Along with ominous, wet clouds, this time of the year is also known to bring with it crabby, restless children, who often tend to get bored and irritable when confined indoors. And everybody knows that the biggest bane any parent can have, is a cranky, tantrum-prone child on his or her hands. The best way then, to keep your children distracted and amused through a dull, rainy evening, is by ensuring that they have a host of interesting activities to indulge in. By the end of it, not only will you find the little ones in a much better mood. And we will not be surprised if you are tempted to join in with them!

Coin Hunt

For this game you will need a large bagful of coins of different values, blindfolds and paper bags for all the children participating, and finally, a large room or open space. Start by blindfolding all the children, and give them a paper bag each. Then scatter all the coins across the room, so that they are well spread out. Instruct the blindfolded children to get down on all fours, and have them collect as many coins as they can in their respective paper bags. After a set time limit (for e.g. 2 minutes) has elapsed, call off the hunt.Finally, make the children count the coins they have collected. You could even have them calculate the total value of the coins they have gathered. The child with the maximum coins or the highest value wins.

Blind feeders

To play this game you will need a bowl, spoon, napkin/bib and blindfold for each child, as well as enough jelly to ensure that each one gets a sufficient amount in their bowl. Start by dividing the children into pairs. Blindfold each one, make them tuck the napkins/bibs into their t-shirt collars, and give them a spoon each, along with a bowl full of jelly. Then instruct them to feed each other the jelly in their bowls. The pair that drops the least amount of jelly and finishes their share the fastest wins the game. If you want to avoid the mess, you could also use rice crispies or the likes.

Rain Painting

For this activity you will need a variety of food colours, a stack of paper plates, white wax crayons, and finally, some rain! (Do ensure that the children have sufficient rain gear)

Step 1:

Give the children a paper plate each, and have them sprinkle a few drops of their favourite food colours on it.

Step 2:

Have them wear their raincoats/take their umbrellas, and stand in the rain with their paper plates for a minute or so. Slowly but steadily, watch different artistic designs take shape on the plates!

Step 3:

If the children are up for it, take the activity a little further by trying a batik effect. Have them draw designs on fresh paper plates, using the white wax crayons. Then sprinkle some food colour and repeat Step 2 to get the most stunning batik paper plates.