When you have a child with special needs, you know how important it is for them to have a fun break throughout the day. Outdoor activities make a great transition or free time for kids with special needs, but when rain takes over the day, you should always have a rainy day activity up your sleeve. These 5 rainy day activities for special needs will help you keep your sanity:

 

Bath Time Lego Building: Sometimes you just need a break and putting your kid in the tub is a great way to keep them entertained for a bit. However, if you want to spice up bath time, add some Legos to the mix. Not only does it make taking a bath fun for your child, but Legos are proven to promote spatial skills, encourage math concepts, and engage your child’s creativity.

Get out the Shaving Cream: Keep an extra can of shaving cream from the dollar store on hand just for rainy days. Instead of cleaning your counter or table, foam it up with some shaving cream and let your kids go to town. Practice writing letters, numbers, or words in the shaving cream or just let them create. When they’re finished, get some rags or paper towels and enjoy a clean surface.

Make Sensory Gel Bags: Did you know your hair gel can become a sensory activity? Take a trip to your local dollar store; get a few different colored gels and some Ziploc bags. Fill as many Ziploc bags as you want with ¼ to ½ a cup of hair gel.  Brighten up the colors with a few drops of food coloring. The great thing about sensory gel bags is you can store them and use them over and over again. Place them over a worksheet for your kids to trace their letters in the gel or add sensory items like fish, stars, or marbles to your bag.

Make Use of your TP Rolls: If you have a large family like mine, you probably have a few toilet paper rolls in the recycling bin, on the floor, or probably an empty one still hanging on the holder. Grab up your TP rolls, some construction paper, wiggly eyes, pipe cleans, pom poms, or any other craft supplies you have. Make the one-eyed flying purple people eater, or an alien from outer space with three eyes and an antenna. This helps build fine motor skills and encourages creativity.

Experiment with Water and Oil: Make a homemade lava lamp or a tornado in a bottle. We all know that water and oil don’t mix, so when you put them together, your kids can create an awesome effect. You will need water or pop bottles, vegetable oil, water, food coloring, and any small items you would want to put in your bottle. Fill your bottle ¾ of the way with water, add a few drops of food coloring, and fill the rest up with oil. Your kids can shake it up and watch it separate.

Don’t let the weather stop you and your kids from having fun. Get out the rainy day activities and get creative. What other rainy day activities have you done?