Rainy Day Activities for Preschoolers (Indoor and Out)

Come discover some fun rainy day activities for preschoolers to enjoy. Whether you spend the day indoors or outside in the rain, we’ve got you covered.

Springtime inevitably arrives with an increase in rainy days. Since the temperatures are warming up, it’s fun to put on a raincoat and some rubber boots before heading outside to splash in the puddles. It’s also a great time to explore rain and weather in your science activities.

Some days, though, are downright stormy and not suitable for outdoor play. On those days, you need to come up with activities that will keep your preschoolers busy.

Rainy Day Activities

Whether you’re searching for indoor activities or fun ways to explore the outdoors during (or shortly after) a nice spring rain, I’ve got just what you need below.

Outdoor Rainy Day Activities

Rainy day splatter painting is so much fun! With some liquid watercolors, light colored paper, and a gentle spring rain, your kids can make some amazing one-of-a-kind artwork by letting nature do all the work.

Preschoolers will love making these simple rain catchers, and using them to track the rain all season long.

Kids can set up a Before and After the Rain experiment to explore how rain affects different materials found around the house.

There is nothing better than watching a child explore puddles after a big rain. As they spend time puddle jumping they’re exploring their natural world and learning all about, and they don’t even know they’re doing so!

With some washable markers, watercolor paper, and a light spring rain, your kids can create some unique rainbow rainy day art. No rain in the forecast? No problem. See how to solve that issue.

Puddle painting with sidewalk chalk is a great way to explore shallow puddles made on the sidewalk or driveway.

I love this DIY weather station for kids to make. They’ll be able to measure the wind and the rain all spring and summer long.

Indoor Rainy Day Activities

Have your kids tried painting with bubbles yet? Blowing bubbles on a rainy day is sure to get lots of giggles as preschoolers make some beautiful art.

How brave are you? Your kids will love indoor sledding on a rainy afternoon!

Your preschooler’s imaginations will run wild when they make a homemade magnetic cereal box castle theater.

Kids will burn some pent up energy with an indoor balloon tennis game. It’s perfect for kids of all ages.

Reuse old greeting cards, and your preschoolers can make some recycled stick puppets. They’re perfect for storytelling and imaginative play.

This foam cup construction activity has kids building gross motor skills, practicing number recognition, and participating in a fun STEM building activity all at the same time.

Little artists can reproduce their outside view with this rainy day window art project for kids.

Oobleck is such a fun element to explore with little ones. And this chocolate mud oobleck is perfect for rainy day exploration.

There are a lot of indoor activities included in this list of kids Minute to Win It Games. They’re great for encouraging teamwork while working off some energy.

Bring the rainy day fun indoors with this Puddle Jumping Sight Word Game. Kids will jump from “puddle” to “puddle” as you call out sight words. Add rain boots and an umbrella for even more fun.

Whether you’re spending the day inside or splashing in the rain outside, I hope you have found some great ideas to entertain your kids with these rainy day activities.

Rainy Day Books for Preschoolers

Fill your book basket with a great collection of rainy day books for preschool. Most of these books can be found at your local library or used bookstore.

If you have a hard time finding them, you can order them through my Amazon affiliate links by clicking the images below.

Peep and Ducky Rainy Day – When Peep visits Ducky on a rainy day, the little friends have no trouble finding things to do. Inside, there’s a tent to build and a pillow fight to be had. And outside, with the help of galoshes and umbrella, it’s fun to captain a boat — until a whoosh of wind and a clap of thunder send them running back in!

Singing in the Rain – Spring calls in this classic Broadway number, brought to life in a beautiful picture book―perfect for sharing! Jump in puddles, raise umbrellas, and dance with joy through the pages of this visual story.

The Rainy Day – A group of children taking a walk introduce the concept of rain and its effects on some plants, animals, and the soil.