8 Rainy Day Activities Your Students Will Love

Rainy days are LONG days for teachers, but with grab and go rainy day activities, it might help. Having grab and go activities makes indoor days go much quicker. Here, you'll find book recommendations, hands on activities, and experiments that celebrate rain.

Rainy days are LONG days for teachers, but with grab and go rainy day activities, it might help. We teachers need to find a way for kids to play on these crummy days.  So, I thought I’d pause to share some rainy day options you might try to help you “go with the flow” and to help your kids play in the during the rain.

Best Books with a Rainy Day Theme:

The first set of rainy day activities I’d recommend is to have large stash of rainy day books. There are many great titles that celebrate rain, so why not take advantage of the moment.  Here is a collection to get you started.

Of these, I just love A Letter to Amy.  It’s all about how Peter’s invitation to Amy blows away in the rain. You might also pull Come on, Rain by Karen Hesse. It’s one I’ve been seeing lots of teachers share. I also love Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett. It’s a classic! However, my all time favorite is Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco.

If you know a rainy day is coming, I would suggest working in rainy day activities to accompany these books such as making thunder cake (yes, there’s a recipe). I also found a cute mobile to make for the book, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

At the end of the post, I’ll include links to my units for a few of the books mentioned.

rainy day activities book recommendations

Rainy day Activities that celebrate Rainy weather

Once you’ve gathered your stash of books, you will want to have some print and go rainy day activities.  If you have these put together ahead of time, you will be completely relaxed when you’re stuck inside for the third day in a row. (well, maybe not completely, but more relaxed at least.).  For printables, I like these freebie options. The first is a class book with graphic organizers.  It is adorable!

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Resources from Comprehension Connection:

If you wish to work in a little deeper work with a few of these books, I do have two units that include more specific book information as well as writing options as well as a Weather Close Reading Pack if you’d like to check them out.

having Fun with hands on rainy day activities

After a few days of rain, we all know the energy level is high in the classroom, so keeping your kids busy is wise.  Here are a few rainy day craftivities you might use. Combine them with a writing prompt, and a wahlah, you have a nice hallway display.  One go-to plethora of ideas for a rainy day is on First Grade Parade.  The image below is just a glimpse of what she’s shared, so be sure to click on the image and visit her weather post.

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And for hands-on science fun, check out these great experiments from Fantastic Fun and Learning.

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other posts you may enjoy:

Of course, there are many other rainy day lesson ideas, but in honor of the mess we have in Virginia, I thought I’d share just a few.  What’s your favorite way to spend a rainy day?  (Probably not in school, right??  Making the best of it though is a great way to go.

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Carla

Carla is a licensed reading specialist with 27 years of experience in the regular classroom (grades 1, 4, and 5), in Title 1 reading, as a tech specialists, and a literacy coach. She has a passion for literacy instruction and meeting the needs of the individual learner.