Place the rain gauge in a flat place, weigh it down with some rocks or partly bury it, and then check it daily.

Record your measurements and start some conversations about precipitation, the water cycle, and the climate in your region. It might even give you some things to research together when you’re back indoors.

5.       Wet weather scavenger hunt

Places we know well can look and feel so different in the rain, and it’s a great time to go exploring. There are loads of creatures that love the rain, so take the opportunity to head outdoors and observe the animal, plant and fungal worlds. Worms, slugs, snails, frogs, tadpoles, fungi – the list is endless. Perhaps you rescue earthworms from the footpath, or take a cup or bottle along to scoop up tadpoles, or get into some species identification with mushrooms and mosses.

Whatever you discover, remember that you don’t have to be an expert, there are plenty of experts who love to share what they knew and there are some great apps available as well. You don’t need to have all the answers, it’s just as fun to be learning about the natural world alongside our kids, and it’s a wonderful way to foster curiosity and respect for the natural world.

6.       Nature boats

Get all-out-creative crafting nature boats and host your own regatta, or keep it simple and watch leaves float down a stream. It could be a puddle or a flowing creek, just remember to risk assess the depth and speed of the water and have open conversations with your kids about staying safe near bodies of water. Check out our blogs for more tips on navigating risky play near water and water safety for kids.

There are so many resources in our environment that are perfect for building boats. Sometimes at Wildlings we collect large seed pods and use those, other times we strap them together with twigs to make a raft and weave a sail from Lomandra, other times we’ve used corks. They can be as elaborate or simple as you like but have fun making them unique and coming up with names for your vessels. Have races or just observe the currents and eddies in the stream and talk about where the water is flowing.

Just be mindful of using plastics or recycled material for your boats, if they don’t get caught at the other end, they could end up polluting waterways.

We hope these ideas help you feel inspired to brave the outdoors next time it rains.

Remember to risk assess as you go, be wary of thunderstorms and flood risk, and have a strategy for getting warm and dry afterwards.

We’d love to hear about your rainy day adventures, so share your stories with us on our socials @wildlings_forestschool. Have fun! Go and explore that wild, wet world out there, and remember – there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.